Song titles have become a reliable source of inspiration for local movie productions.

So far, four Star Cinema releases this year are from songs: “Love Me Again,” “You Changed My Life,” “And I Love You So,” and its latest offering, “In My Life,” which opened Sept. 16.

“In My Life” (which came from the Stephen Bishop song, “Something New In My Life”) is about a controlling single mother whose three children have grown detached from her – and she from the rest of the world – and how a visit to her only son in New York leads to a painful realization and, ultimately, a fresh start for her loved ones and for herself.

Shirley is brought to life by Vilma Santos with absolute commitment to the initially unlovable character. She’s a strict and stiff librarian whose closed-mindedness terrorizes her co-workers and frustrates her children especially Dang (played by Dimples Romana), who also plans to live abroad like her siblings and estranged father.

She becomes even more hateful when she decides to join her gay son Mark (Luis Manzano) in New York and rejects his lover, Noel (John Lloyd Cruz), despite his best efforts to be liked by her.

As Shirley faces challenges to find and keep a job, she learns to loosen up and becomes likable to the people around her, including Noel who is like her proxy son for the ever busy Mark. But when she becomes the last to know about Mark’s illness, she forgives everybody except Noel. It takes a tragedy before Noel fights her back and drives her to reassess her life.

Vilma, with her much acknowledged thespic gifts and respect for her profession, clearly defines Shirley’s character and clarifies her personal issues so that in the end, the protagonist becomes somebody whom the viewer can learn and get inspiration from.

She also inspires her co-stars to measure up to her standards as evidenced by the marked difference in the performances of John Lloyd and Luis in their respective emotional scenes with Vilma. John Lloyd is able to release Noel’s intense anger and hurt when confronting Shirley while Luis succeeds in revealing Mark’s vulnerability and angst in a tender mother-and-son moment.

John Lloyd and Luis, however, sometimes forget that Noel and Mark are gay that’s why they oftentimes end up simply as actors playing characters who are homosexuals. The awkwardness in showing affection for each other is evident and we can sense director Olivia Lamasan’s restraint and caution, but we understand. The mere gay gestures by the actors elicited shrieks from the people in the cinema where we watched the movie on its opening day.

Still John Lloyd should be commended for taking on an offbeat role while he reigns as the king of romantic flicks. This shows that he has the makings of becoming a durable star and a respected actor.

Luis, on the other hand, should accept more acting roles while his hosting career continues to prosper. This will hone his innate talent and make him a more confident actor.

The rest of the cast – particularly Vice Ganda as Hillary, one of Mark and Noel’s friends; the girl who played the Noel-obsessed Pamela; and the American who acts as Shirley’s suitor – make “In My Life” more alive with their punch lines and quirks.

Meanwhile, the familiar situations and the familial concerns raised by the movie written by Lamasan, Senedy Que, and Raymond Lee will stir emotions that even a control freak like Shirley will find difficult to suppress. It’s even harder to resist watching “In My Life” now.