Piolo Pascual back as top actor

Piolo Pascual is again the top heartthrob of moviegoers.
This he proved with a vengeance with his box office movie “Starting Over Again” in which he co-stars with Toni Gonzaga and Iza Calzado.
The movie megged by Olivia Lamasan grossed P200 million in only less than a week of showing in theatres nationwide.
Showbiz authorities and columnists Mario Bautista and Isah Red discussed the Piolo phenomenon in their latest columns.

Red stated in his Manila Standard Today “Simply Red” column: “It has been sometime since Pascual played a role that made women’s hearts beating faster than usual. And in this film, it is evident that director Olivia Lamasan was careful in capturing the actor and making him look like the guy every woman wants to have as a groom.”
Fans abroad flocked to the movie’s international premiere showing on Feb. 15 at the historic Fox Theater in Redwood City, California.
Red added: “Lead actor Piolo Pascual must be commended for his performance as the heart-broken Marco, further proof of his status as one of the country’s box office actors even after 15 years in the industry. His chiseled looks and emotionally charged acting, combined with evident chemistry with both leading ladies Toni Gonzaga and Iza Calzado, Piolo is in perfect form as the classic rom-com actor.”
Red quoted director Olivia Lamasan in assessing Piolo’s role in Starting Over Again. “For the longest time I’ve been looking for a material for PJ na palagi kong sinasabi na sa laki ng achievements mo sa buhay, sa laki ng narating mo, parang hindi na kita mahawakan. So naghahanap ako ng isang role para sa yo na mararamdaman kita ulit. At masasabi kong, ‘ah nasasaktan ka pa rin. Ah, nasasaktan ka, gusto kita yakapin.’ And this is the perfect role for him.”
Overwhelmed with the support, Piolo could not thank his fans enough, according to Isah Red. “To everyone who came out and supported our film and bore the long lines, sitting in front of the movie house just to be able to watch the film…Thank you very much for believing and extending your support to Star Cinema and everyone who’s part of this project. We’re all humbled by your love…may we continue to spread love and harbor good feelings toward everyone…Mabuhay ang pelikulang Pilipino! To God be the glory!”
At press time, the Piolo Pascual starrer “Starting Over Again” was still showing, in 270 theaters nationwide.
According to the movie’s promoters, it will have international screenings in North America (Arkansas, Illinois, Hawaii, California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Washington, Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia) and Canada (Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan).
Screenings in the Middle East (UAE, Qatar & Bahrain) and Australia ( Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane) will start on March 6.
Mario Bautista, for his part wrote: “We are glad for Piolo Pascual that he finally recovered after the KC debacle and now has another hit movie after the previous ones he did with Angel Locsin, Angelica Panganiban and Shaina Magdayao didn’t do as well as expected at the tills. “Starting Over Again” with Toni Gonzaga is a monster hit that has made P200 million in less than one week.”
The movie directed by Olivia Lamasan is just like her past one, “The Mistress,” a very well-engineered commercial film that truly succeeds in its aim to play to the gallery and please local audiences, said the columnist.
“No wonder they’re all laughing on the way to the bank. Although Piolo and Toni didn’t end up in each other’s arms as most local moviegoers would like and expect them to, Toni is given her own very entertaining closure introducing no less than four possible leading men for her: Vhong Navarro, Luis Manzano, Sam Milby and her real life boyfriend Director Paul Soriano (who looks better in person than the way he’s photographed in the movie.)”
Mario Bautista further wrote: “Piolo registers as incredibly good-looking on screen. The story spans 10 years in the lives of Marco (Piolo) and Ginny (Toni). It starts in 2003 when Ginny was still a college student who falls desperately in love with her handsome professor, Marco. She courts him heartily and succeeds in making him also fall for her but when he proposes marriage to her, she unexpectedly runs away and goes to Barcelona where she takes up her master’s degree in architecture. They meet again in 2013, with Piolo now a chef who hires her to design his new restaurant.”
Piolo looks much younger in 2013 than when he was in 2003, the columnist stated. He also has a new girlfriend, Patty (Iza Calzado). 
Despite this, Toni tries her desperate best to woo him back. From the start, we already somehow know that Piolo should not take Toni back, simply because she is a pain in the ass. We personally don’t sympathize with her character at all. She desperately courted him then suddenly dumps him? She went to Barcelona to do her thing and now that she’s back, she also wants him back? In other words, she wants to have her cake and eat it, too. Ano siya, sobrang sinusuwerte?
“That scene where Piolo is frantically running in the rain trying to convince her to talk to her while she’s on the way to the airport is enough reason for viewers to root for Piolo and urge him to junk Toni for good. She most certainly deserves it. Since Toni is more of a comedian, she has many comic scenes in the movie where she really excels. And she gets to show off her very good pair of shapely legs.”
“But the movie belongs to Piolo’s, no doubt about it. He is made to deliver kilometric arias that people don’t do in real life, but he is able to do it all so convincingly. Iza Calzado has a very short role but she manages to run away with it, particularly in that scene when Toni brazenly confronts her and tells her to leave Piolo. You can see that Iza is bursting with emotion but she tries her best to control it.”