Versus (M2M 3)

Paolo Rivero Versus Paolo Serrano

The two Paolos play characters that snugly fit their public personas: Paolo Rivero is serious and mature (he's an Urian-nominated actor who's been making movies for close to a decade), while Paolo Serrano is impetuous and happy-go-lucky (he's allegedly involved in a webcam scandal in which he flashes his privates and in another scandal in which he allegedly extorted money from a gay lover). The contrast works erotic wonders.

They're neighbors who meet, have lots of sex, fall in love, fight, and break up. Think of it like a story from Kwentong Kalibugan -- short (a little over 40 minutes), something trite you might have heard before or thought up yourself, but delivers for as long as it gets you hot and hard. The set pieces are standard Pinoy softcore: shower, bedroom, bodega, car, basketball court. No dialogue too, just voice-overs. Clearly, the cost of making it must have been minimal, but you almost can't tell by the relatively decent technical values.

The two actors use their bodies well -- torsos, butts, pubes, bushy armpits, sweat, musculature. But half the appeal is in their facial expressiveness. Rivero brings the gravitas of a repressed man blossoming, but it's Serrano who steals the scenes with his unstoppably horny behavior. He channels sex with the mere flash of his naughty boyish smile. My favorite is when he assaults his partner's body with his actively lapping lips. I only wish the narrative didn't wind down disappointingly to a ho-hum ending. Here's to more Versuses.

GRADE: B

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