I’d been seeing the Diary ng Panget series in National Bookstore’s Best Seller list for the longest time but I never considered getting a copy since I’m not its right market. It has a massive following on the internet and the published copy sold millions so it wasn’t a wonder why it was made into a movie. I’ve heard how crazy teenagers are with the series. I didn’t read the books so watching the film was never in my To Do List. But if you don’t have anything to do at home, this would do just to pass the time.
Diary ng Panget
Viva Films, 110 minutes
Released on April 2, 2014
Teen, Romance, Comedy
Watched in August, 2014
A poor, self-described ugly girl takes a job as a personal maid for a rich, handsome young man. The two don’t get along, but as they get tangled in their classmates’ games of affection, their relationship becomes more complicated.
Director: Andoy Ranay
Writer: Mel Mendoza-Del Rosario
Novel: Denny R.
Cast: Nadine Lustre, James Reid, Yassi Prescott, Andre Paras
Having no idea what the film is about made me not expect too much. Movie adaptations are tricky and even movie-tie-ins of international books are sometimes crappy. I can’t remember if this is the first mainstream book-to-movie Pinoy film I watched (probably it is) so I don’t know how they’re going to do it. I was half expecting it to be rubbish but to my surprise, I was amused with the film. I don’t know if I got tired watching typical Pinoy romcoms that starts out funny then would gradually turn dramatic for the plot’s conflict that I find the lightness of DnP refreshing. Or maybe I watched the film in a good mood. The series has 4 books, I don’t know if the movie only covered DnP Book 1. The lack of heavy conflict and Eya’s sunny, no-nonsense attitude were entertaining. I liked how fun the movie was.
I love Eya’s spunk. Her crazy, out of the blue banats [1] are hilarious. I like how she didn’t feel sorry for herself because she’s not pretty. Her self-confidence is outstanding. Nadine Lustre did well in portraying Eya. It was very natural and that is saying something for an actress I’ve never even heard of before this film. Same goes with James Reid who played the part of Cross. I don’t think there’s much to expect with Cross’ character since it’s typical in most YA Wattpad novels. JR looks cute; however, I find the shirtless scenes not charming. He’s too young for those scenes; his body isn’t something I’ll drool over with, and it didn’t have the effect the script wants the audience (or me) to have (right, not my market). Teenage girls would go gaga over that but I have this threshold that if it isn’t as hot as Channing Tatum’s abs (and butt) then you don’t have the right to flaunt it. I also like Chad and Lory. I’m glad Eya has an amazing support system. They had a few bumps along the way but are common among friends.
What I didn’t like in the movie is how the romance between Eya and Cross developed. Actually, I didn’t see their romantic relationship flourished. I saw a little of how Cross’ feelings changed but it was unclear with Eya. I was shocked when she confirmed her feeling when her best friend asked her if she was in love Cross. I was like, seriously? Where did that come from? Although, we knew they’ll end up together but what I want to see is how it go into that. Some of the scenes were so clichéd but I didn’t find them revolting (which is slightly unusual for someone as skeptical as I am). Some of them are even funny like the inverted Cinderella shoe scene.
I’m giving this 2.5 Kiss Marks leaning to three. Let’s not forget this isn’t my age bracket and I maybe too old to really go gaga for this kind of films.
Bad: Read or watched but I’m not impressed.
Shallow.
I so like the film’s official single soundtrack, “Dyosa” by Yumi Lacsamana. The lyrics are soooo fun!
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[1] Comical, blunt and sometimes sarcastic responses that can make you laugh because of how it was delivered and how mean the context was but on a subtle way.
Off the Wall 