THE Doll House, which has been a trending movie on Netflix for three weeks now, is the redeeming factor of Baron Geisler’s career in the show business industry. While his life story is always correlated to drug addiction, the roles he played in most of his movies nailed him as a bad boy.
With all the series of relapses and the news of his bad attitude on the set, he was labeled as a hopeless case. But there was a twist of fate when he played the role of Rustin in the Doll House.
He made viewers cry. No overacting. He just mostly communicated with his eyes like Nora Aunor. Now, he is appreciated. They can see hope both in his career and transformation.
In the movie, some only appreciated the views of the Netherlands and considered the movie as just another showcase of a foreign land. But the majority loved the acting of Rustin and Yumi and how they showed their blooming friendship while some grasped how it is to struggle to change.
I valued all these. And I understand the movie more since a person so dear to me was once hooked on drug addiction.
We thought he was a hopeless case too. But the love of family and my brother’s willingness to change made all things possible.
Now, he owns the J.J. Valderrama Behavioral Management Center. He is the service provider of Davao Oriental’s and Alabel, Sarangani’s Balay Silangan, a program that builds temporary shelters for drug offenders to reform them into self-sufficient and law-abiding members of society.
He assists in the Community-Based Demand Reduction Program of the government and other important programs.
Like Baron, my brother, Jerry Joseph “Jay” Valderrama, was once lost but he found his way back. Now, he helps people heal. For me, he is the most credible person to help people heal from drug addiction because he knows their struggles and needs.
People who are fastened to drug addiction need help, not discrimination. They are lost so they need their way back home. They need guidance and the assurance that there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.
But they should not be left untreated too because they are not in their right senses. Aside from greed, most of the crimes emanate from the effects of drug addiction.
They need healing. They need acceptance first of the family then the acceptance of the community follows. They need the motivation to change while some external factors can drive them to fight back against addiction.
In the movie, Rustin’s attention was diverted to Yumi instead of drugs. But he was restricted when the family found out who he was. No, I am not a spoiler. Just a peek.
What if he was given the chance to be with Yumi all along his journey? Will he change? Maybe yes, maybe no. But the bottom line here is transformation can become so real.
How about in real life? Do we have a family member, a friend, or a neighbor who is hooked on drug addiction? How did we help him or her?
If we have not personally helped them because we are not capable to do so, at least let us not condemn them. Everybody deserves second chances. Everyone, at some point, experiences futility.
Like Baron and Jay, they were once lost and now they can contribute something significant to society. Jay with his own healing center and Baron with his acting ability can inspire others especially in the show business industry.