honestly, i have been dying to watch this movie because i started watching it last year with the last litfili class.. i never got to finish it, but it was hilarious as hell even though i watched around 20minutes of it (justice, justice, justice!).
the main character is a guy named Jess Huson. he's a driver (of goodness knows what? doesn't look like a taxi nor a limousine), he's from Pampanga, and he's trying to get a US visa (like almost every other Flip out there). he has a fiancee in California, which is one reason why he wants to go abroad. the said fiancee partly financially supports Jess and his dad Sancho. Jess' mom supposedly died when he was in his teens (got hit by truck in Jersey?). for some reason, throughout the movie, he wears red items of clothing. huh.
the dad is Sancho, a stubborn, deaf, demanding and pervy old dude who you might think has serious issues in the beginning of the movie. later on we realize that he's quite sensitive to Filipino culture and language. he used to join in the crucifixion thing during holy week as a sacrifice for his wife to get better, but he stopped since she left them for an American dude. he also calls this radio station to comment on how the guests use English terms instead of the rather vulgar Filipino ones. he also comments on how loads of us want to go abroad to get better lives, and how we take things we have for granted until we lose them (then we have the guts to say we miss those things).
Mara is an ex of Jess, and they have a son together (Jason) though the guy doesn't know it. we can see from her predicament the hardships of being a single mom and trying to keep them alive. she works as a mermaid for a carnival (which costs 30bucks to see! and nobody knows it's a fraud). she's trying to figure out which is a better role:mother (taking care of) or father (financially supporting).
Nigel Adams and the camera man are typical foreigners. they say that the Nigel dude is American, but he's so Brit! they went here to film a documentary about our customs during holy week (which is a load of bull if you ask me). they're typical because yeah, they have a job to do here, but they have fun with our women, at our bars, and they don't trust us at all.
Annette, the fiancee in California is the typical OFW. she sends money and items to Jess and his dad. she even bought the old codger hearing aids! from the sound of it, she's a nurse or caregiver there, waiting for American citizenship. she's overly possessive, but i suppose she means well.
the movie shows how a lot of other people see us. they think we're untrustworthy, we're a bunch of money hungry and job desperate people with no values whatsoever. think of the Molong guy(that's why there was a chicken there, coz he's chicken shit). they think we're a bunch of overly religious old codgers. they also see us as frauds (the faith healers who pretend to heal for the monetary gains), and as hypocrites (naked dancing chicks but no meat on holy week and no smoking when there's an ash tray?). we're also camwhores when you think about it, doing anything and smiling like crazy when in front of cameras (no matter the situation). what i like about the movie is how sensitive to our culture the father (Sancho) is. i remember him calling the radio station and asking the DJ how come the doctor uses vagina instead of puke. epic shit right there! then later on in the story, Jess did the crucifixion thing to get a visa and to clean the Filipino image in the eyes of Nigel. it also shows how some of us are ashamed of being Flips. look at Jess' mom, the bitch. she's always complaining about how Filipinos are slow, shitty and dirty. i mean, shit, her English is mediocre at best, and her cracker husband looks like an ass. i admit i'm guilty of saying bad things about Flips, but never to foreigners. only here at home and only because even my family notices these negative things.
i think the theme has something to do with being happy with your lot. like i'm a Filipino. i was born this way, and i don't really love it because of all the racist crap i get from other people, but i'm content with it. i'm like, yeah, i'm brown. you jealous? albino cracker! or dark mofo!:)) it also kinda shows how people can prosper(?) not just financially, but spiritually and in family matters in their own countries. yeah, it's a struggle to make ends meet, but it's doable.
the movie was hilarious and i like the singing group everytime there's a conflict going on? it's typical Filipino since the movie has a way of degrading us but in a funny way. the acting was shit (especially with the girl Mara?), but yeah. it's okay. i love the "Filipino accent", though.
