ALL  ABOUT  ANNE CURTIS
 
MANILA, April 20, 2005 (STAR) By Ryan Salvador, People Asia Magazine - I was forewarned by my friends who did not like Anne Curtis that I should grab onto my seat because her wide mouth could just vacuum me out of existence the moment she started to speak. Obviously a caveat from a hate camp, which condemned her for so many easy, available reasons that to argue with them would be pointless. I myself was then a trifle annoyed at her - her gnarled tongue that cannot elicit a decent Tagalog phrase, her insufferable squeamishness that ruins the little girl in her, her apparent pinballing from one boy-next-door to the next, which, um, ruins many chances of doing the same with these boys. Caution taken, I went to meet her for an interview. And they were right. She could vacuum you.

Only it's not her mouth that does it. The derision can just stop there. It is she herself that sucks you in, like an impish vortex that plunges you, whips you and then gives you an Is-she your-sister-is-she-your-daughter slap from Chinatown. Then it happened to me: that moment when celebrities peel their camera layer and reveal their true beautiful self, like a plumed serpent ready for a new close-up, a fresh dialogue and a new audience. Often stars look the same. They have that waxwork eeriness that's as eternal as sunshine and as spotless as an empty mind. Sometimes, they even look better on screen, which is a complete letdown. But with Anne Curtis I had a cliche moment referred to as "Iba ang hitsura n ya sa personal." (She looks different in person.) Her mouth is no bigger than anyone's. In fact whatever oddity it possesses surely comes to her advantage. Suddenly one pardons her lousy Tagalog, her insufferable image and her boy toy collection. I should have said: She is a different person.

So much different from the girl who nauseously played a fairy in Beh Bote Nga, tragically dressed like Blanche Dubois, her skinny arms flailing awkwardly, her face in grotesque adult makeup and her mouth quickly dispensing spells of disaster. She was Avril Lavigne given Prozac. She was singularly and consistently criticized for being maarte (prissy), something that she just shrugs off, claiming that all the roles that were given to her had that nature. She was limitedly packaged as that - exaggerating her squeamishness, squeaking her voice, annoying everyone. But as our talk progressed, the hate camp was completely destroyed. Rightly so, for Anne deserves a break. As in the case of Hiram, the primetime sudser from ABSCBN in which she plays Stephanie, one of the sides of the new love triangle brewing on series TV (Geoff Eigenmann and Heart Evangelista complete the menage). Another hackneyed part, but this time it's not in the vapid frame of adolescent callowness. Full support comes from veteran players and a more schizoid plotline for the young actors who are so used to the overdone "To-text-or-not-to-text" soliloquy. Anne's foray in this genre could be the Steph-no, Steph-yes of her career. If she gets it right, then she could blissfully dip her toes in meatier movie roles, and not just blend in the background like she did in Joel Lamangan's Filipinas.

With her more mature role in Hiram also comes her GSM Blue endorsement, one that heralds her true coming-out party. It has the perfect lethal mix of bubblegum fizz and lucid intoxication. But is she convincing enough? "I've said many times before, the reason I did that commercial was that when I go out myself I don't deny the fact that I drink, but it's social drinking and not getting drunk. For other people, though, they can't see that I'm already 20," Anne explained. Men can drink the liquor in moderation, but certainly they can't take their eyes off our Lolita from Down Under, the nymphet-turned-nymph who essays the role of Stephanie like she's lost her lollipop and begins to realize that she has better things to suck on, like Geoff's love and Heart's venom. The spitfire girl is born. And we embrace her for that. Especially when she landed a spot hosting the teen edition of The Buzz where she spoke with enough tongue-in-cheek humor to convince Kris Aquino to proclaim her the heir to her throne of tactlessness, tacky impudence and dating revelations. In fact, the many controversies that have pelted Anne have made her a favorite among the public. She readily admitted to the cellphone video, and showing her weakness and humanity and her raging hormones gave her absolution. Had she denied it, she couldn't have had the same stroke of luck she's currently enjoying. She, like the rest of us, is merely a victim of nature’s scheme. "I don’t see the point of not admitting it," she explained. "I’ve never been the kind of person to deny anything. I would just look like a liar."

There was a time when Anne wasn’t 20 yet and she was busy partying and hanging out with different boys. She was the wild mushroom of tipsy hour. "Well that was last year, but this time no more," Anne said in her defense. "I guess everyone goes through that stage when finally you’re free of your boyfriend and enjoying yourself. My God! Even if I finished work at three in the morning, I’d still take time to go out with the friends. But not anymore, I’m too tired." She also had a handful of suitors, notably Oyo Boy Sotto and Richard Gutierrez. Cogie Domingo even got punched by a jealous Oyo Boy on one occasion. After two and a half years, Anne called it quits with Oyo; she just wanted to have more fun. "But all these guys, I’m good friends with," she revealed. Danica Sotto, Oyo’s sister, is Anne’s good pal. "The Sottos are really quiet people. If you speak to them they can be friendly, but if they don’t know you, they won’t." Incidentally Dina Bonnevie plays Anne’s mother in Hiram. "It’s fun to work with her. She’s practically a mother to me."

But Anne cannot imagine what her life would’ve been like had she remained in Australia, where she was born and raised. (Her dad, who’s a lawyer, came to live here when Anne was 12.) "I am so happy that I’m here. If I were in Australia I’d have been in a boarding school!" Anne exclaimed. "My dad was strict when it came to education. He kept on discouraging me when I tried doing commercials, saying that they are just tricking me to get out of school." Anne is also thankful that she lives in this part of the world. "We lived in the country, so we’d be asleep around 8 or 9 p.m. It was really boring. But here there are so many gimmicks. As of now, being young, I prefer living here but maybe when I settle down, I’ll move back to Australia."

Recently, Anne participated in a hands-on outreach project. At the start, she was supposed to visit children in Pampanga who underwent cleft palate operations. She ended up giving them gifts. The reaction she got from them moved her. "Now I just want to help more," Anne admitted. She also believes that her profession has taught her the preeminent lesson in life, that of being patient. Now she grapples with the demands of work with a positive attitude. "Before I always whined about things. I was so picky. But now I am such a cowgirl. You can take me anywhere and I can do anything. I can also sleep anywhere."

At her young age, we are privy to the events of Anne’s life and she’s not embarrassed to admit to some of them, even if they are not that wholesome. She’s been to places we only wish we could go. Hopefully, Anne’s stars take her to places she’s never even imagined – like a really mature role in a vehicle movie that will further make her a good actress. And with that, we see no other reason for her to complain.