An Inconvenient Love
An Inconvenient Love is a 2022 Philippine romantic comedy film starring Belle Mariano and Donny Pangilinan, directed by Petersen Vargas and produced by Star Cinema. The film was released on November 23, 2022, in 175 cinemas in the Philippines.
Plot
Manny, a company heir working undercover as a trade union activist, pretends to be in a relationship with Ayef, a passerby, to hide from police hunting for participants during a rally against his father Wilfredo's company. Caught in a rainstorm, Manny lends his umbrella to Ayef, who is heading to the 24-Ever convenience store, before parting ways. Ayef is then shown to be working part-time at 24-Ever to support her ambition to become a professional animator in Singapore, while Manny seeks to prove himself to Wilfredo, who disapproves of Manny's plant boutique shop business. Manny and Ayef track each other down on social media and discover that their workplaces are located near each other. Manny becomes a frequent customer at 24-Ever and slowly gains Ayef's heart, while Ayef learns more about Manny's family from him and becomes friends with his autistic half-brother Dobs.After Ayef discovers that her domineering mother Terry has been deliberately sabotaging her internship application in Singapore to force her to stay in the Philippines, she goes for a ride with Manny to 24-Ever. After both release their frustrations about their respective families and their happiness with each other, Ayef and Manny agree to be in a romantic albeit conditional relationship for 100 days, subject to whether it is convenient for them to continue. Over the succeeding weeks, Ayef and Manny enjoy being a couple, despite Manny being found out by his father as a labor activist, while Ayef passes her internship interview for Singapore. Falling drunk at a date, both express that they have fallen in love with each other.
Manny invites Ayef to his house for a birthday dinner with his family. However, Wilfredo is incensed when Ayef inadvertently reveals that she met Manny at the rally, while things escalate when Manny's estranged mother Meryl arrives and chastises Wilfredo for his infidelity with Dobs' mother Agnes, who is also Manny's stepmother. As Manny's parents storm off, Wilfredo angrily demands that he close down his plant business and leave Ayef. Outside, Ayef asks for a break-up with Manny, citing his failure to stand up for her over the dinner, but Manny chastises her for loving him only in a less stressful time. Arriving at her home, Ayef encounters her father Filemon standing up to Terry and comforts him. The next day, Terry apologizes to Ayef for sabotaging her dreams and gives her blessing to pursue the internship in Singapore. Manny sees Wilfredo abusing Dobs and decides to stand up to his father before moving out, accompanied by Agnes and Dobs.
On the end date of their supposed relationship, Dobs reminds Manny of Ayef's promise to join him in a drawing session, prompting Manny to seek Ayef one last time. Arriving at her residence, Manny is told by a surprised Terry that she is on her way to the airport for her flight to Singapore. Terry contacts Ayef and tells her of Manny's request. Ayef then runs off to meet Manny at a rally, during which the couple make their romance permanent as Manny wishes good luck to Ayef in her journey.
Cast and characters
Main
- Belle Mariano as Ayef—a graduating student and aspiring international animator who works part-time at a convenience store named 24-Ever.
- Donny Pangilinan as Manny—22-year-old owner of HalaManny, a boutique plant shop near 24-Ever.
Supporting
- JC Alcantara as Dobs—Manny's brother, who has autism spectrum disorder.
- Epy Quizon as Filemon—Ayef's dad
- Matet de Leon as Terry—Ayef's mom
- Adrian Lindayag as Jobert—Ayef's friend and co-worker.
- Iana Bernardez as Kookie—Ayef's friend and co-worker.
- Sheenly Gener as Fetussa—Ayef's friend and co-worker.
- Chino Liu as Ben 1—Manny's plant shop helper.
- Brian Sy as Ben 2—Manny's plant shop helper.
- Teresa Loyzaga as Meryl—Manny's mother
- Lara Quigaman as Agnes—Manny's stepmom
- Maxene Magalona as Viviana—Manny's sister
- Tirso Cruz III as Wilfredo Siena—Manny's dad and the owner of the Siena Corp.
- Nicco Manalo as a policeman
- Dwein Baltazar as Ayef's professor
- Nor Domingo as a labor activist
- Jomari Angeles as a labor activist
- Clara del Rosario as interviewer
- Aldo Ramzjoo as corman
Production
Development
An Inconvenient Love marked the return of Star Cinema in the big screen and was the 30th Anniversary offering of the film outfit. The film was first announced in the finale of the He's Into Her All Access Grand Concert on August 27, 2022, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. On September 14, Star Cinema revealed in their social media accounts about the filming status of the movie saying "Keep your eyes peeled for the full cast reveal coming your way very soon". On September 29, the full cast of the movie was officially announced.According to Cayanan in an interview with the Philippine Star, "An Inconvenient Love" was written taking reference with DonBelle and what Gen Z's way of expressing love at the present time; with the realization, especially after the pandemic, that life runs fast and people were too busy with their lives. On a separate interview, Donny shared with Metro Style about playing the character of "Manny", as the most challenging role so far in his entire acting career; while commending the superb characterization of Belle as "Ayef".
On a 32-minute Star Cinema special documentary—Donny and Belle:Their Moment—released on November 30, 2022, Donny expressed his hopes about the viewers' take-away on their film, saying they hope "we're able to move people...and importantly, people are going to fall in love again with Filipino-made movies".
Director
The film was the debut project of Petersen Vargas on Star Cinema. The project was handed to him as a full story line with Donny and Belle as its leads.Music
On November 15, 2022 Star Cinema has revealed the official soundtrack of the film and was officially released on November 25, 2022. In an Instagram post by Zack Tabudlo, it was revealed that the music video of "Pinadama" will feature the lead stars of the movie, Donny and Belle, and was released on December 4, 2022.Marketing
On October 21, 2022, the official teaser trailer was released, with over one million views within the first five hours of its release, and the official poster three days after. As a result, the film became a trending topic on Twitter in the Philippines. On October 28, the full trailer of the movie was revealed at the Grand Media Launch event. On November 12, the second trailer was released, featuring a confrontational scene from the lead characters. As part of the movie promotion, the lead casts Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano embarked on a provincial tours in the Philippines and overseas, named 24Ever Tour, which also includes their guest appearance on the US news outlet NBC Palm Springs and in the ABS-CBN variety show It's Showtime.Release
Theatrical Run
An Inconvenient Love premiered on November 22, 2022 at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, ahead on its scheduled regular screenings on November 23.| Release date | Country | Format | |
| November 22, 2022 | Premiere Night | Movie Theater | |
| November 23, 2022 | Philippines, Guam, Australia, New Zealand | Movie Theater | |
| November 24, 2022 | Brunei, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE | Movie Theater | |
| November 25, 2022 | USA, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Nigeria | Movie Theater | |
| November 26, 2022 | United Kingdom | Movie Theater | |
| November 27, 2022 | Austria, Spain | Movie Theater | |
| December 3, 2022 | Hong Kong | Movie Theater | |
| December 30, 2022 | Cambodia | Movie Theater |