Pinoy Blonde ---- too much higlights fried the movie

Title:
Pinoy Blonde (B)
PH Release Date:
July 13, 2005
Actors:
Boy II Quizon, Jeffrey Quizon, Ricky Davao, Iza Calzado, Jaime Fabregas, Eddie Garcia, Tessie Tomas, Tonton Gutierrez, Michael de Mesa, Mark Gil, Ara Mina
Director:
Peque Gallaga
Story and Screenplay:
Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes
Producer:
Akiva Goldsman et al.
Studio:
Unitel Pictures




“I have a very bad feeling about this, Star Wars, George Lucas”

In moviemaking by and large, rarely comes a satire that’s not merely after laughs nor the nuisance, but made to educate or at least acquaint an audience to his nation or simply to himself. You’re probably wondering why on earth am I talking so seriously when I’m about to discuss a film that is supposed to be not be taken as such. For those who don’t know how to think, it’ll be impossible to discern the beauty hidden underneath the jest and lampoons Pinoy Blonde has to offer, but for me and the people of my degree, there may be difficulty but absolutely no improbability.

The ingenious team of director Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes returns to the big screen after a long time of much needed separation thanks to their superfluous venture Magic Kingdom that was found anything but enchanting. This time they made a film with a very dim potential commercially, something that few movie companies dare to carry out, except Unitel that brought us Crying Ladies. After the outfit’s lost from Santa Santita, they produced this project that is more likely to become a flop than their previous venture.

Two Quizons are the lead star of the movie, and I am so thankful that Vandolph is not one of them (he has a cameo role that was so predictable). It’s the story about cousins, both are film school dropouts who spend most of their time, creating scenes in their heads, uttering petty lines from popular movies and bickering over who’s the better director: Brocka or Bernal. They continue to find the answer to this strenuous query as they deliver a mysterious package to an old, seemingly empty and haunted Hotel Marikopa where they’ll experience reality for the first time.



I was not able to watch the movie from the very beginning, which may explain why I found it difficult to adjust myself to its milieu. Few minutes later, I grasped the idea of what this movie’s all about and what it plans to accomplish. It’s definitely not your typical Pinoy film, the visual style is a combination of American, French and Mexiacan/Spanish approach. It is more of a mockumentary rather than an actual feature film. The setting, the look, the pacing; all of which resembled those of a documentary.

Gallaga and Reyes had good intentions and a great message to spread across, however, since they said it themselves that it’s not your typical Pinoy film, the viewers may not be able to enjoy or like it which has been proven by the less than handful of people inside the cinema with us. The not-so intact storyline also brings the moviegoer to a confusing state that he/she will not be able to get out of till the end cuz the ending, besides the great line from Sharon’s movie, was anything but terrific.

The script was good at best. It had a lot of special moments, and surprisingly, this moments were those that didn’t borrow lines from neither local or foreign films. I especially loved the “Ako naman si Marilou Diaz-Abaya, eto naman si Laurice Guillen” scene. More of these, that more Filipinos, their target audience can actually relate to will lead to a better understanding and appreciation on the part of the audience. This style of filmmaking is something that is made to address the intellectuals or those of higher society. But the movie’s message is more of directed to the typical mass audience or Filipinos who do not find this type of movies not even worth buying in pirated, let alone see in a cinema.



The movie has a lot of good animation scenes. How I wish they used a better camera for the “real” scenes cuz it seemed to old for my eyes. The music is very much Pinoy Rock with the main theme song from the Radio Active Sago Project. Am not particularly a fan of such type of music but I don’t hate it as well. Nevertheless, it was still music to my ears and that’s all that matters. The editing was good, cinematography was better than my expectation and the production design was nice too.

Boy II needs a lot of work, he made the movie look more artificial. Jeffrey on the other hand, was good but not as compelling as I anticipated him to be. In contrast, Ricky Davao was unbelievably great. His best acting feat so far. Jaime Fabregas rarely goes in front of the camera but this role was definitely worth it and he gave one hell of a performance as well. The movie had so much cameos and small roles that it would take me forever to describe their performances one by one.

As a movie fan I appreciate the effort laid for the production of the movie and the message of nationalism and liberation that it tried to propel. However, I also found the movie unsuccessful in projecting the message they planned to send across which can be attributed to a lot of factors that even to me may not be known. But still, I recommend it for everyone to see just to help the courageous studio get back their investment. It may also open doors to better understanding of our Pinoy movie culture and enjoyment to those who wants to see their favorite stars play cameo roles. It’s Pinoy Blonde but were not really blonde so you decide if it’s worth the highlights.