'Tayo sa Wakas': Too Many Wigs, Not Enough Romance

(SPOT.ph) Tayo sa Wakas stars Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano as Cisco and Cheska, who at the very start of the movie are shown having a very public breakup, with Cisco accusing Cheska of some sort of wrongdoing. The movie then moves to two years later, where Cisco, against the wishes of his family, goes on a roadtrip to…somewhere. Cheska joins him in the passenger seat, insisting that she come along so that they can have their “breakup trip,” a thing they promised to do back when they were a couple.

And on this trip, they reminisce on their relationship. This is a very messy setup for several reasons. First, it introduces the characters in a contentious situation. The very first thing we see is them in what seems like a pretty serious fight, with all sorts of toxic things being said. It feels like the movie is taking for granted that people want to see this love team together, and thinks that it doesn’t need to establish what makes this particular relationship worth fighting for. The movie in general is too much about why these two being together isn’t really a good idea, and it’s a little hard to care about Cisco’s overt regret when so much of what happens makes it clear the two aren’t good for each other.

Second, it’s very clear that the movie is setting up for some sort of plot twist, and it hangs over much of what happens. Those opening scenes are so purposefully vague about what the characters went through and are feeling that it becomes hard to focus on what’s supposed to be going on. It becomes so much about what hasn’t been revealed, what secret the movie is keeping from the audience. And the secret is pretty underwhelming, as it is an element that keeps one of the characters from having agency, making this a romance that is so much about the feelings of just one person, instead of how both want to navigate their lives after all the hurt they’ve caused each other.

Putting aside the film’s clunky structure, a lot of the actual scenes are just really lifeless. Cisco and Cheska work in the ad industry, and a lot of the movie gets bogged down in brainstorming sessions and pitch meetings and so much talk of the characters being good or bad at their jobs. The industry becomes a weird focus for the film, which only highlights how out of sync it is with reality. The characters are account managers, but also end up directing the commercials themselves? There is a moment in the film set during a production that is portrayed as a triumph for Cheska as a director, when what she did could be seen as manipulative and exploitative.

The roles also feel like an awkward fit for the film’s young stars, who will be put in various wigs to provide a visual cue that their characters have moved into a different phase. Mariano acquits herself a bit better than Pangilinan. To be fair, Pangilinan is burdened with more of this film’s unwieldy, at times immature drama, and ends up having to do more. But Mariano is able to show a little more nuance in the big dramatic moments, at times displaying a stillness that feels more effective than the overly emotional flailing that younger actors can be guilty of flaunting.

Tayo sa Wakas is really undone by its excesses. Too much of it is dedicated to showing us why the relationship was toxic and needed to end. Too much of it is caught up in depicting an industry that the movie doesn’t really seem to understand. And there are too many bad wigs. As appealing as these two young stars might be, the movie drowns it all out with everything that it does. It seems to forget that maybe romance should be the focus of a romantic film. Maybe it just needed to make the case for these two characters ending up together.

Rating: 2 stars.