''Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw'' is a 2000 Filipino

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film edited and directed by

Joyce E. Bernal Joyce E. Bernal (born May 6, 1968) is a Filipina film and television director in the Philippines who started as a film editor for Viva Films Viva Films is a Philippine film production company established under Viva Communications. It was f ...

and written by Mel Mendoza-del Rosario. Produced by

Viva Films Viva Films is a Philippine film production company established under Viva Communications. It was founded on November 11, 1981, by Vic del Rosario Jr. History Veering away from the Sharon Cuneta-Gabby Concepcion tandem, Viva became home to qual ...

and RCP Productions, it stars

Regine Velasquez Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez ( ; born April 22, 1970) is a Filipina singer, actress, and record producer. She is considered one of the most influential figures in Philippine popular culture and is known for her vocal range and beltin ...

as a popular singer and

Robin Padilla Robinhood Ferdinand Cariño Padilla (; born November 23, 1969), known professionally as Robin Padilla, is a Filipino politician, television personality, martial artist, actor and director currently serving as a Senator of the Philippines since ...

as a car mechanic who falls in love with her. It is the first project that Padilla and Velasquez worked together on, as well as the first time Padilla did a romantic comedy film since his action films from Viva Films.

Plot

Francine Natra (

) is a popular singer enjoying the peak of her career. But due to stardom and her hectic schedules she suffers from a simple life on her own. Meanwhile, Guillermo "Gimo" Talumpati (

) lives his ordinary life as an

auto mechanic An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more ...

taking care of his family and especially Ging-Ging, his sister with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. Their fates cross when a promo contest called "Date With A Star" makes Gimo the winner to take the popular Francine on a special date. But the prize date gets cut short when Francine's suitor Alex appears while Gimo was star struck to her. Feeling cheated, Gimo schemes his way to abduct the singer to be able to get to know her and carry out the prize date. Realizing what Francine was missing, living life's simple pleasures, she becomes closer to him. Being the honest person that he is, Gimo also falls in love with her. Until his sister had to go for a medical operation that needed an amount of money that their relationship went public. As a consequence Gimo can’t handle Francine's showbiz world. With her popularity and his pride, their relationship breaks off after an argument. Disappointed Francine leaves and clarifies the issue about Gimo. Days later, Francine kidnaps Gimo and asked him to marry her. He quickly realizes he has made the biggest mistake of his life by letting her go. They marry, the film concluding with a shot of Francine giving birth to their first child.

Cast and characters

as Francine Natra *

as Guillermo "Gimo" Talumpati *

John Lapus Jonathan Anthony Solis "John" Lapus (born July 7, 1973), also known as Sweet, is a Filipino actor, host, comedian, and film and television director. Lapus is known for his various roles in films such as '' Shake, Rattle & Roll''. He was a head ...

as Sweet *Mitch Valdes as Maggie *Ray Ventura as Tatay *

Roldan Aquino Rolando Desembrana Aquino (May 2, 1942 – March 10, 2014) was a Filipino actor and director, best known for playing antagonist roles in films and television shows. He also became a Born-Again Evangelical Christian and he was ordained as a past ...

† as Tomas *

Butz Aquino Agapito "Butz" Aquino (May 20, 1939 – August 17, 2015) was a Senator of the Philippines from 1987 to 1995, congressman from Makati and a part-time film and television actor. He was born to former senator Benigno S. Aquino Sr. and Aurora Aqu ...

† as Francine's father *Marita Zobel as Francine's mother * Alvin Anson as Alex *

Rufa Mae Quinto Rufa is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Rufa Mae Quinto (born 1978), Filipina actress, comedian, television host, and singer *Rufa Mi Maria Krista Aguilar (born April 8, 1988), known professionally as Rufa Mi, is a Filipina ...

as Lovely *

Joy Viado Teresita Joy De Leon-Viado (April 10, 1959 – September 10, 2016) was a Filipino character actress, singer, and comedian known for playing Lola Paula in ''Luv U'', Bebot in ''Kokey @ Ako'', and Aling Gloria in '' Cinco''. Early life Viado was ...

† as Di *

Katya Santos Katya Santos (born 1981/1982) is a Filipino actress and model. She started her career on the Philippine television series ''Ang TV'' and ''Oki Doki Doc'' at the age of 13. Since then she has become a sex symbol in the Philippine cinema having sig ...

as Bel *

Shermaine Santiago Shermaine Santiago (born February 16, 1980 in Manila, Philippines) is a Filipina actress, TV show host, and singer. She appeared in a lot of hit TV shows from GMA Network such as ''Best Friends'', ''Beh Bote Nga'', ''Te Amo, Maging Sino Ka Man'' ...

as Mayumi *Metring David as Gimo's grandmother *Rey Pumaloy as TV host *Robert "Long" Mejia as a barangay slacker *Inday Garutay as Liwayway Laway *Anton Diva as Virgin Velasquez

Reception

Critical reception

Robin's performance was praised by most critics; also the film itself received fair reviews. Film critic, Noel Vera, suggested, "the movie is actually very good." Also praising the direction of Bernal stating "that Bernal is directing; an accomplished editor, knows how to pace the film, to keep it moving along." Pilipino Star Ngayon's Salve V. Asis stated that this film’s premise was already done before yet the director translates the conflict and providing it with a good twist to be able to come up with something very original.

Commercial reception

''Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw'' was released in the Philippines on October 11, 2000. The movie was a certified box office hit during its run. It became one of the local films to have such a long line for the midnight screening during the 2000s.

TV spin-off

In 2013, ABS-CBN announced that they are planning to produce a new series of the same name but have yet to disclose if the story will by similar to that of the film. Robin Padilla, however, will star in the series with actresses

Kris Aquino Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (born February 14, 1971), professionally known as Kris Aquino (), is a Filipino television host, actress, producer, socialite and businesswoman. Dubbed as Philippine's "Queen of All Media", Aquino has hos ...

and

Anne Curtis Anne Curtis-Smith(; born 17 February 1985) is a Filipino-Australian actress, model, television host, entrepreneur and recording artist. She is dubbed as the "''Multimedia Superstar''" for her talent and influence. Curtis has received numerou ...

Music

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

was released by

Viva Records Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia * Viva Air Dominicana * VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company * ...

. The album was consists of Regine Velasquez recordings just entirely for the movie. Including the song "Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw", composed by

Ogie Alcasid Herminio Jose Lualhati "Ogie" Alcasid Jr. (; born August 27, 1967) is a Filipino singer-songwriter, television presenter, comedian, parodist, and actor. He is currently the President of OPM (Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-Aawit). Early care ...

which released as the carrier single and as the movie main theme song. He did it because Velasquez asked him to compose an original OPM song for the film’s love theme. The soundtrack also featured songs by artists including Ely Buendia and Gabby Eigenmann and two hit singles from Regine Velasquez: "Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw" and cover of "Tuwing Umuulan". The film score was written by Raul Mitra.

References

External links

*
List of Viva Films Movies at IMDB.Com
{{Joyce Bernal 2000 films 2000 romantic comedy films Films directed by Joyce Bernal Philippine romantic comedy films 2000s Tagalog-language films Viva Films films