FOLLOWING ONE’S heart is easier said than done, especially when that heart wants very conflicting things.
Love You So Bad attempts to explore this exact dilemma, but its overreliance on rehashing well-known tropes left audiences with a highly predictable and mediocre story instead.
Directed by Mae Cruz-Alviar, the film explores the life of Savannah (Bianca de Vera), a kikay college student who prioritizes partying over her studies. On campus, Savannah tries to make her ex-boyfriend, LA (Dustin Yu), jealous by pretending to date her thesis group mate Victor (Will Ashley).
Unlike the hot-headed but caring and responsible student body president Victor, LA is an athlete who copes with his problems through drinking and tends to get into physical fights.
This flick marks the big screen debut of fan favorite ships from the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition: WillCa (Ashley and de Vera) and DustBia (Yu and de Vera). Fans may notice in the beginning the subtle references to the actors’ time in the Big Brother house, where their chemistry first bloomed.
In the film, Victor agrees to fake date Savannah in hopes of employing her marketing skills to help their group bag the best thesis award. However, this subplot is left unaddressed, seemingly in favor of kilig scenes, some of which ring lukewarm if the viewer is not a fan of WillCa or DustBia. Other side plots suffered the same fate, making the film feel as messy as Savannah’s frizzy wig in the first act.
As Savannah and Victor’s facade progresses, the romantic gestures and longing stares between the pair gradually become more genuine, while LA sees everything unfold in front of his eyes and phone screen.
Thanks to the Gen X-ers and millennials behind the film, the awkward use of slang and dated preppy outfits seem like a disconnected attempt to relate to its Gen Z audience.
Conceptually, reacting to social media posts is relatable, especially for the youth. Still, LA’s reactions fall flat because the camera angles are too far from Yu’s already blank expression, resulting in an emotional distance from the supposed weight of seeing one’s ex act affectionately with someone else.
The last act of Love You So Bad is set in a South Cotabato farm, where Savannah and Victor’s group continue their thesis. Though the research is handled off-screen, the on-screen rivalry is more entertaining as Savannah reaches a boiling point with the two men.
Even during the final confrontation, Yu’s takes were lackluster because the writers barely gave the audience a chance to fall in love with LA outside of his irrelevant familial struggles and generic romantic gestures. Whether it is because of the flawed direction or the actor’s minimal experience, Yu lacks the edge and nuance demanded of his character.
Despite the abrupt ending, Savannah’s choice is the most moving reflection of the younger generation’s self-empowerment, while still presenting the grounded struggles of confronting the issues that one would rather run away from.
Although this movie is marketed as a love triangle, de Vera’s screentime and fan-service moments were much more evident with Ashley than Yu, laying the foundations for the finale to deliver an expected misdirection.
It may have been for the best that WillCa was given more exposure, as their convincing individual portrayals of realistically imperfect characters blended into a palpable chemistry that found its footing about halfway through the movie. However, in comparing Love You So Bad to Ashley’s other films, the film’s general vapidness limits the actor’s skills.
What the trailers and teasers hid from the public is that familial love is just as significant a theme in this movie as romantic love is. Through the main characters, the film addresses how parental figures shape a person’s own view on romance. Despite how this depiction is imbued with less nuance than the WillCa versus DustBia conflict, it still offers something for audiences to ponder on.
Known for directing loveteam-led romantic comedies, director Cruz-Alviar is no stranger to cliche storytelling. The absence of imagination in Cruz-Alviar’s latest feature is what sets it apart from her past works. The fake dating trope used in such works, such as Bride for Rent and Must Date the Playboy, may have been novel ideas during the 2010s, but at a time when countless pieces of media have integrated the same types of love stories, even the biggest romcom fans will find this movie to be forgettable.
At a run time of about two hours, Love You So Bad is all over the place. With disjointed transitions between scenes and music cues, obvious dialogue, and logical jumps that make serious actions unintentionally comedic, the film still struggles to convey distinct personality traits for characters aside from Savannah.
Though the film presented familiar faces through Ana Abad-Santos, Xyriel Manabat, Dimples Romana and Bodjie Pascua, their screen time was so short that, even combined, their natural performances are insufficient in making the ticket worth it.
Love You So Bad is well-lit and vibrant to the point of appearing like a telecommunications TV commercial, refreshing amid the trend of desaturated Western films. The final parts of the film were carried by the beauty of South Cotabato’s lush nature, yet again rehashing the humble charm of romance movies set outside of the urban jungle.
As much as clichés and romantic comedies can work in tandem, a film can only recycle a formula so often before it gets repetitive. Love You So Bad is a prime example of how a cast of newbie talents and industry veterans alike can be wasted on a movie that has nothing new to offer except its love teams. F
Can you explain movie:
‘ Love You So Bad ‘ 2025 r.