Four Sisters and a Wedding

Four Sisters and a Wedding is a 2013 Filipino family comedy-drama film written by Vanessa Valdez and directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina based on an original screenplay written and developed by Jose Javier Reyes. The film features Star Cinema's most prominent young actresses: Toni Gonzaga, Bea Alonzo, Angel Locsin and Shaina Magdayao, as the four sisters attempting to stop the wedding of their younger brother played by Enchong Dee. Actress Angelica Panganiban was originally part of the main cast but was pulled out and replaced by Shaina Magdayao.

Four Sisters and A Wedding
Theatrical movie poster
Directed byCathy Garcia-Molina
Written byVanessa Valdez
Screenplay byJose Javier Reyes[a]
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNoel Teehankee
Edited byMarya Ignacio
Music byRaul Mitra
Production
company
Distributed byStar Cinema
Release dates
  • June 26, 2013 (2013-06-26) (Philippines)
  • July 5, 2013 (2013-07-05) (International)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino
Budget₱20 Million (estimated)
Box office₱145 million[1]

The film is part of Star Cinema's 20th anniversary presentation in collaboration with Rebisco on its 50th anniversary. Four Sisters and a Wedding was released in the Philippines on June 26, 2013, and internationally on July 5, 2013.[2]

Plot

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When CJ, the youngest and only boy of the Salazar siblings, announces that he is getting married, his sister, Gabbie, convinces the other sisters to come back home for the wedding as requested by their mother Grace. Teddie, the eldest, is a laid-off teacher secretly working as a waitress and housekeeper in Madrid; the second, Bobbie, works as a corporate communications manager in New York and lives with her boyfriend Tristan and his daughter Trixie; the third, Alex, lives independently as an assistant film director; while Gabbie is a teacher who takes care of their mother.

Bobbie, having a difficult relationship with Trixie, is pressured by Tristan's eagerness to get married. Alex, on the other hand, is having a hard time with her filmmaking gig as well as her relationship with Bobbie's ex, Chad. Meanwhile, Teddie, who cannot afford to buy a plane ticket, convinces her colleague Frodo to return to Manila together and pretend that they are a couple.

When the family reunites, the sisters express their opinion on CJ's abrupt decision to marry, offending him and prompting them to apologize. CJ accepts their apology but tells them to behave themselves when they meet his fiancée, Princess Bayag, and her family.

At the Bayags' villa, Princess's parents, Jeanette and Honey Boy, ask him to sign a prenuptial agreement. Appalled, the sisters decided to formulate a plan to stop the wedding. When Bobbie suggests that CJ is only marrying Princess because he is running out of options, Teddie asks their housekeeper, Toti Marie, to introduce CJ to a lot of girls. Toti Marie comes up with a boys’ night out with prostitutes, which fails. The following day, as Tristan is about to leave overseas, he tells Bobbie that by the time he returns, she should now be willing to marry him.

Meanwhile, Teddie and Frodo visit one of the Bayags’ businesses - a spa with an obscene tagline offering a "happy ending" to customers. Thinking that they would find anomalies, Teddie asks Frodo to avail their services. As Frodo moans in one of the massage areas, Teddie immediately calls the police to have the area inspected but finds out that the "happy ending" refers to happy thoughts after a massage. Jeanette arrives and threatens to have the Salazars investigated.

CJ confronts his sisters about the spa incident and assures them that the wedding will take place regardless. Bobbie confronts Teddie for continuing her plan, leading to an argument. Later that evening, Bobbie sees Chad flirting with another woman while buying condoms at a convenience store. The following morning, Bobbie talks to Alex about what she saw, but they end up fighting.

The Bayags visit the Salazars to show the gowns for the wedding. The Salazars do not like them, so Honey Boy decides that they play charades - wherein the family who wins gets to decide what gowns to wear. During the game, the Bayags kept on hinting that Teddie is a maid. Grace immediately disrupts them and makes the Bayags leave for insulting her daughter. Grace confronts Teddie about the Bayag's behavior, and she admits that she was laid off during the recession, and lets go of all of her emotional turmoil. During the confrontation, Bobbie tells Grace how hurt she was her whole life, for not being anyone's favorite, and how jealous she was of her siblings for all of their different traits. She explains how hard and lonely her life was in New York. Upon hearing her struggles, Trixie has a change of heart to Bobbie.

The following day, Alex and Bobbie reconcile, and Alex confronts Chad and breaks up with him. Later that day, CJ informs his family that Princess's grandfather died. The two families reconcile and give their apologies. Due to a superstition that prohibits weddings after the death in the family within a year, CJ and Princess's wedding does not push through. In order for the preparations and expenses not to go to waste, Bobbie uses them to marry Tristan, with the Salazars wearing the Bayags' gowns.

Cast

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Soundtrack

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The film's soundtrack was Salamat, which was written by Christian Martinez, and performed by Richard Yap. The said song was also used in the celebration of Rebisco's (the film's sponsor) 50th anniversary.

Accolades

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Year Award Category Recipients and nominees Outcome
2014 62nd FAMAS Awards[3] Best Picture Four Sisters and a Wedding Nominated
Best Director Cathy Garcia-Molina Nominated
Best Actress Bea Alonzo Nominated
Toni Gonzaga Nominated
Angel Locsin Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Coney Reyes Nominated
Best Screenplay Vanessa Valdez Nominated
Best Story Nominated
Best Film Editing Marya Ignacio Nominated
Best Sound Raul Mitra Nominated
Best Musical Score Nominated
16th Gawad PASADO Awards[4] Best Supporting Actress Toni Gonzaga Won
Bea Alonzo Won
Angel Locsin Won
Shaina Magdayao Won
30th PMPC Star Awards for Movies[5] Movie of the Year Four Sisters and a Wedding Nominated
Movie Actress of the Year Bea Alonzo Nominated
Angel Locsin Nominated
Movie Director of the Year Cathy Garcia-Molina Nominated
Movie Screenwriter of the Year Vanessa R. Valdez Nominated
Movie Supporting Actress of the Year Coney Reyes Nominated
Movie Editor of the Year Marya Ignacio Nominated
Movie Cinematographer of the Year Manuel Teehankee Nominated
Movie Musical Scorer of the Year Raul Mitra Nominated
Movie Sound Engineer of the Year Aurel Claro Bilbao Nominated
Movie Production Designer of the Year Winston Acuyong Nominated
11th Golden Screen Awards[6] Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) Four Sisters and a Wedding Nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Musical or Comedy) Angel Locsin Nominated
Bea Alonzo Nominated
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Musical or Comedy) Enchong Dee Nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Musical or Comedy) Coney Reyes Nominated

Prequel

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On February 27, 2020, Star Cinema announced that the film will be getting a prequel entitled "Four Sisters Before the Wedding". The prequel will also be directed by Giselle Andres, an assistant director in the original film, however, Mae Cruz-Alviar replaced her instead, and it will be set during the Salazar siblings' teenage years. The prequel will star Charlie Dizon, Alexa Ilacad, Gillian Vicencio, and Belle Mariano as Teddie, Bobbie, Alex, and Gabbie, respectively. It will be produced by SCX, a new sub-brand under ABS-CBN Films, Star Cinema.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Philippines Box Office July 10–14, 2013".
  2. ^ Jarloc, Glaiza (June 2, 2013). "Family romcom to mark Star Cinema's 20th year". SunStar Manila. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  3. ^ MB Entertainment. "FAMAS 2014 nominees revealed". mb.com.ph. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  4. ^ "Kapamilya stars are 'Pasado'!". starcinema.abs-cbn.com. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  5. ^ "'Ekstra,' 'On the Job' lead Star Awards nominees". ABS-CBN News. February 24, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  6. ^ "FULL LIST: Winners, 11th Golden Screen Awards". Rappler.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  7. ^ Matalog, Patricia (February 27, 2020). "'Four Sisters and a Wedding' prequel: Alexa, Charlie, Gillian, and Belle to topbill!". Star Cinema. Retrieved February 27, 2020.

Notes

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  1. ^ Jose Javier Reyes wrote the original screenplay before being adapted by Vanessa Valdez.
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