More GP movie and TV fare

Author: Bibsy Carballo
Column: Meanderings

MARAMING salamat to Edwina and Rose for their comments on our first column in Peopleâs. We must say that we are enjoying the experience tremendously.

One movie we watched on the third day after its opening was âMy Only Uâ which we admit to having had some misgiving about especially after learning that it was about death. Even if its showing was timed for the Halloween-All Saints Day weekend where horror pictures are often shown, it didnât seem appropriate to cast the tandem of Toni Gonzaga and Vhong Navarro known for their comic antics in â D Anothers. â

But we were mistaken. The movie house was respectfully full and we appreciate the difficulty of Star Cinema blockbuster director Cathy Garcia-Molina who was able to weave a story about confronting death in a way that was light and even had a happy ending. Of course, there were many moments when we could see our seatmates in the movie house wiping their eyes especially upon learning that Toni only had little time left to live.

The last local movie we watched that tackled the topic of death in a light often humorous manner was the CineMalaya winner â100â where Mylene Dizon knew she was dying and decided she would do the 100 things she most wanted to do before she died. Mylene won Best Actress from CineMalaya for her portrayal. This movie has been exhibited in festivals abroad, and won from the Pusan Filmfest in South Korea an Audience Choice Award.

The thing that helped the tandem of Toni and Vhong most was that they are so comfortable with one another. As Vhong stated in a previous interview, âKami ni Toni, para kaming nilikha para maging magkatambal. â

Which Toni confirms saying that of all her leading men, it is always Vhong that she looks forward to working with.

We also like the fact that this movie is so clean, there isnât even a kissing scene between the lovers (oops! Sorry for divulging that!) , and that also proves that one doesnât have to have steamy sex to bring in the audience. Parang there is no need to have guest stars in the movie. John Lloydâs participation was unnecessary, although that of Sam Milby was A-Ok.

ANOTHER WINNER
A FEW months ago, Edgar Mortiz was busy conceptualizing a female spin off of âGoingâ Bananasâ which he and buddies Christopher de Leon, Johnny Delgado and the late Jay Ilagan starred in during their heydays.

The show âBanana Splitâ is now on the air, Saturdays on ABS-CBN and stars Angelica Panganiban, Cristine Reyes, Valerie Concepcion, Roxanne Guinoo and we had so much fun watching it in the episode with Deither Ocampo as guest.

We remember asking Kitchie Benedicto once why we couldnât have comedy shows on TV that were live including a live audience that was shown on the air. âBanana Splitâ has the look and the feel of a live comedy show, no take twos, and with impromptu ribbing on the air. In fact, Bot (Edgar) could indeed incorporate the live audience in their tapings.

The girls in âBanana Splitâ are not known to be comediennes. They are known for being sexy delectable females and this Bobot has exploited to the max, the one aspect that the original Banana show couldnât have. They way they victimized Diet was so hilarious and one could see clearly how everyone was having real fun.

Part of the reason âGoinâ Bananasâ was so successful was the fact that the four leads were true blue friends and this filters through in the comedy show. That would be a challenge for the female Bananas. They need to go out of their way to develop a real camaraderie not only on-cam but also in real life. And that can be difficult, knowing how girls are, and knowing how they are lovely and aiming at the same goals in life, and hopefully not the same man?

Email author at bibsycarballo@yahoo. com.

Source: People's Journal