AlDub uplifts ‘Imagine You and Me’

Having watched both Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards in television noontime show Eat Bulaga!’s comic segment Kalyeserye, where their successful loveteam started, I think it was only natural that their first full-length feature together as lead actors would be a romantic comedy. The two are indeed among the few loveteams in the Philippine entertainment industry that can pull off such roles almost naturally.

In Imagine You and Me, which was largely shot in Como, Italy, 24-year-old Richards plays Andrew, a heartbroken medical student living with his stepmother, while 21-year-old Mendoza is Gara, a hopeless romantic who works various odd jobs to support her family in the Philippines.

Gara has never had a boyfriend and believes her love life is jinxed and thus focuses on her work. Andrew is rude, insensitive and grumpy as he nurses a broken heart. Their love story starts when they meet at Lake Como.

Mendoza is refreshingly natural in a comedic role. It’s easy to admire her whenever she throws funny or comedic lines. Having said that, she could use some more polish in handling dramatic scenes,; nonetheless, I think she could be on the way to becoming one of the better actors today.

Richards was being himself, the boy-nextdoor with charming good looks and dimples.

An entertaining, feel-good movie, Imagine You and Me also has its fair share of hugot lines (quotable quotes), which makes it even more appealing to a lot of Filipino viewers. The palpable chemistry of AlDub sustained the intensity of the movie throughout.