ROMNICK Sarmenta started as a child actor in the role of Peping in “Gulong ng Palad” when he was only four years old, 46 years ago. As a teener, he joined “That’s Entertainment” where his tandem with Sheryl Cruz clicked and they did a lot of movies as teen stars. He was married to Harlene Bautista and they had four kids but he’s now with Barbara Ruaro and they have their own baby. Turning 51 years old on April 28, he now plays father roles in TV dramas.
But he is currently starring in a lead role in IdeaFirst Company’s “About Us But Not About Us,” a psychological drama which is an official entry in the Summer Metro Manila Film Festival that starts showing on April 8, Black Saturday. He plays Ericson, a macho gay UP professor who has an intricate relationship with one of the students he mentors, Lancelot (Elijah Canlas). How did he get the role?
“Direk Jun Lana told me about his project with only two characters shot in a single location,” he says. “He sent me the script. There were some parts in it that I didn’t expect would move me and I caught myself getting teary-eyed while reading lines. I realized how good the script was kasi naapektuhan ako agad.”
Did he have second thoughts when he was told he’d be playing a gay role? “No. I did a transexual role before in ‘Miguel/Michelle’ and I won best actor in the Asian TV Awards in 1999 for a telemovie I did with GMA-7, ‘Bakla.’ So the role is not new to me.”
Liza Soberano just confessed she was just compelled to be an artista. Romnick was very young when he started acting. Did he feel like he was robbed of his youth?
“I can’t speak about the experience of other people. That’s their personal experience. There can be some things that I can be sour about in this business. But when I look at it, whatever it is, I feel I just have to be grateful for everything. I’m grateful for all the lessons I learned. No one forced or pressured me to act.”
***
‘[Marco Gumabao and Kylie Versoza] most certainly deserve more demanding dramatic vehicles than just being eye candies in movies like “Baby Boy, Baby Girl.”’
“Baby Boy, Baby Girl” is the latest movie from Viva Films, the only local film company releasing movies in theaters regularly. Last week, they showed “Kunwari Mahal Kita.” This week, it’s “Baby Boy, Baby Girl” and next week, it’s “Working Boys 2: Choose Your Papa.”
We’ve seen “Baby Boy, Baby Girl” in its special premiere screening and it’s so different from the past films of writer-director Jason Paul Laxamana, most of which have very sad endings. This one has a very happy ending where the lead characters played by Marco Gumabao and Kylie Versoza gladly end up in each other’s arms.
Marco and Kylie are really the primary reasons to watch this movie, simply because they’re both eye candies, whether fully clothed or in various states of dishabille. They both have great bodies that they are not at all embarrassed to flaunt on the big screen, perfect for their roles as sugar babies.
The dialog-driven movie meanders this way and that, with very talky sequences full of blah-blah-blah making the pacing quite tedious. But thanks to Marco and Kylie, they really save the day for the movie. That scene alone where they are stretched out scantily clad in bed in their very revealing underwear will surely be worth the price of admission for some viewers.
Both Kylie and Marco give splendid performances and they most certainly deserve more demanding dramatic vehicles than just being eye candies in movies like “Baby Boy, Baby Girl.”
***
Angeli Khang was introduced in 2021 in “Taya” as one of the leading ladies of Sean de Guzman. It was a huge hit that lasted as number one in Vivamax for several months.
The reigning Vivamax actress then was AJ Raval, who was doing one film after another, but she was missing in action for sometime now due to undisclosed reasons (they say we should ask her inamorato, Aljur Abrenica).
In the meantime, Angeli became the busiest sexpot doing several films like there’s no tomorrow: “Mahjong Nights,” “Eva,” “Pusoy,” “Virgin Forest,” “Silip sa Apoy,” “Girl Friday,” “Us x Her,” “Selina’s Gold,” “Bela Luna” and the 8-episode series “Wag Mong Agawin ang Akin.”
Her supporters proclaim her as the new “Vivamax Queen” since all her recent releases are blockbusters in the country’s number one streaming channel. But she says she doesn’t allow it to get into her head.
“It’s flattering but ayoko talagang ilagay sa ulo ko,” she says at the Zoom press con of her latest movie, “Balik Taya,” filmed on location in Thailand. “I’m just happy and thankful sa tiwalang ibinibigay sa akin ng Viva at sa magaganda projects they assign to me. Kamukha nitong ‘Balik Taya.’ First time kong nag-shooting sa abroad and it was so much fun.”
