I first saw this film back in 2007 and have probably re-seen it around 10-15 times since then. The lines in this movie have been quoted millions of times on the interwebs, in school cafeterias, office lobbies and beauty parlors. Many consider this as the best contemporary Filipino love story, mainly because of the raw-ness of the plot and the effectiveness of the actors.

But it’s only now that I’m able to put my finger on what it looks to me as a glaring flaw in its story. I now honestly believe – after 7 years – that the ending is stupid.

Now before you go ballistic on me, let me show you where I’m coming from.

(Warning: A verbose tirade of bitterness is coming your way.)

The film starts out with Basha, an architect, breaking up and apparently asking for ‘space’ from his boyfriend, Popoy, an engineer. From the get-go, it was made pretty clear that Popoy was a very controlling partner,  from Basha's daily work up to the food she eats, and that made her feel constrained, forcing her to demand separation from Popoy.



Yes, it was absolutely 100% Popoy’s fault, because he was practically holding Basha by the neck and dictating her life. It was a mistreatment of neurotic proportions. That part is clear to me.

Here’s my problem.

The manner by which Basha supposedly ‘asked’ for space was, for me, quite unfair. Although she had all the right to complain about the way Popoy had been treating her, she could have at least sat down and talked about it with him, or made a lengthy rant about all of Popoy’s offenses. Hell, she could have shouted at him, slapped him, kicked his balls or judo-chopped his throat for all I care.

Instead, she chose to walk out on him, refused to give even a small bit of explanation, and left Popoy hanging in the air. Yes, Popoy made a mistake, no doubt. But he deserved to know what was wrong, because he didn’t know, and he had only the best intentions in mind.

I mean, they’ve been together for a long time, and she should have been decent enough to handle the situation maturely. That childish act was very unwarranted, given the foundation of their relationship. They weren’t just a couple of 16-year olds in a romantic fling; they were young professionals, saving for their dream house and planning for their future. But Basha acted like a typical high school girlfriend.

Despite that, I was like, okay, maybe Basha was so fed up that she couldn't muster enough strength to confront Popoy with the truth. Fine, I’ll give her that.

But even after a few weeks, she still didn’t do anything to let Popoy know what really happened. While Popoy was drowning in anguish, she was finger-painting t-shirts and had a nice haircut. She even smiled when she got out of the parlor, as if she had done a very noble thing. She found another workplace and made friends with a hunk. In short, there was no showing of pain, guilt, or devastation from her. It was as if she was 100% confident that what she did was the right thing, and she moved on swiftly. She fixed her life – just like that –  at the expense of Popoy’s misery.



Meanwhile, Popoy drank himself to death every night. His career got ruined, and he spent his days still wishing he would get to at least talk to Basha. The breakup was something he could have endured, but the painful part was not being able to do anything about it, because Basha denied him that chance.

That’s my problem. For me, what Basha did was too cruel. It’s not like Popoy was cheating on her, or beating her up, or was being an irresponsible partner. His only crime was that he cared too much about their future, not knowing that Basha was choking to death. Be that as it may, Popoy didn’t deserve to be dismissed like that. Basha made him feel as if he was totally expendable. That she could let him go anytime and not even explain why.

And then Popoy met Trisha. If it weren’t for this caring, unselfish woman, who knows where Popoy would have ended up? She picked him up during the lowest point in his life. Then he was okay again. His life got back on track, and they were in a loving relationship.

Until Basha got into the picture and ruined everything again.

Fact: Weeks after the breakup, Popoy was still desperately trying to get back to Basha, while Basha kept on ignoring him.

Fact: After the breakup, Basha immediately moved on. She became happy with her new life. Popoy took a long time before he could recover from the pain.

Fact: It was only when Basha knew that Popoy had a new girlfriend that she thought of Popoy again. If she hasn’t found out about Trisha, she could’ve went on with her life not giving a damn about Popoy.

Fact: If Basha did not desperately try to win back Popoy’s love, Popoy could have ended up very happy with Trisha. See how selfish Basha was?

But then here’s the stupid part.

1. Basha admitted to Popoy that she wished they were still together, and that was when Popoy uttered the famous line:



Of course, this was very unfair to Popoy. He had a girlfriend. But of course, to see your ex-girlfriend cry in front of you telling you that she still wants you and regrets letting you go is something that could totally cloud your judgment.

2. Then Basha went to Popoy’s apartment, suddenly becoming so apologetic about what she did a million years ago (something that’s supposed to be irrelevant already, had she not forcefully tried to bring back). Then she walked away, but when Popoy didn’t stop her, she turned back and cried like a baby. Pathetic. Of course they made out, made love, and the Filipino romantic hero wins again. Plain stupid.

I mean, what is that? Out of pity? Out of nostalgia? Has he forgotten how she literally took him for granted? How she, without warning, just cut him off entirely and ended their long relationship like she just flicked a switch? How she caused him to be jobless and physically unstable? How could he just forget that?

I don’t get it (I hear collective shouts of “love!” but no, that makes it even more stupid). The point is, he loved her, she had a problem, decided to bail on him, never looked back, left him to suffer, and now she wants him back. And he took that bait. Un-friggin-believable.

3. Because of this, Popoy had to break up with Trisha, who was a great girlfriend. He had to hurt an innocent person’s feelings. He had to inflict the same pain he had suffered from to someone he loved. He had to let go of a blossoming relationship, just because his ex suddenly got all mushy and decided to play mistress.



4. What’s even worse is that after Popoy dumped Trisha, he ended up with no one. He had to leave for Qatar and work his ass off to forget all the scandal that Basha had caused. Of course, after two years, they lived happily ever after. *facepalm*

It’s kind of jawdropping how this story ended up. I know that love stories are supposed to be complicated in real life, but how can we let this atrocity fool our emotions? I feel betrayed. I feel like I’m being fed with the same hopeless romantic crap we’ve been getting since the Jolina-Marvin era.

Don't get me wrong. ‘One More Chance’ is a good movie – a great one, actually. But for what it’s worth, I believe it deserved a better ending.