tala @ so-phobic

My guilty pleasure back when I still had my own television (and the time for it) was Philippine soap operas. I was a regular viewer of the early days of Angelo and Yna, of the catfights of Amor and Claudia, before the show jumped the shark with false deaths and more musical chair action among the cast.

I was also a closet fan of Sharon Cuneta when I was a kid. For some reason that escapes me now, Tagalog films were banned from the house. Something about all that screaming and plate-throwing having a negative impact on a child’s psyche. Whatever. On weekends, when the tv police were away, I would bribe my yaya to sneak in one or two Sharon films along with my usual Betamax haul of Tom and Jerry. Yes, Betamax, not VHS. I’m that ancient. I didn’t think much of Sharon’s sweetie pie image. I got a kick out of watching her nemesis, Cherie Gil.

The most famous lines in Philippine cinema (IMHO, more famous than that Himala thing) were uttered, not by the heroine, but by one of the bitchiest villains of all: Cherie Gil’s Lavinia in Bituing Walang Ningning. Who hasn’t heard of the immortal and often abused “You’re nothing but a second rate, trying hard copycat!”?

So I was both excited and apprehensive at the thought of a remake of the film, and in soap opera format no less. I’ve been asking our house help for news about the series, with instructions that to call me the moment she knows when the Copycat episode will air. I have no plans of following the series because 1) I don’t have a tv and the time for it 2) I couldn’t care less for both Sarah Geronimo and Angelika dela Cruz 3) There’s always youtube.

I thought that ABS-CBN would keep this scene under lock and key. It would’ve been a brilliant ad campaign - to keep viewers glued in anticipation of the scene. The whole donkey-carrot routine. Imagine my dismay when I learned that the scene is included in several teasers for the show! Sayang! Gah! What is there to look forward to now?

Oh well, at least I’ve seen it. Here is the original:

And here is Angelika’s Lavinia:

I think Angelika has a future in the kontrabida area. Although nothing beats the original, I think Angelika didn’t disgrace herself. Good job. I wonder if Cherie Gil has seen this. Wonder what she thinks.

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