WARNING: Contains spoilers.
Joy is no more. Now, she goes by Marie. And her coffee? A tall hot Americano — a seemingly innocent order, but one that carries a wink to the character portrayed by Kevin Kreider, a tall, hot guy who might just be the missing ingredient in Marie’s pursuit of the American dream.
Joy has changed. But the screenplay, now solely penned by Carmi G. Raymundo and Crystal Hazel San Miguel — who took over after Cathy Garcia-Sampana (formerly Cathy Garcia-Molina) co-wrote the first installment — understands that most of the movie’s fans haven’t. This “know-your-customer” approach is clear in Hello, Love, Again, which is more interested in giving fans of the two biggest fandoms in the country a vanilla-flavored closure that, depending on how you view it, can feel like a bland ending or a blank canvas for a more flavorful third installment.
I was excited to enter the cinema because I liked its predecessor very much. Hello, Love, Goodbye, the film that did the impossible by putting together Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards — both at the time coming from fandoms known for their overprotective nature — was a breath of fresh air. It offered a bold take that could’ve easily jeopardized its A-listers’ carefully cultivated public image. In Hello, Love, Again, where two of the biggest film production outfits in the Philippines unite to give fans the closure they’ve been craving for five long years, the boldness, while still palpable, is more measured, ensuring it also caters to moviegoers who put the “joy” in “enjoy” in the most conventional way.
Running for two hours, Hello, Love, Again can feel somewhat overstretched for something that strives to hold itself together while adhering to a familiar formula. But can we blame a movie — especially one whose predecessor was once the highest-grossing film in the country — for taking its time to prove it has something to say? Well, how you interpret it could determine whether it feels like a drawn-out exercise in validation or a well-earned assertion of its worth. Either way, this effort to prove itself has paid off, as early reports indicate “Hello, Love, Again” has set a new record for the highest opening gross of a local movie, earning 85 million pesos on its first day.
I liked the film’s non-linear structure in the beginning. It kept us guessing about what Ethan did to make Joy change. Furthermore, the film cleverly integrates the COVID-19 pandemic into the storyline, in a way that surprised me. When Hello, Love, Goodbye was first released, no one could have predicted the scale of the pandemic that would follow. Yet, the way it was later incorporated into the sequel feels like a brilliant, unexpected twist that enhances the narrative, adding depth and relevance in a way that feels both timely and satisfying.
Hello, Love, Again can feel a bit convoluted, juggling the old and new supporting characters. While I understand their purpose, it can leave someone like me, who's simply here to see what happens next for Joy and Ethan, feeling lost in a sea of side stories. But every time the movie quiets the noise and dims the lights, it shines.
The film’s strength lies in its relatability, especially when you focus on the two main characters and connect with their flawed decisions and the self-made problems they create. You don’t expect them to be perfect — just human. And in their imperfections, you find a deeper sense of connection, because we all have our own messy moments.
Overall, Hello, Love, Again is a self-assured film, ripe with potential, but it chooses to savor the comfort of familiarity. It may not work for moviegoers who don’t want to be fed a formulaic story, but if 90 percent of the people in the cinema cried, laughed, clapped, and found joy in it, who are we to question their experience? After all, cinema is about connecting with the audience, and if it hits the right notes for them, it’s done its job.