‘Labs Kita... Okey Ka Lang?’ REVIEW: The quintessential best friends-turned-lovers movie
‘Labs Kita... Okey Ka Lang?’ REVIEW: The quintessential best friends-turned-lovers movie
Marvin Agustin as Ned kisses Jolina Magdangal as Bujoy in the forehead with the beautiful Baguio scenery in the background.
Best friends-turned-lovers movies aren’t new to Filipinos. With iconic quotes like, "Pero, Bogs, shinota mo 'ko e. Shinota mo ang best friend mo!" and "May babaeng bine-bestfriend, at may babaeng gini-girlfriend,” the country’s pop culture has established this trope to be recurring in Philippine cinema. But have you heard of, "Yes, kaibigan mo 'ko...kaibigan mo lang ako. And I'm so stupid to make the biggest mistake of falling in love with my best friend!" This is a line from Labs Kita... Okey Ka Lang?, which would be referred to as Labs Kita hereafter, a 1998 film directed by Jerry Lopez Sineneng based on a screenplay by Ricardo Lee.
Bujoy sculpting her frustration away after Ned disappointed her.
Labs Kita is a romantic-comedy film which takes place in Baguio. The setting is famous for being the summer capital of the Philippines due to its cold temperature which is in contrast to how warm our protagonists’ friendship is. Bujoy and Ned, played by Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin respectively, are best friends and have been since they were little. They went to the same highschool and are both studying in UP Baguio. They are literal neighbors and know everything there is to know about the other, save for one thing: they actually like each other.
It is obvious from the start that Bujoy and Ned’s friendship is not straight out of the dictionary. One might say, “Do friends even do stuff like that?” as the two constantly tease each other in a flirting manner. It is a story that has been told time and time again that the young audience can definitely relate to. Their friends also tease them about how close they are, even likening them to Jack and Rose from Titanic. Well, we all know how that ends, and Labs Kita, although no huge accident really happens, starts off tragically too.
Bujoy’s seemingly one-sided infatuation is explicitly revealed when she has a talk with Mayo (Meryll Soriano), her fashionable and quirky acquaintance. Mayo gives a remark that will echo the rest of the movie, “It’s only Ned who doesn’t notice!” It’s a statement that’s so accurate it’s infuriating as it’s clear to everyone including the audience that Bujoy has fallen head over heels for her childhood friend. There’s a particular scene in the movie where the two discuss their assigned reading’s title, “My One and Only Great Love.” Bujoy asks Ned if he has one, and he responds with, “Yes, music.”
Ned is a pianist in his band, “Landslide sa Kennon.” He is an aspiring songwriter too and has been having a hard time finishing his arrangement for his original composition. His bandmates continue to tease Bujoy and Ned, and the two never get tired of denying the frightful truth. Ned says it’s impossible for him to pursue Bujoy as she’s a friend. It’s an unspoken rule but something that is observed by most people. If you’re searching for a partner, friends are no place to start. But how about your friend’s friend? A love quadrangle is formed as Ned courts Mary Ann, the “perfect 10 goddess” that used to live in the United States and is a friend of Bujoy. Cenon, Ned’s bandmate, also expresses his interest in Bujoy.
The love quadrangle. Gio Alvarez’s Cenon has a crush on Bujoy and Vanessa Del Bianco’s Mary Ann is who Ned courts in the movie.
It’s enough to say that the movie does a great job at making the viewers feel giddy with the story, but the problem is it’s a little too on the nose with the “best friend” situation. Every time the word gets mentioned, it’s tempting to mute the movie. Maybe it could have been better if they were subtle about their actual feelings for each other while having the infamous label instead of being obvious to a fault that one could say that they are “OA” or overacting. Doing so would lose the “kilig” factor that Sineneng and Lee were going for as it was more appealing to the audience. It’s understandable that some even found the movie cringeworthy, hell, there are just some scenes that could make you think that you’re so bitter. But it’s also important to remember that the film was set in a different time and a different Philippines, and that what passes as a successful romcom today is generations and cultures away from movies of the same genre pre-2000s.
The film’s genius approach to a ‘coming-of-age’ is also worth discussing. On the surface, Ned seems like someone whose personality is all about fooling around and being childish. The truth is, he’s only like that when it comes to Bujoy. Bujoy and Ned were childhood friends and it’s the foundation and glue that sticks them together. When we were children, we liked to play make-believe. Now saving their friendship meant behaving like children, hence, they had to pretend that they were not developing feelings for each other.
Bujoy emphasizes this point when Ned first shows interest in Mary Ann. Ned used to sleep over at Bujoy’s room, but it was the first time she denied him as she says that, “You’re already a grown-up. You may leave now.” Around the 43-minute mark, Ned gives a heartfelt speech for Bujoy. It is in that moment where he realizes his love for his best friend as he says to her, “I don’t mind losing everyone as long as I don’t lose you.” They almost kiss until the magic wears off of Ned. He dismisses everything he said as a joke, and they’re back to being children again. That part of the movie is gold.
Bujoy and Ned have a fight in the car.
The casting was perfect. Gina Pareño, Hilda Koronel, and Ronaldo Valdez all gave amazing performances that were expected of them being the veteran artists that they are. Their roles not only added the inevitable family drama in Filipino movies, they also helped in delivering an important lesson to be learned from the movie. People have different love languages and things can get lost in translation if we don’t acknowledge this fact. Cora’s love language was acts of service which was why she kept demanding her husband to do some work for their family. Kanor’s was quality time as he decided to not pursue his dreams of becoming a musician in order to be with Cora. Lastly, Marissa’s love language was giving gifts as when Bujoy’s father died, she did not know how to console her so she made it up to her through providing her material needs.
Throughout the movie, a Filipino cinephile is bound to spot some resemblance between this and Mike de Leon’s 1977 film, “Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising.” Both were set in UP Baguio starring Hilda Koronel featuring a struggling musically-inclined college student. Well, we’re not gonna talk about that here, but if you’re interested, here’s a great feature about that movie. Now that that’s out of the bag, Labs Kita could definitely stand on its own finesse, a filmic force to be reckoned with.
Nostalgia isn’t the only factor that makes this work. With surefire hits like, “Kapag Ako Ay Nagmahal,” “Dahil Mahal Na Mahal Kita,” and “Nanghihinayang,” the movie’s two-time platimum certified soundtrack is an integral part of what makes it special. But the edge of Sineneng’s take on the genre is its unrivaled chemistry of then teenage royalties Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal, dubbed as ‘MarJo.’ Jolina’s strong and independent role as Bujoy complements Marvin’s rowdy and foolish Ned in a way that is sure to make the audience swoon no matter how cheesy they get. In the end, Labs Kita is an essential viewing of Filipino cinema that serves as a blueprint for movies like Paano Na Kaya, She’s The One, Must Be...Love, and I’m Drunk, I Love You.
Labs Kita... Okey Ka Lang? is now available on iWant and KTX for 99 PHP.
