My Ex and Whys (2017)

An apologetic for cheaters

To me, this film spent too much time justifying the cheater (Gio) and making Cali (FL) out to be the bad guy (girl) because she didn't want to trust him again and take him back. Sure, go ahead and forgive him but don't give him a second chance to hurt you all over again, girl. Just say, 'I forgive you, but I don't want to see your face again.' No, not all men are cheaters, but this guy really did cheat, and I don't care if he was drunk or not. He was just downright stupid to begin with because 1) he hired this shank of a manager and 2) he got so drunk he slept with her. He KNEW Cali had a cheating dad yet he was stupid enough to place himself in a situation that's ripe for betrayal. What a dumbass. Yeah, when they meet again, he appears to have cleaned up his act (although he still has the bad influence of his cheating father and brothers, and uh, does he have a job?), but trust has already taken an fatal blow, in my opinion. Then early on, she's being pressured by all these fans of her blog to forgive him and take him back like she's the bad guy. I just don't like the message given out by this film or the way that FL's made out to be the villain. Why does this film remind me of that song by Gareth Gates 'Anyone One of Us', which is basically an apologetic for cheating? It's a great song in terms of sound, but it gives out a terrible message just like this film. And to make things worse, she's running after him at the end of the film as though, once again, he's the victim and she's the perpetrator. Don't waste your time on this one, especially if you're a person who, like me, draws the line at cheating. Yeah, people can change (which seems to be the theme of this drama), but why waste your time with a guy who has cheated when there's other men out there who won't?

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An interesting take on complicated feelings

This film's story seems cliche at first, but actually becomes interesting. Cali (played by Liza Soberano) has not forgave her ex Gio (Enrique Gil) for cheating on her a couple years prior. Suddenly, he is thrust back into her life when they have to work together. Now he has to convince her that he has changed. This description is simple, but where this movie shines is its portrayal of complicated feelings.

For most of the movie, Cali struggles with whether to forgive Gio or not. She receives pressure from all sides. Some calling her "heartless" for still being angry with him, others yelling "Once a cheater, always a cheater." The thing is: feelings are not that simple. And that's why I liked this movie. It did a good job on showing how complicated feelings and relationships are. You are free to forgive or not forgive someone whom you felt has betrayed you. Your feelings are always valid. I love that a rom-com had me thinking this much.

I had some issues with a few plot details, but I won't include them here since I already made a rant in the comments section. Overall, I think this was a good movie. A little emotionally heavy, especially towards the end. I particularly liked the part where they visited Korea. It's fun to see the country from the eyes of Filipinos and it was a nice contrast from the rest of the movie. I recommend this to anyone who likes romance, but I suggest you avoid it if you hate cheating story lines.

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Liza and Enrique's Performances Make Up for the Movie's Imperfections

This is very enjoyable but not as good as Alone/Together among LizQuen movies. The acting between Liza and Enrique is very convincing. The movie is also an enjoyable watch for a lazy weekend. However, the basic point of the plot, Gio's "cheating", is not very convincing since he didn't really cheat but was only taken advantage of during a night when he was drunk. I understand that girls get hurt if guys lay down with other women even when they were drunk, but Cali breaking up with him and making her a man-hater because of it makes her character less admirable. I wish they made another scenario of how Gio would cheat on Cali (ex: being taken to a bar after a tiring and disappointing day at school or work where he was really tempted to sleep with another girl for comfort because he was really disappointed with what happened at school or work). However, the fact that Cali's dad cheated on her mom did help add to the pain of Cali as well as make her man-hating personality develop more.
I wish the film was less "racist" though. How could a film be filmed in South Korea and then call a Korean character Kimmychi (joke on kimchi food)? While this mistake can be forgivable since Kimmychi maybe just a term of endearment from her boyfriend, using the term "slanted eyes" is just a little bit too much.
3.5 over 5 for Liza and Enrique's performance and for it being an enjoyable film for me to watch. A Korean person might however find this film a bit offensive.

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