The Cheating Game Review: The Filipino romantic comedy film is directed and written by Rod Marmol in collaboration with Sharon Masula, Jessie Villabrille, and Sharon Masula. The movie features Julie Anne San Jose as Hope, Rayver Cruz as Miguel, Martin Del Rosario as Brian, Yayo Aguila, Candy Pangilinan, Wynwyn Marquez, Thea Tolentino, Phi Palmos, Paolo Contis, Ken Celestial Cacao, Edwin Guillermo, Bernadette Anne Morales, Evan Tan, and others. It has a runtime of 105 minutes.
The Cheating Game Plot
The plot revolves around Hope, a passionate woman who is very dedicated to her work. Unfortunately, she was cheated on by her boyfriend, which led her to resign from her job. She was working on building an NGO with her boyfriend. Later, she even found a leaked video of him with an anonymous woman, which shattered her completely. However, she eventually finds a new job as a content producer, where she creates a ‘cheat sheet’ for navigating the treacherous terrain of dating. Amidst the chaos, she meets Miguel, a successful entrepreneur who initially appears to be the perfect match but ultimately proves to be connected to her past.
-The Cheating Game Review Contains Mild Spoilers-
The Cheating Game Review
At first, the movie gives the impression that it’s going to be about a girl trying to recover from being cheated on. Then, it shifts focus to her obtaining a new job. Next, it revolves around a sex video circulating on the Internet featuring her ex and an unidentified woman. She is wrongly accused of uploading it.
After that, it delves into her work at a company specialising in creating viral content. Following this, it explores her budding relationship with a new guy who, coincidentally, has also experienced infidelity. And then, it introduces other elements, but revealing them would spoil the twist. However, transitioning from one plot to another was not even smooth enough for you to decide what was happening or which issue had the bigger impact.
The movie certainly seems to have something to convey, and perhaps that message is even commendable. However, it’s all tied to a narrative that falls short. It keeps changing directions, never building significant momentum, and introduces new concepts before the previous ones have time to settle. It could have chosen any of its various storylines to focus on, providing the narrative with depth. Instead, it constantly shifts between them, resulting in a lack of fully developed elements.
The story of how she was a workaholic was not even clear, and how the viral media hashtag was connected to everything with the leak was also on the surface without much clarification. The concept of moving on and the romance didn’t even give me enough time to truly become invested in the central romance of the film before it’s abruptly unveiled that not everything is as it appears.
The film also seems to touch on the murkiness of the content creation industry, but the portrayal presented is so far removed from recognizable reality. The notion of a company employing a stable of influencers without any guidance on the type of content they should create or oversight on brand integration and monetization is hard to believe. While there are moments of charm, the overall story doesn’t quite add up
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This film lacks a central theme, oscillating inconsistently between themes of cheating and moving on. It undergoes abrupt genre shifts, transitioning from romcom to crime drama to sitcom, creating a disjointed viewing experience. The sound and scoring tend to be overwhelming, impeding the overall flow. The narration occasionally over-explains the events, diminishing the engagement. The dialogue feels contrived and lacks authenticity and emotional depth. Prolonged conversations are purposefully drawn out, seemingly for dramatic effect, which hinders the pacing. These flaws disrupt the immersion in the movie.
While the main character is a digital content creator, at the start, when Hope tells everyone that she used to work in an NGO, the people literally say, ‘Is NGO a brand like YSL?’ which sort of seemed like it was trying to portray that you don’t need brains for this job. The process of creation, conceptualization, and uploading is never shown. Suddenly, viral videos appear without context. The term ‘anatomy’ is used loosely, and critical aspects like video recording, privacy infringement, and basic research are left unexplored.
Julie Anne San Jose and Rayver Cruz deliver decent performances, but they don’t evoke a profound emotional impact, as the romance between them was never something that would make you root for the couple. Other potential characters felt underutilized; they could have used her family more to emphasize the importance of bonds that aid in healing.
The whole video leak felt unnecessary, and if they wanted to focus solely on the issue of leaked video scandals, then they should have avoided incorporating the story of moving on in life, as it added too many plot elements and made the story crumble. While there’s an evident attempt to elevate this film beyond a typical romcom, the more it strives for edginess and distinctiveness, the more it drifts into territory that feels disconnected from the audience’s experiences.
Netflix The Cheating Game Review: Final Thoughts
The movie attempts to tackle a range of themes, from infidelity to moving on and even delves into the complexities of content creation. However, the film’s narrative suffers from a lack of focus, constantly shifting between storylines without allowing any one theme to develop fully. This results in a disjointed viewing experience, leaving the audience struggling to connect with the characters and their journeys. While Julie Anne San Jose and Rayver Cruz deliver competent performances, the romance between them lacks the depth needed to engage the audience truly.
Additionally, the film’s portrayal of the content creation industry feels far removed from reality, and critical aspects like privacy infringement and research are left unexplored. Ultimately, The Cheating Game falls short of its potential, leaving viewers with a sense of unfulfilled promise.
The Cheating Game 2023 is now streaming on Netflix.
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We have the same view of the movie. Di ko pa nababasa ang review mo ay naguguluhan na ako sa movie. They even tried varied styles sa cinematography. Ala Chopseuy.
Sanay kc kayo sa typical Pinoy movies na predictable. Try watching Japanese movies na sasakit ulo mo sa kaiisip kung anong nangyari.