For Filipinos, ‘love teams’ are essential to Philippine entertainment. One might even think that we are a nation of romantics.
Love teams through the years
American cinema inspired the first Filipino romance films. The first love team appeared in Philippine cinema in 1928. Actors Mary Walter and Gregorio Fernandez starred in “Ang Lumang Simbahan.” Since then, love teams have captivated the Filipino audience.
Later on, war movies and romance films ruled the Golden age of Philippine cinema. In the 1950s, the most famous pair on the silver screen was Nida Blanca and Nestor De Villa. They were both acclaimed as solo artists at the time but worked well together. They starred in 11 movies and even went on to have their own TV show.
Since then, television has become the starting point of actors and, of course, love teams. The iconic tandems of Judy Ann Santos and Wowie De Guzman, Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz, and Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil all began in television and went on to make blockbuster movies.
Reel to real expectations
Hollywood romance films may have inspired Philippine love teams, but the two could not be more different. Filipino fans expect love teams to stay together on their next projects. Unfortunately, this expectation limits the career move options of the actors. In comparison, Hollywood actors are free to choose which projects they want.
Next, fans dream for the love team to become a couple in real life. Eventually, some of them do become real-life couples. This reel to real-life transitions further fuels the Filipinos’ belief in on-screen romance translating to real-life romance.
In contrast, the romance part for Hollywood actors is only part of the job for their film. It’s not uncommon for Hollywood co-stars to become real-life couples. However, they are not as pressured as Filipino love teams are.
Based on these comparisons, being part of an exclusive pairing does not seem to be a good career move. But Philippine entertainment does not always follow rational logic. The benefits of being part of a pair seem to outweigh the disadvantages significantly.
Being part of love teams has helped catapult actors to stardom. Some actors whose careers benefited from being part of a love team are Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, Nadine Lustre and James Reid, and Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. Their popularity and bankability rose with the popularity of their love teams.
Selling the fantasy is good showbusiness.
The Philippine entertainment industry has proven that anything from love teams will be a big hit. Indeed, producers know their best-selling product and who to sell it to.
According to a paper written by Richard Bolisay in 2019, “Love teams are constructed and commodified for a specific audience.” The ideal heterosexual romantic relationship–after all the drama, boy sweeps girl off her feet followed by the closing scene of a cinematic kiss–sells well to the Filipino masses.
Perhaps being an idealistic, hopeless romantic is ingrained in the Filipino psyche. After all, the term ‘kilig’ is unique to our culture. And this is what the producers of love teams heavily bank on. Additionally, love teams offer a kind of escape from reality, with its fairytale endings.
Consequently, the highest-grossing Filipino movie of all time as of 2019 is a romance movie. The film Hello, Love, Goodbye was released in 2019 and was starred by actors Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards. Both initially from other popular love teams, each with their respective massive fan clubs. What’s interesting is that the film succeeded despite breaking the love team rule.
Years prior, independent romance films were already slowly becoming popular. Films such as Ang Kwento Nating Dalawa (2015), 100 Tula Para Kay Stella (2017) and Kita Kita (2017) became popular without love teams and the cookie-cutter romance formula. In contrast, they all had less than ideal, unexpected endings.
The love team-crazy Filipino audience is evolving. They still want the feel-good thrill of romance. But now, they also want to know the pain that also comes with the joys of being in love. In the end, as time, box office records, and all the fan clubs have proven, love teams are here to stay.