Did art imitate life for the pairing of Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto in Un/Happy For You?
The real and reel nostalgia runs deep in Un/Happy For You. How could it not, when this time, it’s two exes meeting again to tell the story of characters with the same premise of their reality? Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto, after more than four years, crossed paths once more on screen. In a reunion within a reunion plot, the tackling of characters became delicate. At some point, the film made us ask ourselves—are we believing in Juancho and Zy not because of their story, but because of JoshLia’s?
RELATED: Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto’s Reunion Movie Will Be More Daring and Intense
It’s A JoshLia Film
Although casting Joshua and Julia already gave their audience something to bank on because of our familiarity with their chemistry—having worked together since 2016 and even dating for two years—it felt like the film was asking us to root for them because of their real-life history, and not their characters. The maturity of the actors was palpable, and their portrayal could only do so much for a story that can stand alone from the JoshLia-coded references—the call sign “Ba,” the theme song “Paubaya,” the motorcycle scenes, and even Zy’s wavy bob that JoshLia fans could attribute to a throwback to Kath, Barretto’s character in Vince and Kath and James. We want to root for Zy and Juancho for their own storyline, and not because they were portrayed by two actors brimming with chemistry on screen.
A Homage to the Breakup Classic Film
Un/Happy For You was more about Juancho and his idealism as a culinary hopeful. He was also reminiscent of Piolo Pascual’s Marco in the 2013 film Starting Over Again—on the verge of losing everything for his single goal. Another common trope between the two films is the woman who pursues her big dreams in greener pastures, willing to leave everything and everyone behind that would stand in her way of finally choosing herself.
This was what we saw Zy, Julia’s character, do. However, because the film was more focused on the perspective of Juancho, we only saw a glimpse of Zy’s writer in New York dreams. If only the film established her drive to follow her dream as deeply as Juancho’s, it would’ve been easier to root for her, or at least understand her need to leave everything behind. While women’s dreams need no justification, it would have been more effective if the audience saw more of Zy’s grit the way Juancho was able to elaborate his.
The Breakup Film
There is only so much that breakup narratives could portray for their audience until we point this or that similar to a related or previous work. One of the best decisions that Petersen Vargas made for his latest project was depicting the individuality of Juancho and Zy through colors—in their flashbacks, the cool and warm light treatment manifested the conflict of the two characters. They also did this in the final dramatic sequence of Juancho and Zy—the former wore a red shirt, while Zy was in a blue button down.
If there was anything that Vargas nailed in directing the film, it’s the depiction of different confrontational scenes without one overpowering the other. Whether it was their full blown argument or Juancho and Zy’s slow but sure acceptance of reality, these scenes were equally powerful and gut-punching through the dialogues and expressions of the characters.
The audience would come full circle with the film’s title at the end of the movie, but sometimes, saying “I’m happy for you” need not be said, but done. Are Juancho and Zy happy for each other? Yes. But more than the retrospection of their relationship, it’s the introspection of their own life choices that would fully determine whether or not they’re happy with their individual paths. Un/Happy For You proved that more than this same expression dedicated to your past lover, it’s something that you could say to yourself.
Photos: STAR CINEMA
Special thanks to KEIA AMIELLE INCIONG STAR CINEMA and JUSTIN IRONS of ABS-CBN