Seasons (2023)

Seasons 2023

4.5/10
One-dimensional friends struggle to become questionable lovers in this trope-heavy romantic drama

Our take

Bogged down by a platonic best friendship with a suspicious lack of communication and the repetitive use of tacky nicknames, Seasons never gains enough momentum to justify 108 minutes of uninteresting romance tropes. Carlo Aquino and Lovi Poe's chemistry is overshadowed by the glaring mound of unoriginal dialogue and drawn-out story. The lack of awareness and childish antics that culminate at the tail-end of a 15-year-long friendship are more disappointing than believable. With no external (or personal) struggles of their own, every sequence reinforces how flat and underdeveloped our leads are, as if they only engage with the world when close to, or thinking about, each other. Love-me/Love-me-not is never enough to carry the film.

Synopsis

After a string of failed relationships, two best friends make a deal to take risks and look for love again — but they might just find it in each other.

Storyline

Two best friends make a pact to find love again, but discover love may be closer than they think.

TLDR

"When will they kiss?" is not as important as "when will this end?"

What stands out

Surely, there's a universe where Aquino and Poe get to perform a better love story than this. With nothing to support them, the jovial cadence of their rapport barely shines in the mundane stream of events. It would have been better to see a film that builds on their friendship rather than the gimmick of friends-to-lovers, underscoring the chemistry that makes the film watchable. Their history, shoved into flashbacks and winding monologues, would have been worth both the actors' time and ours.