The super-popular Koreanovela "Program for Love" is being remade into Tagalog. Ollie (Julian Trono) tries to audition for the main role. In the process he meets Aimee (Ella Cruz) who dubbed the voice of the main character of the original Program for Love. It turns out that Aimee has had a crush on Ollie for a while now. Sparks fly, people fall in love, etc etc etc.
Fangirl Fanboy is as run of the mill as teen romantic films go. If there were a checklist of things that romantic comedies usually do, this film would probably score pretty well. There's the requisite love team, the romantic rival, a medical condition (that surprisingly doesn't really amount to anything), an exotic location, and some dramatic fluff near the end to complicate things.
The film is at least watchable. The two leads are ok and the film is very light. There's no doubt fans of this duo will probably be in for an okay time. The first part of the film tackles a few interesting things about dreams vs. reality and the nature of true love.
That said, the film is pretty unremarkable. The script is rather erratic, often unable to explain certain plot points. For example, I assumed that Ollie was a washed up actor, but that isn't well explored. Nowhere in the film was it stated that Aimee's parents had any problem with her dubbing, but that is suddenly brought up in the last third of the film as if it were a big deal. It also turns out that her dubbing was a part time thing, while I had assumed it was her main gig. Ollie's obsession with the original maid from Program for Love is hinted at, but it doesn't really pan out. Many subplots are thrown away by the conclusion of the film: Ollie's problem with his family, his career prospects and so on.
I find it hard to recommend this film if you are not a fan of the two actors involved. While it's watchable, it pales in comparison to other contemporary rom coms that try to play with genre tropes. Ultimately, Fangirl Fanboy disappears into the crowd.
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