Directed by Gino M. Santos
Sometimes I wonder what it’s like not to have to bring one’s critical faculty to the movies. Would I find Ex with Benefits less offensive then? I do not want to denigrate others’ idea of what they should get for their hard-earned ₱200. Besides, the film is on its second week and still pulling in crowds. I certainly hate being a spoilsport, so let me explain.
Derek Ramsay plays Adam, a sports doctor still nursing a flame for the ex that left him years ago (shades of his Julian in 2014’s English Only, Please). He also writes a blog that enjoys a sizable and loyal following, so medical representatives throw themselves at his feet to get his endorsement. Can you read between the lines? And yet he invokes principles when he refuses to confer his imprimatur on the new drug being marketed by the beautiful but sulky Scarlet (Meg Imperial). That’s after he beds her (there — I said it). Where were his principles then? Need I add that he dumps her afterward?
Comes now Arkisha (Coleen Garcia), aforementioned ex, recently named Med Rep of the Year — and you don’t have to ask how she made it to the top (it’s neatly spelled out). What bears wondering is how Adam had been unaware all this time that they inhabit the same ecosystem (don’t doctors “talk” among themselves?), or how come Scarlet has no idea who the latest paragon of her profession is (“She must be fat”). In any case, if you’re a med rep, you must be bristling at the scathing portrait this movie paints of your world.
Even if you aren’t, there’s still plenty to take offense at, depending on how distractible you are. I won’t spoil what little there is of the plot, except to note the audible ripple of excitement throughout the theater each time the leads tumble into bed (and once when the camera tilts down to show the brand on Adam’s car). I’m not saying that there’s no pleasure to be had contemplating Mr. Ramsay’s pan de leche abs (or for the machos out there, Ms. Garcia’s ample bosom), but I must confess I don’t see whatever it was that made the Cinema Evaluation Board give the movie an “A” rating.
Early on, Adam takes pains to explain how falling in love is just a series of chemical reactions. The problem with this movie is that it takes the same bloodless approach to the narrative. It does not allow for transcendence, or at least say anything new or illuminating about the characters or their situation. It’s tiring and ultimately irritating, a patchwork of telenovela-grade clichés and convenient resolutions that feels like so much padding for the admittedly tasteful sex scenes, which somehow makes it worse. If this be love, it sucks. I exit the theater feeling sullied by its crass cynicism.
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