Synopsis

Continuing the tradition of national artist Ishmael Bernal’s benchmark film Working Girls after 25 years, Working Girls of 2010 depicts the role of women in the new millennium.

Seven women of different backgrounds, stories and personalities entwined in a colorful story of family, love and life…

Dr. Cleo Carillo (Eula Valdes) is a very well-known cosmetic surgeon to celebrities. Her clients include high profile beauty queens and socialites such as Marilou Cobarrubias (Ruffa Gutierrez) and Betchay Magbutay-Cavendish (Carmi Martin). She is successful in her field and enjoys being in the spotlight but her success is not without intrigues and lawsuits, something which is not new to her star client Marilou.

Marilou Cobarubbias (Ruffa Gutierrez) started as a simple girl who was trained to be a beauty queen. She married an old business tycoon and eventually became a widow. But her husband’s daughter from his first wife, Amanda dela Vega, is determined to bring her down by arranging that she inherits nothing but a nearly-bankrupt business. She struggles to learn how to stand on her own, something which Tere Villanueva (Iza Calzado) has been doing since she was young.

Tere is the ideal nurse: sweet, smart and caring to her patients. She becomes close to an old patient, Amelia Marcelino, and fears that she might end up like her facing the possibility of dying alone. She also suffers a lingering broken heart because of her failed relationship with her one great love, Leon (Jao Mapa). But as fate would have it, Tere is assigned a new patient, who happens to be Leon’s terminally-ill wife.

Ada Villanueva (Jennylyn Mercado), Tere’s cousin, shares the same heartache and pain as Tere for rejecting the marriage proposal of the father of her child. And now, he is already engaged to someone else. She works hard as a call center agent to provide all the needs of her son but barely has enough time to personally look after and take care of him.

Meanwhile, taking care of a child is nowhere near the priority of Dara dela Vega (Bianca King). Beautiful, sophisticated and educated in the US, she becomes too confident to the point of being arrogant. This brought upon the wrath and cold treatment from her co-workers.

Tobz (Carlo Aquino), Ada’S colleague at the call center, is the boyfriend of an ambitious girl who claims that she is a successful and glamorous model - Wendy Casuga (Christine Reyes). She idolizes beautiful women who become high profile socialites, just like Marilou Cobarrubias. She is often seen in auditions and VTR’s to fulfill her dream of being famous

Melvin (Antonio Aquitania) is the husband of Paula Cabigting (Eugene Domingo). Affected by the recession in the US, he came back in the Philippines jobless eventually becoming a bum. Paula works hard to manage her online business selling fake designer bags because she cannot even rely on her husband even just to drive FOR her when delivering goods to her customers. Because of that, she IS forced to hire a service vehicle, owned by Nelson Obleta (Ricky Davao). And a complicated relationship begins.

Each with their own stories to tell, connected by coincidence or destiny, this is the story of seven lovely and highly-entertaining working girls. Strong, independent and driven to succeed, they are also women who just want to be understood and loved…

Fact Sheet

• WORKING GIRLS 2010 is the first joint venture of three major Filipino film producers: Viva Films, GMA Films and Unitel.

• WORKING GIRLS 2010 is the sequel of the very first WORKING GIRLS movie shown 25 years ago, written by the late Amado Lacuesta and directed by the National Artist Ishmael Bernal.

• Even until today, many considers Bernal’s WORKING GIRLS as one of the benchmark works of the Filipino master director. When it was shown a quarter of a century ago, it was a big box office hit and was considered ahead of its time.

• But this sequel picks up the lives of four of the original characters from Bernal’s masterpiece. Luckily, these actresses who appeared in the original material are still active in local cinema. WORKING GIRLS 2010 shows what happened to the characters of Suzanne Galang (Carmi Martin), Nimfa (Gina Pareno), Rose (Maribel Lopez) and Sabel (Rio Locsin) twenty-five years later.

• Where WORKING GIRLS 1 ended … twenty-five years later, WORKING GIRLS 2010 begins: Suzanne is still a social climber but one of the most glamorous gold diggers in Manila, Nimfa is still heavy into her business but now selling imitation bags from Bangkok and Korea in a stall, Rose is now a feminist activist and Sabel has settled down raising her grandson from her daughter who ended up also being a disgrasiyada.

• The new WORKING GIRLS reflect the changes in the times. The Bernal material focused on these working women in Ayala Avenue in Makati … but now the landscape has changed. Women populate various stations and positions in all aspects of professional life. The new set of WORKING GIRLS reflect the role of women in contemporary times.

• The new working girls are: RUFFA GUTIERREZ (Marilou), EUGENE DOMINGO (Paula), CRISTINE REYES (Wendy), EULA VALDES (Cleo), IZA CALZADO (Tere), JENNELYN MERCADO (Ada) and BIANCA KING (Dara).

• RUFFA plays the beauty queen widow of a rich man forced to fight her way to find justice amidst the hostile relatives of her late husband determined to cut her off completely from her inheritance.

• EUGENE is the daughter-in-law of GINA PARENO’s character, married to ANTONIO AQUITANIA and who makes a living selling fake bags through a Multiply site on the Internet. She has the chance to have a possible affair with her delivery driver, RICKY DAVAO.

• CRISTINE is the promo girl out to hook a rich man in the person of a celebrity lawyer played by RAFAEL ROSSEL.

• EULA is the celebrity cosmetic surgeon who becomes the object of ire of the feminists led by the character of MARIBEL LOPEZ.

• IZA is a nurse waiting for her summons to work for a hospital in Boston and ends up taking care of the dying wife of the man who hurt her most in the past. She is the cousin of JENNELYN.

• JENNELYN is the illegitimate daughter of RIO LOCSIN’s character and who ends up being a single mother herself. She works in a call center where she meets CARLO AQUINO, the boyfriend of CRISTINE REYES.

• BIANCA is the high and mighty know it all spoiled brat daughter of CHERIE GIRL who happens to be the stepdaughter of RUFFA, manipulating events to throw out the beauty queen dirt poor. BIANCA works a segment producer in a television company where she meets the wrath of her co-workers (JOEY PARAS, ANDREA DEL ROSARIO) but more so the celebrity newscaster and Uber bitch MYLENE DIZON.

THE NEW ‘WORKING GIRLS’ FRONT AND CENTER

Since the sequel to the ‘80s sexy comedy classic “Working Girls” was announced, a lot of people who know about the iconic film have been curious if the new one can pack the same punch.

Considered one of the masterpieces of National Artist Ishmael Bernal, “Working Girls” so boldy mirrored the changing status and attitude of women then that moviegoers found themselves either identifying with its lead characters or they know real people who could relate.

This is the reason that GMA Films, Viva Films and Unitel, along with director Jose Javier Reyes, carefully selected who will play what in “Working Girls .”

As Direk Reyes puts it, “Coming up with a high-quality sequel is the least we can do to honor the legacy of Bernal and his film. ‘Working Girls’ was so ahead of its time that it even predated two Hollywood films of the same title that came out two and four years later.”

The actresses who were picked for plum roles in “Working Girls” are Ruffa Gutierrez, Eugene Domingo, Cristine Reyes, Eula Valdez, Iza Calzado, Jennelyn Mercado and Bianca King.

Ruffa plays Marilou, the beauty queen widow of a rich man forced to fight her way to find justice amid the hostile relatives of her late husband determined to cut her off completely from her inheritance.

Eugene is Paula who makes a living by selling items on the Internet. She’s hardworking, overly ambitious and perenially trying to keep up with the Joneses.

Eula tackles the role of celebrity cosmetic surgeon Dr. Cleo, who becomes the object of ire of the feminists.

Cristine is promo girl Wendy, who will do anything to hook a celebrity lawyer.

Iza essays the character, Tere, a nurse waiting for her summons to work for a hospital in Boston but ends up taking care of the dying wife of the man who hurt her most in the past

Jennelyn is Ada, an illegitimate daughter who ends up being a single mother herself. She works at a call center where she meets a man who could turn her life around if not for a hitch.

Bianca is the spoiled brat daughter who works as a segment producer in a TV company. She hates her stepmother so she devices ways to try and get rid of her.

Like the original characters in “Working Girls,” these ladies are empowered and strong-willed. They know what they want and, more importantly, how to get it.

Their lives not only intertwine with each other but even with characters from the first “Working Girls.” In “Working Girls ,” moviegoers will get updates on the lives of Suzanne Galang (Carmi Martin), Nimfa (Gina Pareno), Rose (Maribel Lopez) and Sabel (Rio Locsin) whose stories were last heard of 25 years ago.

“This movie is both for the fans of the original as well as those who want to get to know the new girls and their stories. So much has changed since 1984 that some of the things that were shown in the original film are no longer applicable. It’s a sequel and not a remake,” said Javier.

“Working Girls ” also stars Cherie Gil and Mylene Dizon. It is set for release on April 21.