2 GREAT PINOY MOVIES

I do not intend to be a film critic, but pardon me if my last two entries are about the films that I watched.

Since I was in no mood to watch any drama films, I chose Crying Ladies of Unitel Pictures and Bridal Shower of Seiko Films.

I did not regret over the choice that I made.

It gave me great joy watching those films. Overjoyed not only because they are comedy films, but also because I see hope in the Philippine Movie Industry. I always believe that if you have good script, a creative and “adventurous” director, good casts and a daring producer, you could make an intelligent film with an assurance of a good, if not great, box office result. The above-mentioned films are proof that it could actually be done.

Crying Ladies and Bridal Shower are comedy films, but they are not your typical Filipino slapstick comedy. You don’t need to see someone being slapped, boxed or make funny faces just to make people laugh. What you see are real people talking and somehow in their conversation and in their struggles with life you find yourself in their situation and so you laugh with them.

I watched Bridal Shower last January 1. I did not have any expectations about the film even if it is a work of Jeffery Jeturian who has done marvelous films before, I watch the film to be entertained and boy! I received more than the entertainment that I need. I was laughing from the beginning till the end of the movie, literally. This is the synopsis of the film from the Manila Times:

A COMEDY of manners about three women struggling to find the perfect mate in a world of imperfect men—that is the story behind Bridal Shower, the entry of Seiko Films to this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

Directed by Jeffrey Jeturian whose last directorial project was 2001’s Tuhog, Bridal Shower stars Dina Bonnevie, Cherrie Pie Picache and Francine Prieto as the three female advertising executives on a quest to find their Mr. Right.

Tates (Dina Bonnevie) feels her biological clock ticking. She’s in love, but the man of her dreams is married, although his marriage is on the rocks. Because she knows time is running out, she offers to shoulder the cost of his annulment, in exchange for a promise that once it comes through, they will get married. She’s so desperate to get married that she hires a lawyer, bribes judges and spends all her time and money on getting the annulment for him, thinking that it is the way to get what she wants.

Katie (Cherrie Pie Picache) is overweight, plain-looking and suffering from a bad case of low self-esteem. Unable to land a man, she resorts to trying to find one on the Internet. When—her friend Sofia (Francine Prieto) announces that she is pregnant and contemplating marriage, Katie and Tates decide to throw her a bridal shower. Katie and her friends visit a gay bar to hire a macho dancer for Sofia’s shower.

Sofia (Francine Prieto) is the liberated one of the trio. One day, she finds herself pregnant. Because she has two boyfriends, she is not sure which one of them is the father. Thus, she must make an important decision does she choose the impoverished artist whom she loves, or does she go for the rich man who can provide security, but not love?

Also starring in the movie are Christian Vasquez, Rodel Velayo, Alfred Vargas (in his first lead role), and newcomers Juanicho Valentino and Douglas Robinson.

Bridal Shower was originally inspired by Francois Ozon’s Eight Women, a film about eight women who attend a bridal shower. However, after several revisions of the script written by Cris Martinez (with supervision by the award-winning Armando “Bing” Lao), it was decided that the story should focus instead on the three women and their quest to find the perfect man.

“It’s basically a comedy of manners with light dramatic touches,” explains Jeturian, director of the critically-acclaimed Tuhog and Pila Balde. “But beyond the humor, the narrative voice of the movie is equally important. Aside from being entertaining, it also has to be meaningful. I think we’ve achieved that in this movie. I expect it to pull some surprises during the awards night.”

Bridal Shower is a women film that men would also love. Yes, it is Seiko film and when it is from Seiko it must be bold. But bold because it dared to present the issue of sex to a Filipino audience and dared to discuss it openly. But if you expect to see women undressing in this film, you would be frustrated. Even Francine Prieto who was very daring in her last movie Liberated, did not show much flesh here (Actually, it was the men who showed more flesh).

Ruben Cruz. Jr. has this to say in his article at the Philippine Daily Inquirer last Sunday (please see link).

Crying Ladies is another comedy film from a Palanca Award Winning Script of Mark Meily who surprised everyone by winning the Best Director Award in the recently concluded MMFF.


Now, this is not your typical Sharon Cuneta formula movie and Edmund Sicam of the Philippine Star has this to say:

DEFINITELY NOT A FORMULA SHARON CUNETA MOVIE
December 18, 2003 (The Philippine Star) By: Edmund L. Sicam

The 2003 Metro Manila Film Festival offers fantasy flicks with lots of special effects, moving dramas of epic proportions and big productions with a star-studded cast. Unitel Pictures’ Crying Ladies has none of these elements. Well, almost none. It does have a big-name star --- Sharon Cuneta --- but her co-stars, Hilda Koronel, Angel Aquino, Ricky Davao, Raymond Bagatsing, though highly regarded as actors, do not have the same drawing power as the Megastar.

I have a feeling, though, that this “small” film should pull a surprise or two at the box office and during the awards night.

The story is quite simple. Three women from the backstreets of Chinatown are hired to cry at a Chinese funeral. During their five-day stint, we are afforded glimpses of their ordinary lives that make us laugh, cry and cheer as they struggle to survive under trying circumstances.

Sharon plays Stella Mate, who’s trying to make both ends meet doing odd jobs so that she can get back her son from estranged husband Guido (Ricky Davao). Hilda plays Doray a.k.a Rhoda Rivera, whose only claim to fame is that she played a minor role in the movie Darna and the Giants starring Vilma Santos. She got stepped on by the giant. Now, she’s forcing her reluctant daughter to crash the world of show business. Angel is Choleng who does charity work for a religious foundation. Her weakness is that, she’s having an affair with her friend’s husband (Raymond Bagatsing).

The movie opens with Stella trying to get a job as a singer in Japan. This early, we are reminded that this is a Sharon Cuneta movie.

Unlike her previous movies, however, Sharon doesn’t land a recording contract and lead a comfortable life. She needs to get an NBI clearance which is not possible because she has spent time in jail for estafa.

In another scene, she reaches the finals of a Pera o Bayong-type contest where she could win a brand new car. Alas, it’s only a dream and she doesn’t even make it to the first 200 contestants allowed in the studio.

Stella, however, is a survivor so she always finds ways of earning some money. Once, she takes a bus in front of a factory where a strike is going on. She pretends she’s a labor leader and castigates the capitalists for oppressing the workers. Later, she asks the passengers for money to help the strikers. Another trick she uses is to avoid paying the jeepney fare by telling the driver that she took the wrong ride and gets off at her destination.

This is definitely not a formula Sharon movie where she shares kilig moments with her leading man (she doesn’t even have a leading man in this movie) or suffer at the hands of the contravida. This is not to say that she doesn’t suffer in the movie. Stella has to deal with poverty, separation from her son and even a fire that razes her humble abode. The movie, however, does not dwell on her problems but on how she copes with life’s adversities.

Sharon is not given a “dramatic” dialogue nor does she shed copious tears to get our sympathy. It is to the Megastar’s credit that she restrains herself even in the most gut-wrenching scene in the movie. Initially, we laugh at her travails and how she and her friends fake their tears at the wake. As we get to know Stella, however, our heart goes out to her as she fights the seemingly insurmountable odds.

Hilda, on the other hand, does the opposite. Her character is a caricature of a stage mother and someone who’s holding on to her past. She’s ecstatic when her old movie is aired on TV. She’s the most OA when the three do their stuff at the wake. It’s Hilda in a campy role that we do usually don’t associate with the star of Insiang.

Angel’s Doray os the weakest of the three. We’re not referring to her performance but to her character. Doray is a religious woman but she cannot resist temptations of the flesh. She confesses her sins to a priest, played by Johnny Delgado, then goes to bed with her friend’s husband the next day. Angel is able to project the contrast between her spiritual and sinful side without much gimmickry.

This the movie’s main asset. It is devoid of artificial elements. No one gets slapped or raped to the audience to cry. The actors don’t deliver the lines. They’re just characters talking to one another. There are no violins in the background to highlight dramatic moments.

What’s artificial are the tears the three shed at the wake for someone they don’t even know. They are contrasted with genuine tears shed by different characters in the movie: Sharon pining for her son, and Eric finally realizing how much he loves his deceased father. Moviegoers may find themselves shedding a tear or two after watching this movie. Not necessarily tears of sadness but also tears of joy as the main characters experience changes in their lives.

And yes, the movie has a happy ending. Sharon doesn’t become a successful singer but scores a minor triumph which we won’t reveal so we don’t spoil your enjoyment of the movie. Clue: she wins an acting award. We won’t be surprised if she wins another during the filmfest’s awards night. Hilda, Angel and Eric all experience joyful moments before the closing credits roll.

Congratulations are in order for first-time director Mark Meily, who also wrote the screenplay from his Palanca award-winning work and Unitel’s Tony Gloria for bankrolling this thoroughly enjoyable movie.