Bride for Rent is a 2014 Filipino romantic comedy film directed by Mae Czarina Cruz starring Kim Chiu and Xian Lim. It is produced by Star Cinema as its opening salvo for the year. The film achieved numerous milestones: it became the second highest grossing Filipino romantic comedy movie of all-time after It Takes a Man and a Woman; the sixth highest grossing non-MMFF film after Hello, Love, Goodbye, The Hows of Us, Maid in Malacañang, The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin, and It Takes a Man and a Woman; and the highest-grossing Filipino film to be released in January.[3][4][5]

Bride for Rent
Theatrical movie poster
Directed byMae Czarina Cruz
Written by
  • Carmi G. Raymundo
  • Charlene Grace Bernardo
Produced byCharo Santos-Concio
Starring
CinematographyDan Villegas
Edited byMarya Ignacio
Music byCesar Francis S. Concio
Production
company
Distributed byStar Cinema
Release date
  • January 15, 2014 (2014-01-15)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryPhilippines
Languages
  • Filipino
  • English
Box office
  • ₱326 million[1] (Domestic gross)
  • US$1,281,815.00[2] (North American gross)

The film met both critical and commercial success, earning more than ₱21.2 million in its opening day[6][7] and broke the ₱200 million pesos mark on its 8th day.[8] The film's trailer became a viral hit prior to the film's premier garnering over 2 million views as of January 25, 2014[9] and was frequently part of the local Twitter trending topics during its theatrical run.[10] It also received an average rating of 7.5/10 in IMDb and a 3.9/5 in Rotten Tomatoes with 73% liking the said film as of February 12.[11] It was graded "B" by the Cinema Evaluation Board and rated PG by the MTRCB.[12]

Plot

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Rocco Espiritu and Rocky Dela Cruz have one thing in common: they are both in need of money, fast.

On the eve of his 25th birthday, the day he's set to receive money from his grandmother, Lala's trust fund, Rocco parties, gets drunk, and loses all his money on a poker match. Now he has to produce the amount, otherwise he will lose the client he needs to defeat his father's TV commercial production company. Meanwhile, Rocky also needs money to pay the rent, otherwise her family will be homeless.

The only way for Rocco to get money from his trust fund is to fulfill the conditions set by his grandmother and that is to get married. That's when he meets Rocky who agrees to act as his pseudo wife in exchange for a “talent fee.” With Rocco's tempting offer and Rocky's need for money, the two seal the deal. However, Lala sees through their ruse but is sympathetic with Rocky, helping her deal with her grandson and officially hiring her to continue the fraud. After a series of slow starts, the "married" couple start an idea to jumpstart their finances by creating a film on relationships featuring married couples.

Rocco develops genuine feelings for Rocky and proposes to her at a dinner with Lala and his father. But Rocky, who feels guilt at having to engage in the fraud, refuses, tells the whole truth and walks out. Lala later urges Rocco to reconcile with his father and seek out Rocky, seeing how they are in love with each other. The two eventually reconcile and marry for real, with both finally stable financially.

Cast

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Main cast

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  • Kim Chiu as Racquelita "Rocky" Dela Cruz
  • Xian Lim as Roderico "Rocco" Espiritu, Jr.

Supporting cast

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Guest cast

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  • Ivan Asuncion as Young Rocco
  • Artemio C. Abad Jr. as Videoke Director
  • Loven Canon as Marsique
  • Patricia Prieto as Tricia
  • Mark Mcmahon as Tricia's husband
  • Regine "Apan" T. Agra as Kukai
  • Angel Remulla as Rocco's mother
  • Amelia Villaruel as Maricel
  • Jackie Aquino as Rod's wife

Special participation

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  • Tirso Cruz III as Roderico "Rod" Espiritu, Sr. (Rocco's father)
  • Bodie Cruz as young Roderico Espiritu Sr. (Rocco's father in picture)
  • Mr. & Mrs. Eugene and Jacqueline Lopez-Kaw as themselves
  • Mr. & Mrs. Gary and MM Bogarin as themselves
  • Mr. & Mrs. Nor and Pia Domingo as themselves
  • Mr. & Mrs. Ed and Baby Ferriols as themselves
  • Mr. & Mrs. Robert and Dina Labayen as themselves
  • Mr. & Mrs. Nelson and Millie Villar as themselves

References

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[13]

  1. ^ http://www.pds.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Disclosure-No.-554-2015-Annual-Report-for-Fiscal-Year-Ended-December-31-2014-SEC-FORM-17-A.pdf [dead link]
  2. ^ http://moviecitynews.com/2014/03/the-weekend-report-84/ [dead link]
  3. ^ Kim and Xian back to comedy in Bride for Rent
  4. ^ "Kim Chiu is 'Bride For Rent'". Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  5. ^ Kim Chiu turns comedienne in 'Bride for Rent' teasers
  6. ^ Kim-Xian film 'Bride for Rent' earns P21.2M on first day
  7. ^ 'Bride for Rent' earns P100M in 4 days
  8. ^ 'Bride for Rent' crosses P200M on 8th day
  9. ^ Funny 'Bride for Rent' trailer quickly goes viral
  10. ^ Bride for Rent - Trending Topics
  11. ^ Bride for Rent at Rotten Tomatoes
  12. ^ "'Bride for Rent' is Graded B". Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  13. ^ Bride for Rent earns 325 million in less than 4 weeks making it one of the top-grossing movies of all time
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