John Arcilla, Elijah Canlas topbill absurd father-son comedy ‘HB2ME’

MANILA, Philippines — John Arcilla and Elijah Canlas portray a toxic kind of father-son relationship in  the weirdly and surprisingly entertaining “HB2ME (Happy Birthday To Me),” the new action-comedy from MAVX Productions directed by Veronica Velasco.

Elijah plays Jonathan “Jon” Ramirez, a techie young man who has the misfortune — or, depending on how you look at it, the perfect excuse — of being born on April 1, April Fools’ Day. And his businessman father, Del Ramirez (played by John), never lets him forget it.

Every year, without fail, his birthday comes with a prank courtesy of his dad. And as he grows older, the jokes become increasingly extreme and embarrassing.

The Ramirez family is influential, living and working around a sprawling fishpond property that almost looks like a private resort, complete with security personnel constantly moving around the place.

John and Elijah with co-cast member Alexa Miro during a screening.

Helping John’s character run the business is his trusted right-hand man, played by veteran action star and kontrabida Dindo Arroyo.

The whole setup also gives the impression early on that there may be more to the family business — and to John’s character — than Elijah actually knows.

For his latest birthday, Elijah’s Jon wants it to be different and special. He begs his father for just one thing: no crazy prank this time because he is planning to propose to his girlfriend, played by Criza Taa. His father appears to agree.

But just as Jon is about to have his romantic moment, a “pregnant” woman suddenly appears and claims that he is the father of her unborn child. The proposal collapses, his girlfriend walks away and Jon realizes he has once again become the favorite punchline of his father’s annual birthday joke.

For his dad, however, the pranks purportedly serve a purpose: He wants his son to toughen up, become independent and finally grow up. Then, despite Jon’s objections, Del gives his son a gun, his real birthday gift, because he wants him to supposedly be ready for whatever might come. That “well-meaning” explanation though doesn’t exactly make his methods any less cruel or toxic.

Fed up, Elijah’s character decides it is time to turn the tables. With encouragement from his mother, played by Carmi Martin, he plots an elaborate birthday prank of his own against his father. That is, kidnapping him on his next birthday but releasing him afterwards.

He recruits a ragtag group of tambays — played by Archie Alemania, Matt Lozano, Joe Vargas, JM Salvado and Basti Flores — to pose as kidnappers. Money talks, so they agree to become his fake goons.

For one year, Elijah’s Jon studies his father’s routine, tracks his movements and observes the people working for him so that the staged “crime” can go according to plan.

But the deeper he gets into plotting the operation, the more curious and suspicious he becomes about what his father actually does. Is everything he grew up with what it appears to be, or is his father hiding something more?

Then comes the complication that sends the movie into even crazier territory.

On Jon’s birthday, with his staged kidnapping already planned out, another group of men suddenly arrives and actually takes his father hostage. So, the revenge prank goes from wrong to very real.

Wracked with guilt but also genuinely worried about his dad, Elijah’s character now has to find the millions being demanded as ransom. His desperate search for money leads to another outrageous subplot involving the cryptocurrency account of his late ninong, which he “steals” with the help of the man’s caregiver, played by Alexa Miro.

And just when you think “HB2ME” has finally revealed its last trick, it pulls another surprise and then another. No more spoilers here but that’s the charm of the film.

Still, there are storyline loopholes and unanswered questions, particularly about John’s character: Why exactly did he become this kind of father? Who was he really?

You find yourself questioning his parenting style throughout the movie. Yet, John also manages to make the character sympathetic enough that, at certain points, you might deduce that this may simply be his deeply flawed definition of tough love for a son who, in many ways, for all his bright-kid ideas, is still somehow naive and clueless.

Acting-wise, Elijah, meanwhile, is a good counterweight to John. His character’s frustration with his father gives the comedy an emotional anchor, especially when what begins as an attempt to get even eventually forces him to confront how he truly feels about his dad.

Personally, “HB2ME” works best when you accept it for what it is: an outrageous comedy that keeps escalating its own joke. Every time you think the movie has finally delivered its ultimate punchline, it throws in another twist, another deception or another reveal.

And if you are willing to surrender to all that absurdity, “HB2ME” can be a fun ride — one that somehow finds a father-son story underneath all the staged or real kidnappings, fake bad guys, ransom demands and April Fools’ Day madness.

“Ang unique ng pagkakasulat at saka napaka-ngayon, napaka-present,” the award-winning “Heneral Luna” actor said on why he took on the film project. “Sobrang mag-e-enjoy yung tao. Kaya lang ako kasi lagi akong naghahanap ng moral lesson.”

So, you might want to keep this in mind if you watch the film that’s now showing in cinemas and are looking for a moral story. In the words of John Arcilla himself, the love between a parent and a child doesn’t automatically make every action right.

“Whether we like it or not, ang relationship ng anak sa magulang, laging hindi mo maiiwasan yung love. Talagang may pagmamahalan. Natural na yun. At natural din merong conflicts,” he said.

“(But) kahit gaano mo kamahal ang anak mo, what is bad is bad. Kung anong masama ay masama. Makikita yan ng anak mo.”