The enduring love team of Marvin and Jolina
‘They still have it, you know. As Tina and Pio, the chemistry, kilig, warmth and sincerity are all in.’
The perfect mix of sincere television and film on-magic, a love team that went beyond its template, did not fool its fandom with mushy and romantic stuff, and remained friends in the truest sense of the word — these are some of the reasons why the Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal pairing continues to shine. And it shines even brighter now that they are the lead stars of Roman Perez Jr.’s Mommy Guard, a light-hearted romantic comedy series that centers on the life of Tina Dimaapi (Jolina Magdangal), a dedicated single mother of Happy (Amo Wilding), who becomes a security guard at an elite school for the arts, where she crosses paths with its principal and school owner, Pio Areola (Marvin Agustin).
Found story
“It is a found story,” said director Roman Perez Jr. about Mommy Guard. “The inspiration came from the interview of Julius Babao with star Bridget de Joya, who became a security guard for a private school in Pampanga.
“Her story is a tale of survival, perseverance and the love of a mother for her child,” the director added. “She works as a security guard because she wants to earn her keep and gain custody of her child. The interview gave me the germ of an idea to make a series about a security guard with all her struggles and successes.”
On casting the MarJo love team, Perez said: “They still have it, you know. As Tina and Pio, the chemistry, kilig, warmth and sincerity are all in.”
“Having them as leads is my way of reintroducing them to the present Gen Zs,” Perez said. “We have a MarJo tandem who is 100 percent talented and are great actors. How can I go wrong? The respect and trust they have for each other, I don’t only sense it, I feel it, and the camera captures it and brings it on screen. They are fully committed to giving the best amount of truth to their Tina and Pio.”
What Perez wants their show to achieve, he said: “I want to change the afternoon drama culture and time slot with something fun, light and inspiring. I am here, the show is here, to break the habit of watching melodramatic offerings.
“Audiences do not want sadness and tragedies nowadays because of the current state of things,” Perez added. “They want joy in their lives, a reason for smiling and going on, inspiration for the daily grind. This is what we have and offer to the televiewers.”
Perez is proud of the fact that “Mommy Guard is the first Filipino television show with an afternoon time slot that earned and has a Netflix streaming. Pambihira iyan! And I give credit to Marvin and Jolina for making us realize this feat. They are at par with and a welcome addition to the league of extraordinary comedic tandems such as Dolphy and Nida Blanca, Freddie Webb and Nova Villa, and Maricel Soriano and Cesar Montano. They were never romantically involved, but they gave purity and sincerity to the love shared by their characters that the audiences loved. Marvin and Jolina are like these former happy duos.”
Doña Gwen Areola
Seasoned actress Susan Africa portrays Doña Gwen Areola, a widow and mother of Pio (Marvin Agustin) and Penny (Pearl Gonzales). She comes from a wealthy clan that owns the school, the Asian Academy for the Arts (AAA), where her son is the principal.
“Mommy Gwen is spoiled, rich, but she is addicted to mahjong and is an alcoholic,” said Africa. “What attracted me to portray her is that I am going to play a character that is comedic. It’s a very unique role for me because, for a change, I play someone wealthy and haughty, and the role is funny at times.”
“Direk Roman offered me the role last June when I was still doing Blood vs Duty,” Africa said. “In this case, the role found me, and I was excited because it is something new and challenging. You will totally see a different Susan Africa in Mommy Guard.”
Africa shared her thoughts on what she considers the exciting and fresh elements of the show: “Aside from the much-awaited reunion of Marvin and Jolina, we have been experiencing a dearth of light comedies in Philippine television. This fresh and unique approach will hopefully be welcomed by all kinds of audiences, young and old.”
“I am happy and amazed by the pull and the kilig that their tandem brings to fans and all audiences alike,” Africa answered when asked about her thoughts on the Agustin-Magdangal love team. “After all these years, their chemistry is still vibrant, and their energy extends beyond the screen. I think what they have is immortal.”
As to why audiences must watch the show, Africa said: “There is a lot of disturbing news going around — the impeachment, the Chinese invasion of the West Philippine Sea, the Iran war, corruption and the floods, etc. The show can serve not as a distraction but as a breather when one gets tired of all the anxiety and negativity. Also, the audience will definitely swoon over MarJo and will be entertained by the hilarious situations presented in the show.”
Mommy Guard premieres on Netflix on 16 October. Starting 19 October, it will air Monday to Friday at 2:30 p.m., after Eat Bulaga on TV5, as well as on ABS-CBN platforms, including the Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z, ALLTV and iWantTFC.