REVIEW: The Reunion

Title: The Reunion

Director: Frasco Mortiz

Producer: Star Cinema

Distribution: Star Cinema

Date of premiere: August 15, 2012

Make no mistake: The Reunion is a mess. For a film based on music, this one has no rhythm.

Produced by Star Cinema and directed by newcomer Frasco Mortiz, The Reunion tells the story of four young men who go on a journey to find their high school sweethearts. The desire for closure convinces them to do so, as well as the mindset that their present lives are messy because their former flames broke up with them.

The Reunion serves as a vehicle for ABS-CBN's up-and-coming male stars: Enchong Dee, Xian Lim, and Enrique Gil. They also threw Kean Cipriano into the mix, perhaps so the cast has a legitimate singer. This movie is supposed to be a tribute to Eraserheads, after all.

There's something quite jarring on how Mortiz executed the story. The first half serves a lot of flashbacks, done in a frenetic whatever-works kind of editing. This technique breaks the film overall--whatever rhythm the scenes from the present are trying to form gets discarded every time a flashback unexpectedly comes in.

Besides, whatever kinetic energy the film is going for in the first half is halted by the second half's attempt at drama. Things slow down, and scenes drag on. There are four stories in this movie, and viewers are bound to care only four one or two. The rest seem like fillers.

What stories are the best then? The answer is, any scene with actors who turn in great performances.

It comes as a surprise that the women are better actors here, because it is not even their movie. Most notable are Jessy Mendiola, Cristine Reyes, and Julia Montes.

But the best performance comes from Bangs Garcia. When she was first introduced as a high school girl, she carried a naivete never-before-seen from her. I had to rub my eyes to clear my head, since I couldn't believe it was Bangs that I was seeing. She should star in more movies.

The acting of the women made the film tolerable to me. 

RATING: 3 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: Watch this for the excellent performances from the female cast.