Sisters Toni and Alex Gonzaga are making their longtime dream a reality with Mary, Marry, Me, a Metro Manila Film Festival entry presented by TEN17P and produced by TINCAN.
Helmed by RC delos Reyes, the film is the first movie collaboration between Toni and Alex, who we have been seeing together in guestings, endorsements and on TV projects.
The siblings wanted their film to redefine what a “family movie” is —in that it is made by a family for the Filipino family.
“I remember when we were kids we would always look forward to watching MMFF movies,” Toni recalls. “Pipila kami sa isa sa mga movies na gusto naming mapanood. Then fast forward to 20 years later, kasama na kaming dalawa na isa sa papanoorin ngayong pasko.”
Toni’s returning into the big screen more than a year since her dark-romance film Last Night while Alex is coming from her successful independent film Nakalimutan Ko Nang Kalimutan Ka.
Mary, Marry, Me is the story of Mary Jane (Toni) and her estranged younger sister Mary Anne (Alex) who is set to marry the former’s ex-boyfriend Pete (Sam Milby). Despite the initial hesitation, Mary Jane’s commitment to make up to her sister has enabled her to set aside her uneasiness with her ex-boyfriend as she agreed to plan their wedding.
Sharing the camera for the silver screen have both been easy and difficult for the Sissums. For one they were able to draw strength from each other and their own tight-knit relationship. Yet at the same time, they’ve also stepped on each other’s toes quite a few times on the set since they know each other too well.
“Masaya makatrabaho ang Ate ko kasi una sa lahat feeling mo safe ka, feeling mo at home ka at wala ka sa work kasi nandoon ang Ate mo. Yet at the same time mahirap rin siya kasi masyadong perfectionist ang Ate ko and masyado rin niyang chinecheck at ino-observe lahat ng galaw ko so parang meron akong nanay sa set,” Alex describes the experience of working with her sister.
But, on another end, Alex noted that her sister played a huge part in bringing out her emotions.
“Kasi we’re never really sweet, we don’t really talk about our emotions for one another, so nung nandoon na sa part ng pelikula na kailangan ng dramahan or confrontation parang mas mabilis akong nakakapit kasi nga Ate ko siya,” Alex says. “Tapos minsan kapag hindi na kami makaiyak, iniiba naming ang mga lines para ma-relate sa amin at maging true to life.”
Although they have always wanted to work with each other on the big screen, the stars never really aligned for them in the past. In fact, Toni pitched Mary, Marry, Me’s concept some three years ago.
“I have so many concepts in mind and I think we waited for the right time na magkatrabaho kami. Lagi kasing dapat magkakatrabaho kami sa TV until finally, I think this is the right time for us to do a movie together kasi we’re both professionals na to handle our relationship on the set,” shares Toni.
Making the film extra special are three huge happenings that fans have long been clamoring for. First there’s the reunion of the blockbuster Sam-Tin tandem after 10 years. Sam and Toni have brought kilig to their legions of fans through the films You Are the One(2006), You Got Me (2007) and My Big Love (2008).
“Working with Sam is like going back home also, back to where I started because my first full on rom-com was with Sam under Direk Cathy (Garcia-Molina). So parang I feel more comfortable with him now than our previous films because we’ve matured so much as individuals,” says Toni.
Second there’s the gathering of comedy stars as the lead stars would be joined by reliable comedians in the person of Bayani Agbayani, Moi Bien and Melai Cantiveros. And finally, there’s the fresh rom-com combination not just by a tandem but by Alex, Toni and Sam.
Mary, Marry, Me starts showing in cinemas nationwide tomorrow.
