Singer-comedian Janno Gibbs and actor-director Xian Lim led the red-carpet premiere of this year’s first comedy movie from Viva Films, Hello! Universe, screening in cinemas nationwide starting today.
Joining Gibbs and Lim were joined by the movie’s main cast members Anjo Yllana, Benjie Paras, Maui Taylor, and Sunshine Guimary. Also on the red carpet were Majo Lingat, Gene Padilla, Madelaine Red, and MJ Cayabyab.
A story about a man who can’t seem to move on from a failure, this fantasy comedy is also written by Lim, taking inspiration from his personal experience of dreaming to be a professional basketball player before he entered show business.
Gibbs plays Ariel who is married to his high school sweetheart ( Taylor), father to a sweet and hardworking young lady (Red), works as a quality inspector in a fertilizer company, and now experiencing midlife crisis.
Ariel feels that if only he had made that winning shot during a crucial basketball game back in high school, his life would have turned out way better. He is particularly envious of his former rival who is now a famous and wealthy basketball coach. Luckily, Ariel’s best friend Rocky (Yllana), is always there to cheer him up every time his thoughts are filled with “should have, could have, would have”.
But as they say, repeated thoughts are a great magnet and the universe conspires to help you achieve your dreams. In the case of Ariel, it takes a magical figure named Jessie (Paras), with a futuristic jeepney, to let him live the life he’s always dreamed of – in an alternate universe.
In his new reality, Ariel finds himself with a new wife (Guimary), a new daughter ( Lingat), but still with the same old foes, Mac Morales (Padilla), his arch nemesis in basketball, and Leeroy (Cayabyab), the manager at the fertilizer company.
Join Ariel as the charmed life he has envisioned suddenly becomes chaotic. Expect lots of gags and laughs, and a touch of drama.
