''When I Met U'' is a 2009 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 directed by

Joel Lamangan Joel Lamangan (born September 21, 1952) is a Filipino film director, television director and actor. His award-winning films includes '' The Flor Contemplacion Story'', '' Sidhi'', '' Deathrow'', ''Hubog'', '' Aishte Imasu 1941'', '' Blue Moon'' ...

and starring

Richard Gutierrez Richard Kristian Gutierrez (born January 21, 1984), known professionally as Richard Gutierrez, is a Filipino actor, environmentalist and model. He is one of the sons of actor Eddie Gutierrez. Early life Richard Gutierrez was born on January ...

and

KC Concepcion Maria Kristina Cassandra "KC" Cuneta Concepcion (; born April 7, 1985) is a Filipino actress, singer, dancer, TV host, entrepreneur, socialite and humanitarian. She has had lead roles in Philippine films '' For The First Time'' (2008) and ''Whe ...

. The screenplay by Aloy Adlawan was written for

Jose Javier Reyes Jose "Joey" Javier Reyes (born October 21, 1954) is a Filipino professor, writer, director, miscellaneous crew and actor. He has won awards at the Gawad Urian, Metro Manila Film Festival and Filipino Star Awards for Movies for his films, whi ...

to direct; Reyes later left, citing "creative difference". The title of the film is derived from an OPM song by Filipino musical group Apo Hiking Society called "When I Met You" which is also the film's official soundtrack. The movie was produced by

GMA Pictures GMA Pictures, formerly Cinemax Studios and GMA Films, is a film and television production company in the Philippines, established by GMA Network in 1995. Its films include ''Jose Rizal'', '' Muro Ami'', and '' Deathrow''. Filmography Histor ...

. The film premiered in the Philippines on February 11, 2009.

Plot

Jenny (

) is an unpretentious mall promodizer searching for true love. A hopeless romantic, her quest leads her to Benjie (

), a cargo pilot who offers her the love she truly yearns. An unlikely romance begins when she hitches a ride with Benjie to attend a wedding in

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

. On board, they openly show their dislike for each other but when the aircraft crashes in an unknown island, the two turn to each other for comfort and eventually absolve their differences.

Principal cast

as Benjie *

as Jenny *

Alfred Vargas Alfredo Paolo Dumlao Vargas III (born October 24, 1979), professionally known as Alfred Vargas, is a Filipino politician, actor, and model serving as the representative of Quezon City's 5th district since 2013. He previously served as a city ...

as Albert *

Iya Villania Raelene Elaine Villania(born June 29, 1986), known professionally as Iya Villania-Arellano (), is a Filipino-Australian singer, television presenter, and actress. She has been widely known for her work as a VJ in the music channel MYX. Early a ...

as Tracy *

Cherry Pie Picache Cherry Pie Sison Picache (born May 27, 1970) is a Filipino actress who has starred television and in mainstream and independent films and has worked as a print and TV commercial model for Palmolive, Camay, and Eskinol. Cherry Pie is notable ...

as Conching *

Tirso Cruz III Tirso Silvano Cruz III (born April 1, 1952) is a Filipino actor, comedian, and singer. He currently serves as the Chairperson of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Regarded as a "matinee idol", Cruz is a FAMAS Award and Gawad Ur ...

as Kardo *

Chanda Romero Chanda V. Romero (born February 26, 1954) is a Filipina actress. She is mostly seen on GMA Network. She played supporting roles and leading roles in many films during the early and late 1970s. Her prolific work in sexy comedies and dramas cau ...

as Sylvia *

Tonton Gutierrez Eduardo Antonio Winsett Gutierrez, Jr. (born March 20, 1968), professionally known as Tonton Gutierrez, is a Filipino film and television actor best known for his role as Governor Eduardo Buenavista in the original hit teleserye ''Pangako Sa ...

as Manny *

Bearwin Meily Bearwin Meily (born April 4, 1976) is a Filipino comedian actor, TV host and a recent vlogger. Early career He started his career as an extra ''Palibhasa Lalake'' in ABS-CBN and eventually became regular. Current career But later on he moved ...

as Tato *

Chariz Solomon Charyze Pagotan Solomon, better known by her screen name Chariz Solomon (born August 22, 1989), is a Filipino actress, model, comedienne, singer, and who is one of the hosts in the Philippine television program '' Startalk''. She appears in s ...

as Kim *

Perla Bautista Perla Marcial Bautista (born February 18, 1940) is a multi-awarded actress in the Philippines. She acted in more than 250 movies and television shows. She won the Best Actress FAMAS Award for ''Markang Rehas'' (1962). She also won Gawad Urian ...

as Eva / Albert's lola *

Bubbles Paraiso Pilar Angela D. Paraiso, or better known as Bubbles Paraiso (born July 24, 1984 in the Makati, Philippines), is a Filipino actress and the younger sister of actor Paolo Paraiso. She is currently seen on Kapamilya Channel Kapamilya Channel ...

as Vernice * Paolo Paraiso as Teddy * Matty Lozano as Marcus * Ynez Veneracion as Cynthia * Raquel Villavicencio as Beverly/Tracy's mother

Critical reception

The film has received generally positive reviews from critics, obtaining a Grade B from the

Cinema Evaluation Board The Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) is a body of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, tasked with grading Filipino films by quality. It is represented in the Philippine Film Export Services Office. The CEB was established in 2003, succ ...

, although to Bong De Leon of Journal Online, "KC Concepcion and Richard Gutierrez can now heave a sigh of relief after their second movie together, "When I Met U" made the grade. It deserves more than B." Mario E. Bautista of the ''

People's Journal ''People's Journal'' is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published by the ''Philippine Journalists Incorporated''. Augusto "Gus" Villanueva,(with interviews to key persons).'' Retrieved June 9, 2018. its former editor-in-chief, and ...

'' wrote, "it's way much better than their debut movie, ' For the First Time', thanks mainly to the well-written script of Aloy Adlawan". Bautista continues to rain praises acting, as well, "give winning performances". He concludes, claiming that "Richard has done many Valentine movies and this is certainly one of the best. It's as entertaining as his Valentine flick with Marian Rivera last year", which was '' My Bestfriend's Girlfriend''.

Parodies in
Bubble Gang ''Bubble Gang'' is a Philippine television sketch comedy show broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Frasco Mortiz, it stars Michael V. It premiered on October 20, 1995 on the network's Friday night line up replacing '' Vilma''. The show is t ...

*''When I Hit U'' *''When I Met Woo'' (sometimes Removes Jacky) *''When I Met Argh''

Box office

The film opened in

SM City North EDSA SM North EDSA (formerly SM City North EDSA, The SM Center North EDSA and The SM City North EDSA), and colloquially known as SM North, is a large shopping mall located in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the first SM Supermall in t ...

, the country's biggest theater earning an estimated on the mall's cinema, second biggest opening day income of all the Filipino movies shown at SM City North EDSA. According to Box Office Mojo, the romantic flick grossed more than ''in Manila alone'' for the week of February 11–15, 2009. Box Office Mojo expressly stated at the bottom of the webpage that for the week of February 11–15, "The chart only includes information from Manila marketplace. Nationwide figures are not yet available." The final gross of the movie is according to Box Office Mojo in its five-week run.

Soundtrack

An 11-track official soundtrack for the film was released by Sony BMG.Marian, nag-two-piece sa harap ng maraming tao
Journal.com.ph Here are the track-listing: # "When I Met You" by APO Hiking Society # "Gusto Ko La-mang Sa Buhay" by

Itchyworms The Itchyworms is a Filipino rock band. The band is composed of Jazz Nicolas on drums, Jugs Jugueta on guitars, Kelvin Yu on bass guitars and Chino Singson on lead guitars. The group made their name in the OPM (Original Pilipino Music) scene in ...

# "BMD (Bring Me Down)" by

Cueshé Cueshé is a Filipino pop rock band from Cebu, Philippines, currently based in Manila. The band was formed in 1998 and hit mainstream in 2005. Background Formed in 1998 in Cebu by Fritz Labrado, Jovan Mabini and Mike Manaloto, the word Cueshé i ...

# "Gusto Na Kita" by

6 Cycle Mind 6cyclemind (sometimes spelled as ''Six Cycle Mind'', ''6 Cycle Mind'', ''6CycleMind'' or ''6Cyclemind'') is a Filipino rock band composed of Tito Fortunato "Tutti" Caringal II on vocals, Ryan "Rye" Sarmiento on rhythm and lead guitars and backing ...

# "Ikaw Pa Rin" by

# "Hintay" by

Callalily Lily (stylized in all caps, formerly known as Callalily) is a pop rock band from the Philippines formed in 2005. The band is currently composed of Lem Belaro, Aaron Ricafrente, Nathan Reyes, Joshua Bulot, and Alden Acosta, the band's original le ...

# "Di Nakikita" by Roots of Nature # "Migraine" by

Moonstar88 Moonstar88 is a Filipino rock band formed in Manila, Philippines in 1999. History Moonstar88 was formed in February 1999. They were signed to Sony BMG by 2006, and later to Ivory Records in 2012. Previously under Backbeat Management, they are n ...

# "Letter Day Story" by

# "Hanggang Dito Na Lang" by Jimmy Bondoc # "When I Met You" by KC Concepcion and Richard Gutierrez

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:When I Met U 2009 films GMA Pictures films Regal Entertainment films 2000s Tagalog-language films 2009 romantic comedy films Philippine romantic comedy films Films directed by Joel Lamangan 2000s English-language films