Gift idea

I'd say "Ang pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros" is easily one of the most memorable films I've seen this year. I'm not saying best, or funniest. Just that - memorable.

It's not just because it's a cute coming of age story of a boy, who falls in love for the first time when a hunky cop rescues him from hooligans. Of course, there's the hilarious replay of what must be every teengay's growing up experience - the beauty pageant, where every memorable line in the question and answer portion of real pageants are regurgitated by little miss universes. And there's the gritty aspect to the film, where Maximo is shown as surviving in the midst of poverty, bright but with no money to be educated, blessed with talent but stripped of opportunities (sob). How could you not empathize with the poor kid (for which role the producers probably deliberately cast the prettiest face they could find?)

For me, the reason it's so memorable is because of the movie's defiance of societal stereotypes. It shows a different "could have been" in gaylandia. You don't see the abusive father or disgusted older brother, rejecting the femininity of their ninny boy, arrayed against the over-protective female figure (mother, grandmother, aunt or sister).

This time, the father's role is nurturing, one who recognizes what Maximo does for the family, and rewarding him for it. In turn, the two older brothers, who are street toughs themselves, bestow Maximo their brand of brutal affection, which, at the end of the day, still counts as affection anyway. The film delivers two of what, I would hazard, would most probably be the top three most popular fantasies of gay boys (the loving, accepting father and the supportive older brothers ready to defend little sis from hecklers in the 'hood), and nearly adds the third into the pot as well: The knight in shining armor, in the person of Victor, the good cop.

Given the uncommon treatment of the characters, now I understand why I received so many text messages from friends when the film came out, all gushing about the movie.

Too bad I can't quite say that the actors playing Maximo and Victor (Nathan Lopez and JR Valentin) delivered solid performances. I've read the reviews, yes they've been cited for what are supposedly career-defining performances, but I'd much rather give the best actor accolade to Maximo's father and brothers.

Plus, I think some of the scenes are ill-thought out, like the part when Maximo is rescued by Victor. The transition from saving him and then delivering him to his house could have been utilized as the defining moment for Nathan's 'sexual awakening.' Given their close physical proximity, and the emotional stress just suffered by Maximo, the director could have extracted as much emotion from that scene as possible, and used that as the trigger for Nathan's big crush.

One of the final scenes is also inexplicable. One night, Victor the cop gets an attack of conscience and so he posts himself outside Maximo's window. He whistles a tune that's supposed to tell Maximo he's downstairs, and Maximo responds by whistling back. (This is supposed to be touching because Victor gave Maximo his first lessons on how to whistle). After a few dragging sequences when they're shown whistling back and forth (boring!), Victor sheds a couple of tears. I guess it's supposed to denote the emotional relief Victor feels now that he's been forgiven by Maximo (you'll have to watch the film to learn what their conflict was about), but then those tears weaken the authenticity of Victor's tough Manila-slum cop character. Sure, he's supposed to be a good cop, but that doesn't mean he's a crybaby.

Nevertheless, despite these and other nits I could pick, I'd still have to congratulate the director and the writer for delivering something truly engaging - whether on an intellectual or an emotional level. I can't wait for it to be released in video format, so I can happily send it as gifts to friends hungry for Pinoy pop culture abroad. I don't know what they'll translate the title into, though. That's another thing that's awkward. The transliteration would be "The coming into maidenhood of MO," but perhaps, "The blossoming of MO" would be better?