Love or Money (2021)

Money can be earned...but love rarely happens

Set in Dubai, Love or Money was a story of star-crossed lovers. Overly cliched, with the old debate of "love or money" given central stage.

Angelica Panganiban and Coco Martin played Angel and Leon, two people who had a disastrous, but memorable one night stand in the Philippines and later met up again in Dubai. Born into poverty with an unmarried, drug addicted mother, Angel raised her siblings and vowed to not make the same mistakes. For her, money would always come before love. Leon wanted to make enough money to help his family and eventually open his own restaurant and live a simple life. The two clashing life philosophies were not enough to keep the two lovers apart who were inexorably drawn to each other. Their greatest obstacle, aside from Angel's fear of being poor, was that she was the mistress of a wealthy, older, abusive man. Connect the dots and you'll understand the formulaic picture.

Angelica was able to convey many of Angel's conflicted feelings. Coco didn't have quite the same acting range. There were several interesting side characters who gave natural performances as Filipinos working overseas to send money home. Enrique, the evil financier, was played and written poorly. The star of the show was Dubai, a beautiful setting that photo bombed many less than enthralling scenes.

Love or Money wasn't a bad movie, it was just weighted down by an overly used formula that didn't have strong enough performances to elevate it.

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