A Very Special Love

A Very Special Love
A Very Special Love
	Theatrical movie poster
Directed by	Cathy Garcia-Molina
Written by	Raz S. de la Torre
Produced by	Charo Santos-Concio; Malou N. Santos; Vic R. del Rosario Jr.;
Starring	John Lloyd Cruz; Sarah Geronimo;
Cinematography	Manuel Teehankee
Edited by	Marya Ignacio
Music by	Jessie Lasaten
Production; companies	ABS-CBN Film Productions; Viva Films;
Distributed by	Star Cinema; Viva Films;
Release date	July 30, 2008;
Running time	106 minutes
Country	Philippines
Languages	Filipino; English;
Box office	₱185,235,324.00(US$3,836,701.00)

A Very Special Love is a 2008 Filipino romantic comedy film directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina from a story and screenplay written by Raz S. de la Torre. The film stars John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo in her first film under ABS-CBN's film studio as a lead star, the film revolves around an editorial assistant who finds out that she is going to work for the man of her dreams. In addition to the lead stars, the supporting cast includes Dante Rivero, Rowell Santiago, Bing Pimentel, Joross Gamboa, Al Tantay, and Irma Adlawan and a special participation of Agot Isidro.

A co-production of Star Cinema and Viva Films, the film was theatrically released in the Philippines on July 30, 2008, and later released in the United States on August 15. The successful results in the box office spawned two sequels: You Changed My Life, which was released on February 25, 2009, and It Takes a Man and a Woman which was released on March 30, 2013. Now, it currently holds the title of the seventh highest-grossing Filipino film of all time.

Plot

Laida Magtalas is a modern-day Belle. "Miggy" is the youngest member of the Montenegro clan – a well-established family in the business. She applies as an Editorial Assistant at Miggy's newly launched men’s magazine, "Bachelor". Laida revels in working in such proximity with the man of her dreams.

The film opens with Laida starting out her day with a job interview with Flippage, owned and managed by her crush Miguel "Miggy" Montenegro. Unbeknownst to her, on the day of her interview, Miggy has a heated meeting with his creative team on the issue of Bachelor, Flippage’s men's magazine. Miggy’s mean demeanor and undermining of both his friend and editors cause a walkout of half of the team. In the middle of the chaos, Laida is hired on the spot after she presents Miggy with coffee left by an attendant who also walked out after being screamed at.

Laida remains blind to the fact that the Miggy of her dreams is very different from the real one. In reality, he is an unapologetic, hothead who always thinks he's in the right and is obsessed about making his magazine number one. Everyone is scared of him with the exception of the love-struck Laida, who adamantly defends him. Imperceptively, she caters to his every whim, even sending her in his absence on a date with his girlfriend, breaking her heart a little. Her colleagues question her unrelenting devotion to such a monster and when Laida continues to prove her loyalty to Miggy, gossip regarding her feelings for the boss starts to circulate.

However, the moment is short-lived, as the next day, after Laida makes a suggestion in regards to an article content that Miggy should put for the magazine, Miggy publicly humiliates her and her knowledge of sex and questions her virtue in front of the staff by making her say the word “Sex”. Miggy later embarrasses himself after realizing it was Laida who made the last-minute call to find a printing press to do a rush job on their magazine overhaul. After being chastised by Miggy, Laida finally sees him for the tyrant he is. Miggy then realizes why people are so put off by him.

Miggy tries to apologize to a disenchanted Laida, first by ordering pizza for the team and serving a slice to her, which Laida ignores. Laida is called to Miggy’s apartment but finds him ill with very little food or necessities and no one to care for him. Laida takes care of Miggy, missing her mother's birthday. Miggy wakes up and sees the exhausted Laida next to him patting his back in a motherly way. This prompts him to realize his feelings for Laida, igniting a change in him and wishing Laida to be closer to him, as well as being more friendly with the rest of his team. The productivity and atmosphere of the company also improve. Miggy becomes comfortable enough to tell Laida the truth about his past, that he was an illegitimate child of his father, who was later adopted into the main family after his mother's death, thus, his strong desire is to prove himself to his father and older brother. For the first time in his life, Miggy garners the strength to apologize and this new-found humility opens up a whole new world of “firsts” for Miggy. With Laida's help, Miggy slowly learns to be more of a team player and the true value of loyalty.

Cast

John Lloyd Cruz portrays Miguel "Miggy" Montenegro

Sarah Geronimo portrays Adelaida "Laida" Magtalas

Main cast

John Lloyd Cruz as Miguel "Miggy" Montenegro
Sarah Geronimo as Adelaida "Laida" Magtalas

Supporting cast

Dante Rivero as Luis Montenegro
Rowell Santiago as Arturo "Art" Montenegro
Johnny Revilla as Roger Montenegro
Bing Pimentel as Alice Montenegro
Daphne Oseña-Paez as Anya Montenegro
Al Tantay as Tomas Magtalas
Irma Adlawan as Baby Magtalas
Arno Morales as Stephen Magtalas
Miles Ocampo as Rose Magtalas
Andre Garcia as Lion Magtalas
Matet de Leon as Zoila
Gio Alvarez as Vincent
Joross Gamboa as John Rae
Paw Diaz as Mitch
Bernard Palanca as Mondy
Will Devaughn as Cris
Kalila Aguilos as Violy
Valerie Weigmann as Dianne

Special participation

Agot Isidro as Miggy's mother (uncredited)

Soundtrack listing

Very Special Love
Performed by Sarah Geronimo

Composed by Michael Lloyd

Published by Warner/Chappell Music Philippines

Originally by Maureen McGovern
Kailan
Performed by Smokey Mountain

Composed by Ryan Cayabyab

Published by Filscap
Ngiti
Performed by Ronnie Liang

Lyrics and Music by Vince Katinday

Arranged by Tito Rapadas

Published by Universal Records

Reception

Box office results

The film was a huge box office success, it became the highest-grossing Filipino film of 2008. It earned ₱179,235,324 in its entire run.^[1]

Critical reception

Karen A.P. Caliwara, writing for Philippine Entertainment Portal, gave the film a positive review on the film and cited the cast, particularly Geronimo and Cruz's respective performances, the screenplay, the dialogue, and the impact on the cinematic audience as the reasons why the film is "a must-see movie".^[2]

Accolades

Year	Award-Giving Body	Category	Work	Result
2009	GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards^[3]	Box Office King	John Lloyd Cruz	Won
		Box Office Queen	Sarah Geronimo	Won
		Most Popular Film Director	Cathy Garcia Molina	Won
		Most Popular Screenwriter	Raz Sobida dela Torre	Won

References

^ ^a ^b "A Very Special Love". Box Office Mojo. September 17–21, 2008.
^ Caliwara, Karen A.P. (August 3, 2008). "PEP REVIEW: "A Very Special Love" raises the kilig meter in cinemas". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^ Valencia, Czeriza (June 30, 2009). "40th Box Office Entertainment Awards given out". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2014.

External links

A Very Special Love at IMDb

[BOM1-1] "A Very Special Love". Box Office Mojo. September 17–21, 2008.

[2] Caliwara, Karen A.P. (August 3, 2008). "PEP REVIEW: "A Very Special Love" raises the kilig meter in cinemas". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.

[3] Valencia, Czeriza (June 30, 2009). "40th Box Office Entertainment Awards given out". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]