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REVIEW: ‘The Girl in the Orange Dress’ takes you on a fun ride of romance and friendship

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Rhea Manila Santos

Those looking for a light romantic comedy without the slapstick in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival are on the right track with The Girl in the Orange Dress. Lead actor Jericho Rosales shows he’s still got what it takes to pull off the role of Rye Del Rosario, the country’s hottest celebrity, who starts off being introduced in the film as a laidback bachelor who enjoys his time on and off camera. Jessy Mendiola, on the other hand, is a beautiful girl who is loyal to her girlfriends and is jaded when it comes to popular guys.Their paths cross one drunken night which ends up with them waking up together in a hotel that is swarming with press people all eager to get the scoop of who is Rye’s mystery girl. Echo as Rye is smooth and unfazed by the media frenzy while Jessy’s character Anna panics at the thought of being publicly shamed.The movie goes back and forth between the present when Rye and Anne devise ways to try and outsmart the press back to snippets from what really happened at the party the night before. This slow reveal of the full story makes The Girl in the Orange Dress worth watching until the very end. Adding flavor to the story are lots of unexpected cameos from big stars including Jessy’s real-life beau Luis Manzano.Although it sometimes feels uncomfortable to see local media being portrayed as shallow, ruthless, insensitive, and even rude throughout the story, the movie tries to balance out the stereotype with some comic relief. But the main event of the story is definitely the movie’s two lead stars. Echo and Jessy shine in their own right, but director Jay Abello also manages to bring out believable chemistry between the two, which is really what one hopes and expects to see in a truly good modern rom-com.

Star Cinema’s romantic comedy entry in the MMFF also shows the challenging side of being a popular celebrity.