Regine Velasquez plays unwed mother and ex-call center agent Martee, who becomes the accidental manager at a provincial resort owned by the self-destructing Lance (Piolo Pascual), who continues to grieve the loss of his wife (Iya Villania); the usual spats before they eventually hook up, endure the usual soul-searching period, and the requisite Pinoy ending.
I don't understand why some people say Regine and Piolo have great chemistry because she looks like his tita. The unkind close-ups were also very telling of all her cosmetic surgery that detracted our focus from the thin plot. It's not entirely her fault; the make-up work on both Regine and Piolo were at times shoddy, with Regine's foundation too white and unblended at the hairline, her eyelash extensions distracting, and Piolo's foundation and "head wound" looking too obvious despite the low-key lighting.
One thing I'm grateful for: Regine did not have a real singing portion (typical role for singer-actors). Piolo also delivered on his job as requisite eye candy. Comedienne Eugene Domingo played a key supporting role and was the only one who really enabled me to endure the film (sans shirtless Piolo scenes) with her wonderful comic timing and acerbic humor. Incredibly annoying was child actor Quintin Alianza, who played Martee's son Liam. His grating voice and acting was OA and unnatural. His contrived acting and frequent glimpses at the camera was irritating.
The sound effects also needs improvement; Martee and Lance's nightswimming sounded like someone swishing water in a metal batya. The barking dog sounded canned as well. The musical scoring was also clumsily handled.
The cinematography was forgettable; director Joyce Bernal did not have any particularly memorable scenes: Piolo's solo ruminations and the love scenes looked uncomfortably staged with no real motivation. The one hour and 40 mins Paano Kita Iibigin took was indulgent; it could use tighter editing.
Watching Paano Kita Iibigin was my good deed for the day, accompanying a fanatic friend :oP It wasn't excruciatingly bad, and it wasn't fantastic either, but it was a welcome break from the frenzied pace of back-to-back blockbuster season.
