If I were to start this essay about reviewing this movie 8 years too late, I would probably go like:
Some confessions are best left unsaid, but add a little alcohol, a lot of unresolved feelings, and one road trip to La Union, and suddenly, love spills over like an overpoured drink. I'm Drunk, I Love You isn’t just about drunken confessions—it’s about the bittersweet hangover of unspoken love, the kind that lingers long after the music fades and the bottles run dry.
But that's way too cheesy.
So here are my key takeaways and realizations:
1. Eventually, like everything else, UNREQUITED LOVE MUST ALSO GRADUATE.
Yeah, this seems too cheesy as well, but it is true, right? Right off the bat, I knew exactly why I would love this movie. It is really great, how raw it felt. How it feels like an actual story that has happened in real life. How Maja Salvador perfectly encapsulates the essence of THE GIRL BEST FRIEND in a rom-com setting. I mean, she has that tenacity of the character who pulls off holding her feelings for the guy he loved for almost 7 years. But just like a senior in her last year of school, eventually, your graduation will really be a bittersweet moment no matter what.
To quote Jed Chua:
2. Sometimes, Love is Just a Road Trip with No Destination.
Carson and Dio’s trip to La Union wasn’t just about escaping the stress of graduation—it was a metaphorical last hurrah. A final pit stop before life (and heartbreak) caught up with them. Watching Carson pine for Dio, knowing full well that he was emotionally unavailable, felt like sitting in the backseat of their car, screaming internally: Girl, just let it go! But we all know it’s not that easy.
I mean the iPod shuffle thing they had was such a cute scene, like why can't you fall in love with her dude? But I guess this last hurrah they had is also an effective way to establish that love does hurt, and sometimes that's how it is.
That’s what makes I'm Drunk, I Love You hit so hard. It doesn’t romanticize suffering—it lets us sit in it. And sometimes even though that suffering is enduring, it is felt, And that is why it matters.
I believe Carson wasn’t some martyr for love; she was just a girl who loved too much and waited too long. THE FAMOUS GUT-WRENCHING DIO MAHAL KITA SEVEN YEARS NA MOMENT.
Boy, oh boy, that was well executed. It was such a bittersweet moment, am I right? TO FINALLY TELL YOUR BOY BESTFRIEND THAT YOU LOVED HIM FOR SEVEN FREAKING LONG YEARS!?
Funnily enough, Carson said this while being drunk, and after that sweet moment of singing spontaneously. I like how the following scene played out. It was confusing, at first. But I understood what it truly meant. BUT THAT SCENE WAS A STRONG MANIFESTATION OF AN ADMISSION SO GUT-WRENCHING.
It wasn’t just an admission; it was a battle cry. A declaration that she was finally done waiting. But then again, to be hurt. But TO FINALLY BE FREE, DAMN IT. ACK. You get it.
3. The Art of Letting Go (or at Least Pretending You Did)
Carson’s journey wasn’t about winning Dio’s heart—it was about reclaiming her own. The real heartbreak wasn’t that Dio didn’t love her back, but that she spent years orbiting around him, waiting for a moment that was never hers to begin with. The morning after the drunken confession, life went on. The sun still rose. The drinks had worn off. And Dio? Well, he remained the same. AND THAT SUCKS FOR US VIEWERS, RIGHT?
IT DIDN'T FOR ME. IT WAS GUT WRENCHING, but it was important. The essence of the mundane, the realities it gave us, slapping us within the aspects of our drunkenness towards love that is unrequited.
It’s a slap of reality that hurts more than a hangover. Sometimes, love isn’t a grand, cinematic moment of two people finally choosing each other. Sometimes, it’s just one person choosing themselves after years of choosing the wrong person.
And that’s what makes I'm Drunk, I Love You so damn good. It’s painfully relatable, beautifully acted, and brutally honest about how growing up often means leaving things—people, places, feelings—behind.
Remember that breaking down of Carson in her room with her mom? She was like "Ready ka na?" to which Carson responded with a breaking down. I guess the metaphor of Ready Ka na was also not about the graduation itself, but it was more about the feeling of letting go, of being ready to move on entirely, with no regrets in the past.
Side note: The Funny Pathy with an H running gag.
She was never the villain nor the antagonist of this film. I mean, Carson always plays off her character as someone so goofy and hides her true feelings with a bunch of moments that considers almost every alcohol she can consume, well, the movie thus say I am drunk, and oh, I also love you.
If we are going to take a look at it in a third person perspective, the running gag of Pathy with an H is so funny that Carson almost always focuses on that comment as a form of bitter remark, as Jason Ty would tell Carson. I MEAN COME ON, THE ENTIRE REASON WHY THEY WENT TO ELYU WAS BECAUSE OF PATHY. Dio wanted to make it work again with this girl. And a pretty one for that matter. I mean, she was played by Jasmine Curtis Smith (one of my ultimate crushes) but that is besides the point.
THE POINT IS: WE WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO HATE HER CHARACTER BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, SHE WAS ONLY BEING HERSELF. Dio was just too scared to admit to her that Carson was more than just a best friend. I MEAN EVEN PATHY KNEW THAT SHE HAD A THING FOR HIM.
But I guess we were never really rooting for her at all. We just wanted that Dio be true about his feelings. He was, actually. We just didn't appreciate it that much.
I guess this is what makes the movie timeless. It is nor your typical rom-com, nor cheesy friends to lovers kinda plot. It has a raw, beautiful, creative, and modern take on love, yet still gives us a classic, unapologetic, and cathartic feeling when we watch it.
Can I also say, that the whole name of Dio in this film, is Dionysus Brillo. Like, yes, the god that is often associated with fine, fertility, the arts, and theater. He was also known for his dual nature, capable of bringing both joy and divine ecstasy, as well as brutal and blinding rage, reflecting the dual nature of wine. Dionysus traveled widely, teaching the art of winemaking and was accompanied by satyrs, sileni, and nymphs. He was also known for his wild and ecstatic festivals, called Dionysia or Bacchanalia, which were often the subject of artistic representation. Kinda like him enjoying the Festival in La Union. And just like in the movie, there are implications as well of being drunk and having a hangover of some sort. It has a nice touch to it. Like, since Dio brings chaos to Carson's life, she both has to enjoy it but also get hurt from it. Enduring her love for him, nonetheless.
Anyway, if you’ve ever been a Carson in someone’s life, here’s your sign: finish your drink, say your piece, and move the hell on. Because at some point, unrequited love—just like college—needs to graduate, too. GRADUATE NA TAYO, DALI!
It really, really sucks, that love that is felt so deep can also be so shallow for others, right? I mean, it is great nonetheless, after all, to quote C.S Lewis, Love does not rest on reciprocity.
P.S. THE SOUNDTRACKS USED IN THIS MOVIE WAS TOP TIER!
