She's Dating the Gangster

She's Dating the Gangster
Theatrical movie poster
Directed by	Cathy Garcia-Molina[1]
Produced by	Malou Santos Charo Santos-Concio
Written by	Carmi Raymundo Charlene Grace Bernardo Bianca Bernardino[1] (novel)
Based on	She's Dating the Gangster by Bianca Bernardino[2][3]
Starring	Daniel Padilla Kathryn Bernardo
Music by	Jojo Racal
Cinematography	Dan Villegas
Edited by	Jojo Racal
Production company	Star Cinema Summit Media
Distributed by	Star Cinema
Release dates	July 16, 2014 (2014-07-16)[4]
Running time	113 minutes
Country	Philippines
Language	Filipino
Box office	₱296 million

She's Dating the Gangster is a 2014 Filipino teen romantic comedy-drama film based on the best Pop Fiction book of the same name originally published on CandyMag.com's Teen Talk section^[5] and it was popularized on Wattpad^[6] by Bianca Bernardino (pen name: SGwannaB).^[2][3] The film is directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina, starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. It was distributed by Star Cinema with co-production of Summit Media and was released on July 16, 2014 in theatres nationwide as part of its 20th anniversary presentation.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Plot

Kenji Delos Reyes delivers a speech during the wedding reception of his college friends, Kirby and Grace. However, Kenneth, Kenji’s only son, makes out with a girl in a bathroom stall as the girl’s grandfather enters; chaos then ensues as the old man chases Kenneth to the reception hall. After the wedding reception, Kenji then confronts Kenneth; he tells him to be mature enough already and asks him what the problem is, to which the latter says that he doesn’t want to be with him but has no choice. Kenji asks Kenneth what caused him to feel this way, to which Kenneth replies that he knows his father is in love with a girl other than his mother, Athena. Disappointed, Kenji tells Kenneth that the latter has no idea how much he loves him and his mother. Kenneth walked out and goes on a drinking spree while Kenji goes on a trip to Bicol.

The morning after drinking, a hungover Kenneth finds out the plane that would take his father to Bicol has crashed. He rushes to the airport to see the list of survivors. He then meets Kelay who also wants to see the list but Kelay could not pass through so she makes a fake weeping, causing a scene. Members of the media approach her and ask what her father’s name is, to which she answers Kenji delos Reyes. Hearing this, Kenneth confronts her and says that he is the only offspring of Kenji. Kenneth then tells the media that he’s the legal son and he can show his birth certificate to prove this. Kelay, on the other hand, shows a picture of a young Kenji with another girl. The people notice that the young Kenji looks like Kenneth, while the girl in the picture looks like Kelay. This caused a ruckus, with members of the media asking if Kelay and Kenneth are siblings. Confirming that the girl on the picture is not his mother and Kelay is not his sister, only Kenneth is asked by the airline officer for his contact details. Kenneth wanted Kelay to tell him who the girl in the picture is, but Kelay bargains that she would only tell him if he agrees to notify her once the airline contacts Kenneth for information regarding Kenji. Because all flights to Legazpi are booked, Kenneth decided to travel by bus but all tickets have been sold. He oversleeps while waiting for a new slot so Kelay got the tickets for the two of them.

On the way to Legazpi, Kelay tells the tale of young Athena Dizon, her aunt, and Kenji, twenty years back when Kenji was broken hearted over Athena Abigail Tizon, Kenneth's mother. He mistakenly sent his messages of despair to Athena Dizon’s pager. Athena, not knowing from whom the messages are from, agrees to meet up with the sender. On a pool hall, Athena and her friend Sarah are keen on playing pool. Kenji arrives and demands that they transfer to another pool table. Moments later, she witnessed Kenji being bullied by a rival group of gangsters. They tease him that "Bee" would not show up. Hearing this, Athena realizes that the messages were sent by Kenji.

After the incident, Kenji found out that he sent the messages mistakenly to Athena Dizon. He confronts and kisses her forcefully, telling Athena that she will be his girlfriend since she is the reason Kenji got mugged. Athena has to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to get Abi jealous. At first, Athena refuses and Kenji bullies her. She eventually agreed when Kenji attempts to commit suicide by jumping from the school's rooftop if she did not become his girlfriend.

From then on, Athena was treated like a princess with Kenji providing her bodyguards. Girls in their school start bullying Athena for being Kenji's new girlfriend. Kenji confronts them and warns them that no one can hurt Athena without consequences. Athena and Kenji's pretend relationship eventually became real and the two confess their love for each other. He takes her to Legazpi to see the Mayon Volcano and promises that someday they will get married in that place with the volcano as their witness.

Back to the present, Kenneth receives a call from present day Lucas that the latter wanted to help look for Kenji. On their way, Lucas then continues the story of Athena and Kenji and why they did not end up with each other. When Athena and Kenji got back to Manila, Kenji started frequently absenting from class. Athena then gets notified by the young Lucas that she should come with him to the hospital. Worried, Athena hurries and finds Abi lying in the hospital bed. Abi had stage three gastric cancer and this was the reason why she broke up with Kenji. Wanting Abi to be have a sense of happiness and live longer, Athena breaks up with Kenji. He and Abi get married, giving birth to Kenneth.

The story then returns to the present time. Kelay receives a call from her family informing her that Athena is dying. Kelay and Kenneth part ways with Kenneth promising that Athena and Kenji would meet once he finds him. Kenneth finds the hospital where Kenji is confined and reads Kenji's letter for him. In the letter, Kenji tells him that he was on his way to Legazpi to finally part with his memories with Athena and apologizes for making Kenneth feel unloved. When Kenji wakes up, they embrace each other and reconcile. After Kenji recovers, Kenneth takes him to Athena’s house. Athena tells Kenji about her heart disease for the first time and tells him that his love kept her alive through the years. She says she is happy that their love for each other somehow made it possible for Kenji to have Kenneth in his life. Athena dies in Kenji's arms peacefully.

Shortly after, Kelay wakes up to a phone call. The speaker tells her that a flight has gone missing again and Kenneth was on that flight. Kelay goes to the airport to look for Kenneth. She makes a scene again, telling the media her 'boyfriend' is missing. Kenneth then revealed to Kelay that it was actually Kenji who called her. Kenneth asks Kelay if they can have a great love story like Kenji and Athena. The film cuts to black as Kenneth and Kelay are about to kiss.

Cast

Main cast

• Kathryn Bernardo as young Athena Dizon / Kelay Dizon
• Daniel Padilla as young Kenji Delos Reyes / Kenneth Delos Reyes

Supporting cast

• Khalil Ramos as young Lucas Lazaro
• Sofia Andres as Abigail Athena Tizon-Delos Reyes
• Igi Boy Flores as young Kirby Araneta
• Marco Gumabao as young Stephen
• Pamu Pamorada as Sara Jung
• Alexander Diaz as young Jigs Bala
• John Uy as young Mickey
• Ynna Asistio as young Grace Matic
• Matutina as Nana Buding
• Arnold Reyes as Gerry Dizon
• Niña Dolino as Athena's stepmother
• Justin Gonzales as Nathan Dizon
• Kobi Vidanes as Carl Dizon
• Julian Estrada as Jet

Special participation

• Richard Gomez^[11] as present Kenji Delos Reyes
• Dawn Zulueta^[11] as present Athena Dizon
• Ian Veneracion as present Lucas Lazaro
• Rio Locsin as Abigail's mother
• Yayo Aguila as present Grace Matic
• William Lorenzo as present Mickey
• Allan Paule as older Jigs Bala
• Niño Muhlach as present Kirby Araneta
• Ramon Christopher as present Stephen
• Elisse Joson as one of the mean girls

Cameo

• Pooh
• Karen Reyes
• JM De Guzman
• Joem Bascon
• Janus del Prado
• Elisse Joson
• Hyubs Azarcon
• Jojit Lorenzo
• Joross Gamboa
• Ketchup Eusebio
• Rayver Cruz

International screening

Due to the film's huge success, it was screened internationally in selected countries like United States, Canada, Australia, and United Arab Emirates.^[12] The film grossed $222,000 after 3 days of showing in North America^[13] and after 10 days, the cumulative total was $570,000.^[14] The total gross, from the 2-week US and 3-week Canada screenings as well as the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore screenings, is yet to be determined.

Reception

Critical response

She's Dating the Gangster received largely positive reviews both from critics and fans. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds 70% audience rating.^[15]

Philbert Ortiz-Dy of Click the City gave a positive review in the film, stating that She's Dating the Gangster is at its best when it allows kids to be kids. Its portrayal of young, intensely romantic love is really charming, especially placed as it is in this wacky conception of its period setting.^[16] He also stated that "The narrative just can't support this pathos. The film begins to apply fantasy logic to really serious topics. [...] This kind of magical thinking just doesn’t mesh well with the real medical terms that the film just trots out."^[16]

Box office

According to Star Cinema's advertising manager Mico del Rosario, the film gathered ₱15 million (US$340,000) on its first day of showing.^[17] This was in spite of a powerful typhoon, Glenda, that hit the country that day that caused power outages across the country and delayed the opening of mall cinemas.^[18] By August 7, 2014, the film grossed over ₱260 million.^[19] The final box office of the film is ₱296 million.^[20]

See also

• List of Philippine films based on Wattpad stories

References

External links

• Official website
• She's Dating the Gangster at the Internet Movie Database
• She's Dating the Gangster at Box Office Mojo
• She's Dating the Gangster at Rotten Tomatoes