Is there anything funny about going against the wishes of your parents and your cultural heritage, all in the name of young love?
Moviegoers will find out this December when Regal Entertainment’s Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di (I Love You) lands in theaters as an official entry to the 2006 Metro Manila Film Festival.
Starring the reliable love team of Angel Locsin and Richard Gutierrez, the film also marks the movie debut of singing sensation
Christian Bautista, who plays a Chinoy singer out to win Angel from Richard.“This will be the most beautiful and most expensive Mano Po film to date,” says executive producer Mother Lily Monteverde of Regal Entertainment. “The cast alone is already budget-busting, and we will also film in the glossiest, most beautiful locations to give the movie the sweep of an epic romance.”
Mother Lily also promises a movie that will be as funny as it is romantic.
“Last year, we were very successful with Mano Po 4: Ako Legal Wife. When it became a box-office hit, it proved that the audience will go for a Mano Po movie even if it’s lighter and funnier than the first three films.”
In the film, Angel plays a pretty Chinoy from a wealthy family who falls head-over-heels in love with a simple, middle-class veterinarian played by Richard, who doesn’t have a single drop of Chinese blood in his veins.
Angel’s family is horrified to find out that she and Richard are engaged, even though Angel had been arranged to marry the character played by Christian, now a singing sensation all over Asia.
What happens when Richard, Angel, Christian, and their families each try to have their way in this comedic culture clash will have moviegoers alternately swooning and giggling in theaters this Christmas season.
Principal photography on Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di began October 1st under the watchful eye of director Joel Lamangan.
Originally pegged as a “serious” director, Lamangan has shown a natural flair for comedy in such ribticklers as Ako Legal Wife, So Happy Together and another 2006 MMFF entry, Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, Ze Moveeh.
The observant screenplay of Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di is by Andrew Paredes, Dode Cruz, and Abi Lam-Parayno, who wrote the most successful TV triumphs of Richard and Angel, like Mulawin and Mars Ravelo’s Darna.
Also in the cast of Mano Po 5 are many of the industry’s most acclaimed talents. Dina Bonnevie and Joel Torre star as Angel’s traditional Chinoy parents. Boots Anson-Roa is Angel’s feisty grandmother, while Ketchup Eusebio and AJ Dee are Angel’s brothers.
Rounding out the cast are Tony Mabesa as Richard’s Pinoy na Pinoy father; the alluring Michelle Madrigal as a young girl also in love with Richard; and comedienne Ethel Booba as a wisecracking maid who works for Angel’s family.
People's Tonight
10/3/2006 20:26 PM
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