A celebration of love & family

This December, Metro Manila Film Festival moviegoers are in for a "Merry Mano Po Christmas," when Regal Entertainment unveils its witty and flirtatious comedy, Ako Legal Wife: Mano Po 4 in theaters everywhere. From the start, the movie gods seemed to smile on the project. You may remember that Ako Legal Wife’s screenplay, written by the award-winning Roy Iglesias, ranked No. 1 among all scripts submitted for consideration by the MMFF 2005 committee last June, with a score of 97 percent. More importantly, the movie is also nearly finished, thanks to a problem-free shoot.

But wait a minute. Wasn’t Mano Po 3, the multiple award-winning MMFF entry from last year starring Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon, supposed to be the final chapter in the dramatic trilogy about Chinoys in the Philippines?

Regal Films matriarch Lily Monteverde recently confirmed, "Yes, Mano Po 3 was supposed to be the last, and that was one of the reasons I used to convince Mayor Vilma Santos to star in the film. But there was a clamor for another Mano Po, and I’m just giving in to popular demand. I hope Mayor Vi will forgive me for changing my mind. Anyway, Ako Legal Wife is more of a comedy, so nothing has changed the status of the first three Mano Po films as the most successful dramatic trilogy in our industry."

Indeed, the buzz on Ako Legal Wife is that it will be another crowd-pleasing comedy from Mother Lily and director Joel Lamangan, whose gay-and-gal buddy flick So… Happy Together, starring Eric Quizon and Kris Aquino was the comedy sensation of MMFF 2004.

Direk Joel believes Ako Legal Wife will be another huge hit like So…Happy Together. "This time around, I was blessed with not just two, but three excellent comedians in Zsa Zsa Padilla, Cherry Pie Picache, and Rufa Mae Quinto," says direk Joel. "The comedy came so easy to them because they all have perfect comic timing. The mood on the set was always light because they are the funniest, bubbliest ladies around.

As the movie’s title suggests, Ako Legal Wife is about three women, all of whom are claiming to be the wife of wealthy Chinoy Elton Chong. Elton is played by another versatile Lamangan favorite, Jay Manalo.

When Ako Legal Wife begins, we see the seemingly perfect, privileged life of Chona Chong (Zsa Zsa), husband Elton, and their three kids, played by John Prats, Julianne Lee and Ella Guevarra.

Later, however, Chona hears from her feng shui master that Elton has been having an affair with a brainy financial whiz named Patty (Cherry Pie) for years. They even have a son, rebellious teen named Nixon (JC de Vera). When Chona is told that Patty’s just been given a ritzy condo by Elton, wife decides to confront mistress. But when Chona goes to the condo ready for battle, she instead discovers a second mistress, the young, buxom Gloria (Rufa Mae)!

A shocked Chona realizes that the only hope she has of keeping her husband is to look younger and sexier than the competition. Expensive cosmetic procedures quickly become Chona’s best friends, as she undergoes botox injections, breast enhancement surgery, and even lipo- suction.

As if things couldn’t get worse, Chona’s handsome son Hamilton (John Prats) decides to come out of the closet, jeopardizing his status as his father’s heir. Knowing that Elton may decide to make illegitimate son Nixon his heir, Chona takes on the challenge of bringing out the man in Hamilton, setting him up on dates with the sexy and attractive Trixia (Nadine Samonte).

Will all these efforts ensure that Elton dumps his two mistresses and goes back to Chona’s arms? Will Hamilton be the heir to the Chong fortune? Which of his three women will Elton choose in the end?

Direk Joel and Mother Lily promise a joyful, witty comedy that satirizes contemporary society’s shallow obsession with youth and beauty. Says the veteran producer, "The story of Ako Legal Wife was inspired by gossip in the Chinoy community and even people I know. I told Joel Lamangan that even though we were making a comedy, I didn’t want the movie to make fun of the mistresses. I want the moviegoers to laugh with the three women, not at them."

The award-winning director agreed with Mother Lily’s decree regarding the project’s tone. "Though Ako Legal Wife is a movie pun about relationships," emphasizes Lamangan, "we don’t trivialize the situation. The movie exposes in a comedic way the travails of a man with three wives and shows how complicated his life becomes as a result. It’s not all fun and games as he goes on this difficult journey. But in the end, the movie is a celebration of love."

Both direk Joel Lamangan and Mother Lily were delighted when award-winning scribe Roy Iglesias, who wrote the emotionally-charged screenplays for all three Mano Po movies, gave a script for Ako Legal Wife that had everyone in stitches.

"I’m so grateful Roy’s script is as good as it is," says Lamangan. "Roy usually gives his characters a serious background story, and his storylines often have political streaks. But with Mano Po 4, Roy outdid himself tackling an all-male problem in a wonderful, comedic way. It’s a good thing Roy is all-male himself!," laughs direk Joel.

Which brings us to the question eager moviegoers would probably most want to ask: who does Elton (Jay Manalo) pick at the end of the movie? Which of the three women gets to declare, Ako Lega Wife! with finality?

"The ending is very funny, but it’s also a logical conclusion consistent with the characters of Elton and the three women,’" offers direk Joel. "There’s that element of pagsisisi on the husband’s part, but there’s another beat to the ending which will surprise the audience."

"Siyempre I won’t give away the ending. I want my movie to make money!" teases Mother Lily. But like direk Joel Lamangan says, "Mano Po 4 is a comedy celebration of love and family. It will be the funniest movie in this year’s film festival!"