Pure leasure

We can’t comprehend why the Metro Manila Filmfest screening committee did not include Bridal Shower as one of the top seven entries when it is undoubtedly better than most of the other entries we saw. It is also certainly one of the three best films we’ve seen during the entire year. Local comedies usually depend on low brow slapstick where the characters hit and insult each other. A farce on women who are so desperate to have a man in their life, Bridal Shower is that rare comedy film that really succeeds in tickling our funny bones without insulting our intelligence, the kind the late Ishmael Bernal used to do in Salawahan and Working Girls.

Peppered with witty lines, hilarious situations and a gay sensibility truly worth a guffaw, the film debunks our usual notions of romantic love. This is a gleeful sendup on dreamy romantic films and the perfect antithesis to such fairy tale love stories as Pretty Woman and Maid in Manhattan in Hollywood flicks and Pangarap Ko ang Ibigin Ka and Till There Was You in local films.

The film centers on Tates (Dina Bonnevie), Katie (Cherry Pie Picache) and Sonia (Francine Prieto) who all work in an advertising agency. Tates has a boyfriend, Mickey (Christian Vasquez), who is separated from his first wife and has a son. She spends her own money so Mickey can have his marriage annulled in the hope that he’d marry her later on. She even tries to humor Mickey’s spoiled brat of a son just to please him.

Katie has a weight problem and has no suitors. She finds romance in the Internet but refuses to face her cyber boyfriend in person, afraid he might reject her. The scene where she finally agrees to meet the guy is really hilarious. She initially mistakes an old man to be her friend and insults him for deceiving her. Later on, when the real guy finally shows up, it’s her turn to be insulted by him for her excess weight.

Sonia has two boyfriends. Bryan (Douglas Robinson) is a poor painter who adores her so much he even had her name tattooed across his chest. Juancho (Juancho Valentino) comes from a very rich family. When she gets pregnant, she is not sure who the father really is but she chooses to marry Juancho for financial security.

At the bridal shower given to Sonia by her friends, Katie befriends one of the macho dancers they hired for the event, Joebert (Alfred Vargas.) They end up in bed and Katie even takes Joebert to her relatives in the province (who are all fat like her) but she is ashamed to introduce him as a macho dancer so she tells them he is an insurance agent. Later on, she even helps Joebert take a seminar to be an insurance salesman. When Joebert borrows P50,000 from her allegedly for the medical expenses of his father, she thought he just deceived her when he didn’t show up again. She is about to have him arrested by cops, but it turns out Joebert was telling the truth and his dad just died. He feels bad that Katie failed to trust him and their relationship goes sour.

Dina, Cherry Pie and Francine are all exceptionally good in their respective roles and they all deserve to be nominated as Best Actress (and maybe one of them should win.) The truth is they all play pathetic characters because they all have to make humbling compromises and even swallow their pride in their personal pursuit of romance. But in the end, this is a feel good movie as each character somehow finds the proverbial silver lining behind the clouds. The scene where Sonia learns that Bryan has found another girlfriend who is also named Sonia is very amusing. As Sonia, Francine is able to hold her own against her more experienced co-stars.

Dina as Tates has the most number of buffoonish moments. The scene where Sonia throws away the bridal bouquet and Dina fights tooth and nail to make sure she gets it, in the belief that she will be the next bride, is funny and pathetic at the same time. She is also involved in a running gag showing her meeting her previous casual lovers every now and then, including a lesbian on a motorcycle who even runs after her and shouts "I love you!" She has a riotous suicide scene where, like her, her pet dog overdoses on sleeping pills. The succeeding sequence in a hospital emergency room is really a big howl. She is already frothing in her mouth and yet the clerk is more concerned about asking for her health card than attending to her.

Another rollicking scene shows her lighting a candle for her dead dog when she suddenly hears a dog barking and she thinks her pet is haunting her. Even Dina’s dramatic scenes come out funny, like that one where Mickey is dumping her and she tells him while in tears: "Masyado ka namang honest". They even haggle on how many months or weeks they will have a cooling off period. It seems that Dina’s being junked from the cast of Mano Po 2 is a blessing in disguise since her role here is definitely much more challenging, something she has never played before, and she surely shines in it while making a clown of herself doing some crazy antics.

As usual, the always reliable Cherry Pie is wonderful and superb as Katie. She has a rollicking bedscene with Joebert where she insists on turning the light off because she does not want him to see how fat she is, but he keeps on turning the light again. In the end, you’ll surely cheer for her after she has lost weight and does some ballroom dancing, something she said before was only for matronas. The final sequence where Katie and Joebert dance the tango while the end credits are being flashed is pure pleasure, a real delight.

Rodel Velayo gives splendid support as the three women’s mutual best friend who could very well earn the title Sukahan ng Bayan. His interpretation of his gay role here is much more relaxed and natural than the one he did in Liberated.

Among the male newcomers, Alfred Vargas as the macho dancer who falls for the fat Cherry Pie is the most competent of all, but he doesn’t photograph well on screen and looks better in person. Douglas Robinson as Bryan has a more engaging presence and he’s quite effective in that scene where he hits his own head with a beer bottle after confirming that Sonia is all set to marry Juancho. Juancho Valentino is better off as a ramp model as he lacks star quality and is not really movie star handsome.

The film has many other humorous touches, like the two macho dancers who turn up to be gay and end up kissing each other when they are left alone in Dina’s room. When Sonia delivers twin babies, it turns out the nurses who attend to her babies are also twins, and so are the babysitters they later hire to take care of the babies.

The script of Chris Martinez is a real gem, laced with wit and sharp dialogue. Bridal Shower confirms that Jeffrey Jeturian is truly one of the best filmmakers of his generation. The cinematography, though, is uneven. There are scenes in the film’s earlier parts that are too just bright and overlighted. Dina looks so young in some scenes but there are also unflattering shots of her. Is this the reason why they have two cinematographers for the movie?

Jesse Lucas’ musical score and Raymond Bajarias’ production design are both fine, but the editing can stand some improvement. Tara Illenberger needs to further tighten some sequences (like that scene in church where Dina dreams she’s a bride walking down the aisle) to make the pacing more brisk. The best way to clear up your lungs with laughter is by watching this highly entertaining movie that is really worth the price of admission.