Colegio dela Purisma Concepcion

Roxas City
College of Education
Subject: Lit. 4 (Contemporary, Popular and Emergent)

Ligo na Ü, Lapit na Me
Lig o n a Ü, L a pit n a M e (English title: S t a r C r o s s e d L o v e; lit. Take a Shower
Now; I'm Almost There) is a 2011 Philippine romantic-sex comedy film based on Eros S. Atalia's
2009 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Erick C. Salud (in his feature-length
directorial debut) and its adapted screenplay was written by Jerry B. Gracio. The storyline
revolves on a casual sexual relationship between two college students, Intoy (Edgar Allan
Guzman) and his classmate Jenny (Mercedes Cabral).
As an independent production, the film was an official entry to the 7th Cinemalaya
Independent Film Festival where it was nominated for Best Film, while Edgar Allan Guzman was
awarded Best Actor.

Plot
Karl Vladimir Lennon J. Villalobos, nicknamed "Intoy", is in his third year in state
university when he meets Jenny, an attractive and affluent transferee from a private university.
Despite being popular among the male students, Jenny chooses to befriend Intoy, much to his
astonishment and confusion as he does not consider himself attractive. When Jenny asks Intoy
about his sex life, he confesses his virginity. Jenny then seduces Intoy, to which he reluctantly
acquiesces. They head to a motel where they shower together and have sex.
Jenny and Intoy begin spending time together often, which makes their classmates
suspect that they are a couple; Intoy vehemently denies this. In reality, Intoy and Jenny are
"friends with benefits": they go on dates and have sex without any romantic affections. This
agreement goes on until their senior year. They eventually get to know each other better
through their dates and pillow talks.
One day, Jenny decides to end Intoy's "benefits", which he seemingly accepts without
any questions much to her surprise and exasperation. Intoy secretly refuses to accept Jenny's
condition but nonetheless he pretends to concede; he has already developed feelings for Jenny
and he fears that she will leave him if she finds out.
After a week of ignoring each other, Jenny unexpectedly approaches Intoy and
reinstates his "benefits". They resume their original agreement until Jenny becomes
mysteriously moody, and Intoy vainly tries to console her. As Intoy is about to profess his love,
Jenny tells him the truth: she is pregnant, but assures Intoy that he is not the baby's father.
Jenny then cuts all contact after that day. After Jenny's disappearance, Intoy contemplates their
relationship and regrets not professing his love earlier.
As a graduation present, Intoy receives ₱3,000 from his parents. He decides to spend all
the money on a prostitute, a trans woman hostess, and plenty of beer: all in a futile attempt to
forget about Jenny. Intoy eventually graduates and prepares to look for a job. He slowly begins
to move on with his life and accept the fact that he will never see Jenny again.
Cast
Edgar Allan Guzman as Karl Vladimir Lennon “Intoy” J. Villabos Mercedes Cabral as
Jennifer “Jenny” Evangelista Mel Kimura as Intoy's mother Simon Ibarra as Intoy's father Tolyts
"Shalala" Reyes as Bugaw (lit. pimp) Evelyn Vargas as Ms. Physics Beverly Salviejo as Ms.
Literary criticism Mhalouh Crisologo as Ms. Ethics Jojo Saguin as Joy Joseph Bitangcol as
Classmate #1 Lucky Mercado as Classmate #2 Joe Vargas as Classmate #3 Christian Tan as
Classmate #4 Ian Lazibal as Classmate #5 Alex Tiglao as Mr. Political science Ardie Bascara as
Jenny's ex– boyfriend Victor Medina as Benson Julie Anne Castro as Venus Luis Alandy as taxi
driver Kiki Baento as floor manager.

Production
The film is based on the 2009 bestselling nocel LIgo na U, Lapit na Me by Eros S. Atalia,
Palanca awardee and professor of Filipino language at the University of Santo Tomas. Producer
Noel Ferrer and screenwriter Jerry Gracio (also a Palanca awardee approached Atalia and
declared their intention to option the rights for his book. Atalia agreed and cooperated with
Gracio and the production crew to help keep the film loyal to its source material. Cinemalaya
was initially reluctant to produce the film since the source novel had a nonlinear narrative; this
required Gracio to fix the screenplay's timeline. The novel also contained a lot of commentary
by the protagonist, which Gracio adapted into voice-over. In a 2011 interview for the P hilip pin
e D aily In q uir e r , director Erick Salud claimed to have followed the book to the letter, with
only a few updated lines by Gracio.
Though he has been in television production for around twenty years, this was the first
feature film by director Erick Salud. This allowed the film to compete in Cinemalaya's New
Breed category, which is exclusive for newbie directors; they were also entitled to Cinemalaya's
₱500,000 grant. Around ₱1.5 million to ₱1.8 million was spent on the film's production.
Lovi Poe, Kaye Abad, Pauleen Luna, and Danielle Castaño were all considered for the
role of Jenny. However, it was Mercedes Cabral (the third choice) who landed the role as she
was willing to do the risqué scenes.
Prior to principal photography, Edgar Allan Guzman sustained third-degree burns on his
right hand after a go-kart racing accident. This required the reshoot of some scenes.

Release
Ligo na Ü, L apit na Me premiered at the 7th Cinemalaya Independent Film Release
Festival held on July 15 to 24, 2011 Prominent film producer Lily Monteverde was impressed by
the film after seeing it at Cinemalaya, and offered to purchase its distribution rights and release
it commercially under her Regal Films. After Cinemalaya, special screenings were held at the
UP Film Institute, University of the Philippines Los Baños, and De La Salle University.
Ligo na Ü, Lapit na Me was commercially released on September 28, 2011 by Regal
Films. Around 25 to 30 cinemas screened the film, mostly in Metro Manila. The film was later
screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival in October 2011.
Box office
In his column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, film director Jose Javier Reyes reported
that the film—along with Ang Babae sa Septic Tank—were "favorites" in the 7th Cinemalaya,
with 90% attendance in most screenings, becoming "neck-and-neck top-grossing contenders".In
an interview a few hours after the Cinemalaya awards night, Edgar Allan Guzman claimed they
were the second highest-grossing film of the festival. Ang Babae sa Septic Tank director Marlon
Rivera confirmed that his film, and Ligo na Ü, Lapit na Mewere the two highest-grossing films of
the 7th Cinemalaya.
Critical response
Glenn Atanacio of the Philippine Entertainment Portal wrote that the film "will keep
your senses alive for weeks, and get you daydreaming about those good ole college days". He
also stated that Cabral's acting talents were "sorely underutilized" while Guzman needed to
rehearse his delivery of jokes. Ibarra C. Mateo of GMA News praised the film's direction, script,
and cinematography. He wrote: "Ligo na Ü, Lapit na Me summarizes in 85 minutes the various
facets of the sexual, emotional, and psychological status of today's adolescents",
The Cinema Evaluation Board gave the film a "B" rating, and praised Guzman and
Cabral's performances, as well as director Erick Salud for "capturing well the angst and foibles
of post-modern love on our campuses today.
Sequel
During the film's special screening for the Inquirer Film Club, producer Noel Ferrer
announced that a sequel will be produced. It will be based on Eros S. Atalia's novel It's Not That
Complicated: Bakit Hindi pa Sasakupin ng mga Alien ang Daigdig sa 2012 published in May
2012.

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligo_na_%C3%9C,_Lapit_na_Me

Prepared by:
Joanna Marie Buensalido
Marites Eligan
BSEd 2-A