HELLO STRANGER: THE MOVIE (2021) Review
Directed by Dwein Baltazar
The art of letting go and the art of fighting for the one you love, in the end, love wins!
It’s hard to deny that having a pool of boys’ love contents in the Philippines can be too much. But with a good material, decent storytelling and chemistry from its leads, there’s little room for failure and more room for its audience.
Hello Stranger: The Movie does more than to please its fans. I like how the film feels like an early summer barkada movie, a young gay romance movie and a coming-of-age movie all wrapped in one charming and heartwarming movie. It has the right amount of romance, drama and life lessons that the viewers would appreciate.
JC Alcantara continues to prove how he has improved in acting. The innocent, optimistic and loyal friend Mico that also has a big heart to share to the world. He’s clearly perfect for the role.
Tony Labrusca on the other hand is irresistible as Xavier. Not just because of his looks but also because he’s that type of leading man we see in cheesy romantic comedies: always doing what’s right for others. And it’s a trait that’s not hard to fall for. Aside from that, you can also see and feel his character’s inner struggles. We’ve seen Tony in a lot of characters but Xavier definitely fits him like a glove.
The story is a bit typical, but the execution makes it special. And the intention of the film isn’t just because the series was a success but because there’s more to tell about these characters. And I’m not just talking about XavMi but also its supporting characters like Kookai, Seph, Junjun and Crystal. Telling coming-of-age stories are the most interesting ones because they’re always in between choosing something and that’s relatable. Love over career, moving on or holding on, keeping a secret or revealing it, you’re in this phase where your life is about to get bigger. And Hello Stranger: The Movie gets that.
3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
‘Hello Stranger: The Movie’ is now streaming on KTX.ph, iWantTFC, SKY Pay-Per-View, Cignal pay-per-view and TFC IPTV, distributed by Cinexpress from Black Sheep.