Desperately Seeking Shekels
We saw the new Vhong Navarro movie Suhpapapalicious, directed by Gilbert Perez.
1. It could’ve been a really crazy comedy, instead it’s just desperate. You have to give the production credit for shamelessness. Lately Star Cinema has been employing the kitchen sink approach: Let’s throw everything in and hope for the best!
2. The first thing I noticed was how much lighter Vhong Navarro’s skin tone is. Of course they threw in a glutathione reference. My friend noted that Vhong Navarro’s hairstyle gets worse with each movie.
3. Speaking of hair, Javier Bardem’s hair in Love In The Time Of Cholera is even worse than in No Country For Old Men. I’m pretty sure this is the only time you’ll ever encounter the concepts ‘Bardem’, ‘Garcia Marquez novel’, ‘Coen Brothers movie’ and Suhpapapalicious in the same article.
4. I found myself laughing at several scenes, not necessarily because they were funny, but because I was impressed at how low they would go. Now that’s commitment.
5. Mura is hysterically funny as a dipsomaniac. Name some other movies (besides David Lynch’s) that feature an alcoholic midget. Truly the Philippines rules the world in the field of midget cinema. I know some European critics who still wax lyrical over the late Weng Weng. When Mura made his showbiz debut, he had to pretend to be a girl—making him a midget transvestite actor. Bravo.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
March 23rd, 2008 at 03:23
Besides David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s films also feature intriguingly unusual midgets, but none were dipsomaniac or alcoholic.
Although Verne “Mini-Me” Troyer has been in and out of rehab for alcohol abuse, I don’t remember him playing an alcoholic midget in any of his movies. That would’ve been too easy — akin to Eminem in 8 Mile. But Verne definitely portrayed himself in VH1’s The Surreal Life when he got drunk, rolled around the house naked on a scooter, and peed on the carpet.
That said, I haven’t seen any of Vhong Navarro’s movies (25 so far, according to IMDb). Any recommendations?
The Wikipedia entry of Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro states:
Self-proclaimed ‘Jim Carrey of the Philippines’ amidst strong protest.
March 23rd, 2008 at 21:23
Unfortunately, I have never sat through any Filipino comedy in a long while. And when I did, it was such painstaking effort. The last I saw was Pasukob on video and I snoozed somewhere near the middle and end of it. These movies hold my interest for the first half hour (at the most) then that’s it. Makes me long for Superbad.
March 23rd, 2008 at 21:45
does hans on freaks count?
March 27th, 2008 at 21:13
I thought Hans just got drunk in Freaks. Sadly I only saw the movie once. I can’t find a copy in the dibidihan.
March 31st, 2008 at 17:11
I have never seen a filipino comedy in a long time. They use the same formula over and over. The last time I went to a movie house to watch a pinoy comedy, I found myself sleeping.