Bankable comedian and box-office king Vic Sotto returns to the Star Cinema fold via the comedy flick “Pak Pak My Dr. Kwak” where he stars opposite Bea Alonzo. This Tony Y. Reyes film is set for release on April 23, Black Saturday.
That the movie is directed by his favorite director (who also handled Vic’s blockbuster movies like the “Enteng Kabisote” series), it is safe to say that Vic has another box-office hit in the making.
According to Vic, it was Star Cinema who approached him and offered him to co-produce this comedy caper that also features his first teamup with Kapamilya star Bea Alonzo. He readily accepted the offer and sees no conflict in doing so, having done a movie with film production arm of ABS-CBN in the past.
“I can’t say no to the project because it’s a good offer. I don’t have any problem with Star Cinema and ABS-CBN. There was no hitch in doing the project. Everything went on smoothly—the planning, the conceptualization, the casting, the story, the playdate and the promo,” said Vic at the press conference of the comedy flick held recently at the Dolphy Theater of ABS-CBN.
“I am happy that I did this movie. Wala naman imposible sa magkaibigan. Tulad ng mga kasama ko, wala naman kaming masamang tinapay kahit kanino. Kahit saan ninyo kami dalhin, okay lang. Kahit na noong nagsisimula pa lang ako na actor at producer, siniguro ko wala akong magiging kaaway o makakasamaan ng loob sa mga nakatrabaho ko. Kung mayroon man ay madaling ayusin,” added the actor-comedian-TV host.
Vic brings with him the comic tandem of Jose Manalo and Wally Bayola, two of his co-hosts in “Eat Bulaga” and who are a permanent fixture in many of his movies. But he corrects the impression that Jose and Wally come as part of a package in case producers would want to get his services. He just feels comfortable working with them, same with director Tony Y. Reyes, that’s why he always suggests that they be part of the cast.
“The comedy film that Direk Tony and I do require group effort. It’s difficult to do comic scenes on your own kaya di ako naging stand-up comedian. I am more of a situational comedian. I’d rather act in a situational comedy na may kabatuhan because for me comedy is a team effort. Just like in a basketball game, if you don’t have team mates, you can’t win the game all by yourself. Wally and Jose are good team players. Plus pag natatabi ako sa kanila, mas gumugwapo ako,” Vic joked.
It is also the same reason why he always taps Direk Tony Y. Reyes to be his director. Why throw away a partnership when this has had resulted to many blockbuster movies? “If you are sailing smoothly, why rock the boat? I can see that Direk Tony is making effort to make every project of ours better than the last. He thinks of new gimmicks that we can use to enhance the story or a comic situation. We are working very well together so why rock the partnership? We’ve gone accustomed to working together that’s why with just one look, we could already sense what we want to do in a particular scene,” explained Vic.
“Besides, we have a very good track record as far as the box-office receipts are concerned. I can’t discount the fact that Direk Tony is magaling, masipag and matalino when it comes to handling our film projects. We have a good working relationship.”
What has he discovered about Bea Alonzo after working with her?
“I must say that I am fan of Bea and John Lloyd Cruz. If I happen to see a movie of them on TV, I do watch it. Siyempre iyon lang ang alam kong Bea, yung ka-loveteam ni John Lloyd. I don’t know her personally. But when I first met her during the cast meeting, I felt comfortable right away. She’s fun to be with. Puwede mo rin naman pala siya biruin. She’s very down-to-earth and nice to be with. She’s funny and intelligent. And she’s a good actress,” he said about his leading lady.
He had always been doing comedy films but Vic was asked if he would be willing to do a drama movie for a change?
“Even if my movies are usually comedy, we always inject dramatic moments in it. There is one dramatic scene in this movie and everybody was crying. In as much as I would love to do drama pero kasi mabigat sa loob. It gives me a heavy feeling inside. Nakauwi ka na pero mabigat pa rin sa pakiramdam, especially if you did the scene with very good actors. Doing a drama scene is not new for me. That is an important ingredient in every movie that I do,” he said.
What can Bea say about Vic Sotto? What has she discovered about Vic?
“Ako rin marami kasi dati ko pa siya pinapanood pero siguro yung isa sa matinding na-discover is that hindi pala siya nakaka-intimidate na makasama sa trabaho. Nakakatuwa siya. Ang sarap ng pakiramdam, ang sarap isipin na parang uy parang kahit paano naging close na kami. Mayroon na akong big star na friend. Ang sarap nang pakiramdam na ma-attach sa kanila. Hindi pala mahirap na maging comfortable sa kanila. After all this, mami-miss ko sila,” said the actress.