The still hilarious Wow Mali

MANILA, Philippines - If you are a regular viewer of the comedy-gag show Wow Mali, you are certainly familiar with the now-famous Ulo Fame or Ulo Pascual, who pulls pranks on unsuspecting people either in malls, groceries, tiangge stalls or even hardware and appliance stores.

Sunday primetime is never com- plete without an hour-long doze of Wow Mali Pa Rin, hosted by Joey de Leon on TV5. The show was revived late last year to comprise the week- end block of TV5.

Wow Mali Pa Rin replaced the tal- ent show Talentadong Pinoy and airs after Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? (hosted by Vic Sotto). So far, Wow Mali Pa Rin has consistently become one of the station’s top-rating pro- grams.

With a concept adopted from America’s Funniest Home Videos, Wow Mali Pa Rin is a collection of practical jokes, featuring men on the street who are often caught in unusual, funny situations.

The pranks range from the hilari- ous and amusing, to the frightful and suspenseful, even the amazing and sometimes unbelievable. Initially, the subject might get perplexed, sur- prised, annoyed, confused, even mad or irritated. However, at the end of it all, everything redounds to fun.

The candid, Filipino humor that the situation elicits inevitably makes the viewers simply laugh. Even if you’re watching alone, you will surely laugh and be entertained at the practical jokes and wacky segments.

Joey is an excellent choice to host Wow Mali Pa Rin. He is not only a master comedian, he also contrib- utes his genius to the program. He writes short, witty statements flashed onscreen within the show.

“Saan gal- ing ang sirit? Kasi ‘pag hindi nila alam ang sasabihin, ‘Sige na nga, share it na lang.’” Or “Saan gal- ing ang salitang ewan? Parang sirit din ‘yan. ‘Pag suko na, ang sasabihin ay, ‘Sige na nga, you won.’”

He also does the Call ni Idol portion, where he connives with the subject as ac- complice in the prank. Showbiz stars like Wendell Ramos, Ruby Rodriguez, Tuesday Vargas and Bing Loyzaga be- came accomplices, too — much to the surprise and delight of the subjects.

Then, there is Ang Poet Nyo, Joey’s take on Pinoy pop culture, humor and current events.

The talents of Wow Mali Pa Rin are apparently trained very well to pull a prank that the subject easily believes or is read- ily convinced. All the pranks are done outside the studio with the public as “victims.”

From restaurant customers, mall go- ers and even to stu-dents, parking attendants, security guards, FX passengers, commuters, pedestrians, wash-your-car boys and street vendors or even TV5 stars are not spared.

Joey is regularly joined by the irreverent Mr. Fu, who preys on in-nocent, unsuspecting souls in the Oh Cam On portion. A guy in a restaurant who witnessed another guy open the bag of a lady customer and get her wallet was caught on camera. The other guy who got the wallet, of course, was an ac- complice.

Meanwhile, a lady in a wheel- chair who graces an audition, saw an electric wire spark and she needed to immediately get out of the room. The lady, who is an ac- complice, asked a male participant to carry her out safely.

Also joining the gag show is Krissy, a Kris Aquino clone who regularly helps Joey introduce the pranks, the practical jokes and the other wacky segments, which undoubtedly make the viewers laugh.

As Joey delivers his closing spiel every week, “Ang tama nakakatuwa, pero ang mali nakakatawa.”