Amore (2020) Episode 1: First Sem

There were a lot of confusion with the release of the pilot episode of Amore especially regarding airing schedule and the number of parts per episode. The initial release of the first part of Episode 1: First Sem, supposedly Part 1 of 2, was behind schedule last Friday, then immediately after its airing, it was taken down both on Facebook and Youtube, only to be posted again hours later as Part 1 of 3 with unclear release schedule for Part 2 of 3 and Part 3 of 3. Part 2 of 3 aired on schedule last Sunday. Part 3 of 3 was supposed to be released this Friday but it aired today, two days ahead of schedule. Another reason for the first part to be taken down was its issues with editing. A weird “Media Offline” was shown in between the last two scenes of the first part when it was first uploaded that were edited out with the reupload. While the second and third parts didn’t have the same problem, they still suffered from very poor editing. To say that the launch of the series was problematic is an understatement. The plot/storyline of Amore, said to be based on a true story, was interesting though. There were unrealistic scenes like Madam Tusha forgetting about her nephew and there were unnecessary and unnatural dialogues that used purist Tagalog (Filipinos nowadays don’t talk that way anymore). Acting was quite uneven among the cast members. Erwin, Drei, Jules, Ivan, and Petite were alright, not outstanding, but were generally ok during the pilot episode. Erwin’s Joey was endearing enough that’s why it was believable that the boys like him. But the rest of the support cast needs improvement on their acting. The portrayals of women and gays were problematic in the pilot episode. Based on the credits, the cast members also include controversial vlogger Buknoy who has been called out for being elitist (search #BuknoyBasura to get an idea about the controversy). Frankly, I don’t understand why she’s continuously given a platform. In terms of production value, even with plenty of people working on the series (check out the credits), Amore was below average. Audio was really bad. There were times when they seem to be speaking from their graves. Camera work and lighting were patchy. And as already mentioned, editing was very poor. With all these, will I stick around for the next episode? Just for the interesting plot/storyline, my curiosity on who Joey end up with, and in support of the series’ budding actors, I think I will.

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