You might be no stranger to Glorious – the steamy Angel Aquino and Tony Labrusca movie that took the Philippines by storm a few years ago.

The movie is about the love affair of 22- year-old Niko (portrayed by Labrusca) and the 50-year-old Glory (Aquino). Their affection arises in the worst time possible. She is technically married with three children and he is a hardware salesman.

Angel Aquino and Tony Labrusca movie - Steamy But Lifeless

The opening of this Angel Aquino and Tony Labrusca film resembles that of Unfaithful – a thriller released in 2002. In Unfaithful, the married Diane Lane is on a train home while she recalled details of her affair with Olivier Martinez. A similar approach can be seen in Glorious, but this time, it is Glory on a public jeep thinking about Niko.

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The publicity the trailer gets makes many expect that the movie itself will be worth their time. But unfortunately, it is the exact opposite. The backstories are sloppily executed and the highlights are the scenes in which the stunning Aquino makes love with Labrusca.

The whole thing exudes a feeling you get when you see a movie made with a limited budget. The cinematography is mediocre and half of the time it looks like wedding videography while the rest seems like a commercial.

The Angel Aquino and Tony Labrusca movie gives a fairly reasonable excuse for the affair. Glory’s insecurity steers her toward the comfort of being with a younger man. She is broke, old, and is married to a man who doesn’t appreciate her as she is. Plus, he constantly reminds her that he was the one paying for her brain tumor surgery.

When her husband expresses his dislike for a desk lamp, Glory has to shop for a new one and that is how she meets Niko.

When Glory struggles to describe the kind of lamp she is looking for, the salesman starts describing what the store has in a very sexual way. Glory told the guy that her husband would come back later to see if what she chose passes his high standard. When Niko asked for her number, Glory gave it to him. So it is obviously lust that colors their first encounter in this Angel Aquino and Tony Labrusca movie.

With an intensified insecurity when her husband mocks the lamp she chose, Glory finds consolation in the text sent by Niko. They immediately become some kind of friends and start to something more intimate. It would have been more of a success if the two had shown some chemistry between them.

However, in this Angel Aquino and Tony Labrusca Glorious movie, audience can see, and feel none. There are moments when the two try to create a love look for each other but fail to do so, making the whole scene seems awkward.  

Just A Media Hype

The movie script appears like it was written by an amateur and its lines are stiff and soulless. Angel Aquino is a talented actor and Labrusca isn’t too bad himself but somehow, they show a substandard and disappointing performance in Glorious. However, none of these would matter if you could focus on the stunning face of Aquino and the toned body of Labrusca.

Overall, Angel Aquino and Tony Labrusca movie has no tension at all, except for moments of discontent showed by Glory’s friend and the confrontation between her and Mia – her youngest daughter, who blames mom for being absent which leads to Mia’s pre-marital sex with her boyfriend. Not a very good reason but Glory did feel guilty for being carried away by the affair.

If Corner4men has to sum up the whole movie in just a few words, they will be dull, comical, and crude. Glorious is made to create media hype and that’s is it. This kind of affair does happen in real life by the movie is far from portraying it accurately because it lacks insight, drama, and thrill.

The movie is after the kind of genre that will surely attract attention. But if you want anything to take away from it, you will be disappointed. If you are looking for something Filipino with more depth, finding a good Pinoy indie movie to stream is a good idea.

This Angel Aquino and Tony Labrusca movie is a weak attempt to tackle a long-time issue of family, sexual desire, and happiness. But it does so with a mediocre script and lifeless performance of the main protagonists.