@Bulletin_Ent Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online
The sold-out show yesterday at the Philippine Arena, touted the world’s largest indoor arena, should clue you in on why people insist on referring to the accidental love team of Pambansang Bae Alden Richards and Dubsmash Queen Maine Mendoza as “phenomenal.”
With a throng of followers enamored by their love story – and not a few bashers, too – the twosome turned the noontime show game on its head, in favor once again of the longest-running program of that sort on Philippine TV. The unprecedented show of its kind at the arena, dubbed “Tamang Panahon,” became a pilgrimage of sorts for fans (the venue is located in Bulacan) but, more than that, 100 percent of the event’s proceeds will go to building AlDub libraries all over the country.
What is it about the two that brings the “kilig factors” to almost unbelievable levels? For one, everyone can see Alden and Maine are adorable. Even their “onscreen chemistry” did not escape a writer from the American news site Morning News USA, who
The self-explanatory, very-Pinoy tag “no boyfriend since birth” has become both a sort of stigma and, just recently, perhaps a badge of honor to some single people, bandied about in the name of humor and defiance. As premise for a rom-com movie, it does have a lot of possibilities for comedy and drama.
However, the line that separates truth from fiction has been blurred a little when the phrase lends itself as title of a film that stars the not-quite-couple-but-nearly-there Tom Rodriguez and Carla Abellana; and happily not-so-single actors Bangs Garcia, and Mike Tan.
Consider this bit of irony: “No Boyfriend Since Birth” (“NBSB”) stars Tom and Carla, who have already admitted to dating each other. More so, both have also been with other people before – he with singer-actress Kaye Rivera; she with actor Geoff Eigenmann for some four years.
Supporting cast members Mike and Bangs have already been in relationships before with their respective non-showbiz partners, too.
So they’re not exactly the people with whom the film speaks, but there are countless individual who can easily relate. After all, finding love – and keeping it – has always been a human preoccupation. And stories of love will always rate highly among those seeking for meaningful connections.
“NBSB” stars Carla as Karina, a young woman who has never had any romantic relationship with a guy. She gets infatuated with her high school crush Carlo (Tom), and dreams of spending “forever” with him.
Carla and Tom were previously on GMA’s “My Husband’s Lover” (2013) and in “My Destiny” (2014), and the 2014 rom-com flick “So It’s You.” compared it to that of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s undeniable rapport and so-cute-together pairing in “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”
Local viewers keep ratings number high, but the interest in the two and their seemingly-unscripted “Kalyeserye” world has also been slowly creeping into other corners of the world.
The online international news publication Australia Network (australianetworknews.com) has not been immune to the AlDub fever, it seems. The site carried several articles on the tandem, one a quiz-type write up that would help one determine if they were “the biggest AlDub fan” (criteria include “You do not miss any ‘Kalyeserye’ episode of ‘Eat Bulaga.’ You always have early lunch, or probably skip lunch to make sure you won’t miss the segment,” and “You have taken ‘Pabebe Wave’ selfie” – you get the picture); the other gathered videos of product endorsements spread out between the two – from a telco service and a smartphone brand to a popular fast food joint and powdered milk, the list just keeps growing.
“Namimiss ko si Tom na makatrabaho at makasama sa set... Lalo na ’yung ’pag nakikita ko siya ’pag madaling araw hanggang umaga, na kami pa rin ’yung magka-eksena, ’yung mga ganu’n,” Carla said.
Curiously, if a tad sweetly, Carla feels a tinge of “envy” now that Tom has been paired off with Megan Young on “Marimar.” “Bilang s’yempre mas madalas silang magkasama dahil magkatrabaho sila ngayon, mas marami silang eksena, kaya naiiisip ko: ‘Buti pa si Megan, mas nakakasama niya si Tom,’” she related.
Tom, on the other hand, said he wouldn’t take too well seeing Carla paired with another guy, to the point he would wish, “Ako ’yung katrabaho niya, ’yung nangungulit sa kanya ’pag nagme-makeup siya, ’yung ’pag lampas alas dose (ng madaling araw) na, magbabatuhan na ng corny jokes…”
He added, “Kaya kung sino man ang makakatrabaho niya, sana alagaan siya kasi sa totoo lang naiinggit ako sa magiging posisyon niya.”
After shooting the scenes in “NBSB,” Carla realized there’s still “kilig” factor between her and Tom. “Working with him, ’pag nakaka-eksena ko siya, seeing him every time sa set, meron pa din. Kaya nga sabi ko, dapat alagaan namin nang mabuti
And because lists are popular among Internet fanatics, the site also carried bits of information about AlDub, titled: “16 Funny Facts About Maine ‘Yaya Dub’ Mendoza” and “16 Shocking Facts About Alden Richards.”
Helping the uninitiated get to know the pair better, Yaya Dub’s write-up included facts like her penchant for food and wearing disguises, wanting to be a chef and aspiring to break into showbiz (boy, did she ever!), among others.
Alden’s write-up, meanwhile, listed things about his career, his late mother’s dream of being an actor fulfilled, and him being a fan of Yaya Dub’s for her talent in Dubsmash-ing.
The site has also been uploading several recent short clips of certain “Kalyeserye” episodes in a piece by Ronica Valdeavilla to catch their readers up with what’s been going on with AlDub and the rest of the Dabarkads.
Australia Network News (ANN) is a website that provides news and updates “happening in Australia” including entertainment, health, crime, technology, etc. Perhaps due to the successive top trending hashtags pertaining to AlDub, the site has taken exception ’yung chemistry (na meron kami), at ’yung working relationship namin kasi sayang, eh,” said Carla.
Despite their obvious affection for each other, fostered since their “My Husband’s Lover” days, Carla and Tom still opt to not put any labels on their “special” relationship.
Carla insisted, “Super gusto namin alagaan talaga (ang meron kami) at bantayan nang maigi para hindi mapangunahan, ma-preempt.”
In past interviews, Tom said Carla is “very special in (his) life,” and with that, he’s just “happy” with whatever he has with the actress. He also said he “wants to cherish and protect it (relationship)” by not rushing things between them.
“Whatever we have, we understand each other very, very well. Like, nothing has to be planned and nothing has to be intentionally done… It’s contextual – every decision we make will be based on whatever happens,” said Tom. As for Mike and Bangs, both said they’re now ready to settle down with their respective partners.
Mike has a girlfriend of 10 years, while Bangs has been in a relationship with Lloyd Birchmon for almost a year.
“Lagi naming napapagplanuhan ’yun, ang tanong lang eh kung kailan siya i-eexecute. We’re both ready na, so… in God’s time,” said Mike.
Bangs, who is in a long distance relationship with London-based Lloyd, admitted she once thought relationships between two people who are far apart would not work. She now believes otherwise. “When you’ve found the one, you’ll fight for it,” she said.
Bangs first met Lloyd in Boracay. She will visit him in London for the second time next month.
“No Boyfriend Since Birth” is a Regal Entertainment film derived from the Wattpad story of the same title by Noreen Capili. It opens in cinemas nationwide on Nov. 11. (With report from Jojo P. Panaligan and Christine Allaine B. Dumaplin) to feature the two. If you see a global record-breaking 25.6 million tweets on Sept. 26 carrying #AlDubEBForLove, which beat the number of tweets on Super Bowl XLIX (25.1 million) and the Video Music Awards hosted by Miley Cyrus (21.4 million), wouldn’t you?
Maine’s talent at doing Dubsmash did not just land her a spot on “Eat Bulaga” and jumpstart her showbiz career in astounding fashion; it also caught the attention of people like American Broadway producer Shea Arender, who has thought of getting her for a musical, and Lifehouse bass player Bryce Soderberg, who tweeted her an invitation to watch their recent Manila concert (Maine showed up in disguise, apparently a cosplay attempt on Marimar’s maid, Corazon).
As a tandem, AlDub has pretty much re-introduced Filipino audiences to the songs “God Gave Me You,” which led its American singer Bryan White to tweet about this strange career surge for him, all the way across the globe, and later announce a Dec. 1 concert in Manila. Would AlDub be the special guest? That would move ticket sales so fast, wouldn’t it?
Another American singer, Dawin, recently thanked AlDub fans for making his song “Dessert” a hit. He even tweeted Wally Bayola (who plays Lola Nidora in the “Kalyeserye”) a challenge to a dance-off.
As local recognitions go, AlDub was awarded the Most Popular Breakout Love Team of the Year given by EdukCircle Awards last month; while Maine (and Wally) received the Catholic Social Media award from Youth Pinoy and Areopagus Communications Inc. earlier this month.
So, just thinking out loud here: Striking not just while the iron is hot but while the fever is in full swing, expect to see and hear more of AlDub in the coming weeks, leading, of course, to the release of “My Bebe Love” for the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) come Christmas. (With report from Christine Allaine B. Dumaplin)