That Thing Called Tadhana; Relaks, It’s Just Pag-ibig, and Love You to the Stars and Back are just some of Antoinette Jadaone’s films that try to make us believe in the beauty and joy of love, and the possibility of it to blossom over a day or two, between two strangers defined by their respective back stories and motivations. Fan Girl starts with the same ploy. It could still follow the same light-hearted formula, but this time, Jadaone chooses to take risks and drives the film to a dark turn.
Fan girl Jane (Charlie Dizon) manages to sneak into her idol’s (Paulo Avelino as himself) pickup truck after the latter’s mall tour. Because a fan’s every moment personally shared with an idol (including as mundane as seeing his manhood while peeing) is considered an edge over other fans, and earns for herself some bragging rights, Jane ignores the warning signs and falls deeply into a dark pit. As the idolized celebrity is gradually unmasked, layers of his dashing leading man and knight in shining armor traits peeled off one by one, revealing somewhat an unpleasant, hideous sight, Jane still revels in her bright world of fantasy, blinded by her fanatical trance.
Dizon delivers as the fan girl, with full understanding of the character’s fanatical enthusiasm, irrational behavior, and rebellious motivation, underpinned by a dysfunctional family. Fortunately, the irresponsible child in her eventually grows and makes a bold decision that mature people would make. Her shifts in moods are seamless, her realization, in the right place. Avelino, on the other hand, seems to enjoy the character’s ugly side, yet still giving a nuanced portrayal of a damaged man trying to keep his secret affairs from the public while battling his own demons. He should also be commended for showing his heavy physical side.
Cinematography plays a key role here illuminating the fandom with bright sunny colors which slowly fade into darker tones as the film starts to focus on the titular fan. The insertion of brightly colored movie-like sequences playing in the fan’s head in between grimy dirty scenes reinforces the fanatic’s irrational abandonment of reality.
It may be said that the film has a political message, given the shot of the president’s picture at a seemingly calculated moment toward the movie’s end. In sum, the film cautions its audience to be wary of their idols who may turn out to be their ugliest truth and their greatest disappointment. As the movie’s tagline goes, never meet your heroes.
(Note: The poster art copyright is believed to belong to Black Sheep Productions / Globe Studios / Project 8 Corner San Joaquin Projects /Epic Media/ Crossword Productions).
The Hungry Film Lover 