Despite its daring and sexy trailer, the team behind the film Guilty Pleasure urges its audience to go beyond and see the depth of its message.

During their media conference last Thursday, October 10, the production team behind the Lovi Poe, JM de Guzman, and Jameson Blake project shared what the film actually talks about.

“Guilty Pleasure is about the complex emotions that you feel when you are faced with the struggle kung anong pipiliin mo: what is right or what your heart desires. Kasi minsan alam mong bawal, alam mong masama, pero masarap kaya gagawin mo pa rin,” explained writer Noreen Capili.

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Director Connie Macatuno explained that having sensual scenes was a deliberate move to highlight womanhood.

“Maraming sensual moments kasi pelikula ng babae. Asahan mo na ‘yun. May kurba, malambot, mabango, kaya sensual siya,” she shared. “However, iba-iba naman ng views ang kasama mo sa isang kuwarto kung ano ang sensual o hindi. Lahat ng intimate scenes na ginawa namin sa film were carefully thought of.”Behind the steamy scenes is the intention to deliver a message about womanhood and sex positivity. It is one way to claim body autonomy, to give the woman a voice to claim what she wants for herself. 

“Babae ito eh. Gusto niya marinig yung boses niya. She wants her voice to be heard and at the same time she is a feminine woman, who’s nurturing, who’s loving, who’s gentle, but she knows what she wants,” Direk Connie further explained. “That is what I want women to recognize and see: to see the strength of this character, to see the strength of them as they watch the film.”

As per Noreen’s previous post, “Guilty Pleasure explores the complex relationships and personal struggles of three ambitious lawyers as they navigate their way through love, betrayal, and revenge. This movie also sheds light on important issues of accountability and consent."

ABS-CBN News explained that the film will highlight “women’s violence, women empowerment, and women’s guilty pleasure”.

With such a risky and bold role, why did Lovi still accept the role of Alexis Miranda?

“The story,” she stated simply. “I remember when I read the script, it was something that I said. ‘It’s a bit risky’ kasi it’s a story that's never been talked about, I believe. So parang ako, of course, I’m always there to entertain when we release films, to entertain, make people happy, magpakilig. But this one, we are here to spark a conversation and that’s for me, I was blown away.”

Lovi also said how important it is for the audience to understand the core of their film and to give a platform for a topic that would often be contained to behind closed doors.

“There's something that needs to be talked about,” Lovi stressed. “I think that's one of the reasons why this film would be very (relevant).”

Direk Connie added, “It’s the beginning of something, eh. It’s bigger than this film, and we hope na it sparks a conversation para furthermore mapagusapan pa siya, ma-discuss pa siya, gawan pa siya ng other versions of.”

In an interview with PUSH, Lovi shared that while the whole cast and team did have a good time on the set, they were also mindful of the responsibility they had to relay their intended message to their audience. They were careful with how they handled the story and portrayed their characters.

“Ako, I really enjoyed filming Guilty Pleasure kasi sobrang maganda ‘yung story niya and malalim ang story. Of course we enjoyed sa set, pero since may mga sensitive topic kami dito, we were shooting it very mindfully and kailangan talaga, you know, with so much care. No matter how much we were enjoying sa set, we had to take care of the real core ng film,” she said.

Guilty Pleasure, which is produced by Regal Entertainment and Lovi’s production company, C’est Lovi Productions, will be available in cinemas on October 16. 

The film also stars Dustin Yu, Sarah Edwards and Angelica Lao.