When an iconic Filipino love team returns onscreen after so many years to tell a story of love we may or may not have heard before, we can’t help but drop whatever we’re doing and watch them with awe and reverence.
Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz’s short film with Jollibee titled “One True Pair The Movie,” which in just 2 weeks gained over 5.5 Million views and hitting over 700k YouTube channel subscribers, felt like an ode to everyone whose lives have been shaped by the many romantic movies and TV shows the two have ever made through the years. In it, we meet Gela (Bea Alonzo) and Ian (John Lloyd Cruz), an onscreen tandem who reunites for a project after having not met or spoken with one another for a long time. It’s then that we realize the striking difference between them and the characters that Bea and John Lloyd have played before—no longer are they the kind of couple so naive or bitter about love and enflamed by the desire to pursue a passionate romance—rather, they’ve gone through it, learned and grown from the joy and pain from past loves, and are now content with their place in life.
It’s there that the lines between fiction and reality are blurred. Somehow, it’s as though we’re watching Bea and John Lloyd reflect on their own life and love instead of reciting lines from a script they were given. Certain dialogues prove this, particularly when Gela shares how her heart got crushed but stays beating, or when Ian speaks about forgiving oneself for the choices one has made, or when they both reminisce on their relationship through the years—from being strangers, to workmates, to a love team, to friends, to frenemies, to soulmates.
A few lines that struck:
“Alam mo, ‘yung puso, kahit na nadurog na ‘yan, tumitibok pa rin. Kaya pa rin magmahal nang buo. Nang buong-buo.”
“May mga pagpapatawad na kahit na walang humihingi, kailangan mong ibigay. At may mga sorry na kahit na hindi mo narinig, kailangan mong tanggapin.”
“Totoo naman, may sariling buhay at journey ang mga choices natin, ‘di ba? And the only thing we can control is the way we react or adapt to it. And the sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll be okay.”
“Ang puso, walang switch. Pero may pinto. Sigurado ako, may kakatok at kakatok diyan.”
“May fourth love. Ito ‘yung love that goes beyond the romance. ‘Yung love that has always been there while you were loving the first, second, third, and kung anu-ano pang love ‘yung gusto mong mahalin … Pwede pala magmahal nang ganito.”
It felt like we were mere observers, like we were listening into an honest and sincere conversation between the two, laughing along with their banter, agreeing with their reflections, and being moved by the special kind of connection they do have that not many people will be able to understand.
Only Bea and John Lloyd will ever have that kind of power—to spark kilig and longing without even trying, to tell us things we didn’t know we needed to hear, and to make us believe in love no matter how difficult and hopeless.
After all, as John Lloyd says in the film, “After all the pain, love remains.” And we must keep ourselves open to receiving it and giving it in return.
Subscribe to the Jollibee Studios YouTube channel now and watch “One True Pair The Movie”, directed by JP Habac now!
