Vice Ganda in a scene from “And the Breadwinner Is…” —Picture: Courtesy of Star Cinema
Vice Ganda would possibly’ve established himself as a Field Workplace titan, however the 2024 Metro Manila Movie Pageant (MMFF) entry “And the Breadwinner Is…” exposes his vulnerability, permitting the viewers to completely perceive what lies beneath his wit, star energy, and why he’s extra than simply the “Unkabogable Phenomenal Field Workplace Celebrity” title.
“And the Breadwinner Is…” tells the story of Bambi Salvador (Vice Ganda) who returns dwelling to the Philippines after juggling a number of jobs in Taiwan. What was initially deliberate to be an intimate birthday celebration became a impolite awakening after discovering that his household (Eugene Domingo, Jhong Hilario, Gladys Reyes, Maris Racal, Kokoy de Santos, Through Antonio, and Malou de Guzman) lied to him about rebuilding their household dwelling. To make issues worse, he was compelled into pretending to be useless after an accident so his household would inherit the P10 million life insurance coverage.
Bambi’s reluctance to pretend his loss of life—with a number of callbacks to his standard characters comparable to Personal Benjamin “Benjie” Santos VIII and Princess Drilon—unraveled his endurance, as he ended up taking out his frustrations because the breadwinner into his household, thus the road, “Ano pang silbi ko pagkatapos kong maging breadwinner (What’s my goal apart from being the household’s breadwinner)?”
The second “And the Breadwinner Is…” dropped their trailers and started its promotions, it was clear that Vice Ganda, Domingo, Hilario, de Guzman, and Reyes would emerge because the standouts. However the movie was additionally a second for Racal (controversy apart) and De Santos to showcase their functionality as actors. Every member of the solid, together with youngster actors Argus and Kulot, embraced their characters of their full glory. Everybody had a second to shine, whether or not it was throwing a snippy punchline, displaying off their goofy antics, or expressing their character’s interior ache within the Salvadors’ heated argument.
“And the Breadwinner Is…” stars Jhong Hilario, Through Antonio, Eugene Domingo, Vice Ganda, Petite, Kokoy de Santon and Gladys Reyes throughout the MMFF 2024 Parade of Stars. —Picture: Arnel Tacson/INQUIRER.internet
Whereas Vice Ganda made it clear that the movie bared his soul, the 14-minute argument (which occurred towards the tip) confirmed what he really meant. Many Filipino movies proved that being a breadwinner is just not a black-and-white accountability. However Bambi Salvador is a homosexual breadwinner. Even Boy (De Santos) touches on this evident reality throughout the argument scene, which ought to’ve been expounded additional all through the movie.
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Regardless of the solid and Jun Robles Lana’s efforts to make it work, the movie suffers from execution by way of showcasing the cruel realities of being a homosexual breadwinner, in addition to the explanations behind Child (Domingo), Biboy (Hilario), Mayet (Reyes), Boy, Buneng (Racal), and Paeng’s (Through Antonio) clear neglect of their duties to maintain their household afloat. Bambi resents them for not doing their obligations as members of the Salvador household. Nonetheless, what in the event that they couldn’t fulfill these obligations for comprehensible causes? These embrace the crippling fears of falling into the identical destiny as Bambi (which was touched on by Boy) or counting on life’s mundane joys to keep up their sanity (as confessed by Buneng).
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Some moments additionally felt complicated because the comedy and drama would conflict, as a substitute of selecting a single style to deal with whereas permitting the secondary style to spice up the movie’s general message. Vice Ganda has all the time been an impeccable actor with an innate present of comedic timing. Nonetheless, the story ought to’ve embraced the chance to showcase his brilliance in each facets extra easily.
Regardless of these flaws, “And the Breadwinner Is…” is a heart-wrenching movie that hits dwelling for breadwinners and those that are near breadwinners. With the assistance of Lana, Vice Ganda was capable of break away from his comedian-centered picture and set up himself as a superb actor. On the similar time, using SB19’s “Mapa”—particularly with the way it was solely used within the remaining sequence—was expertly carried out, because it allowed filmgoers to completely perceive how the theme tune tied to the movie’s message.
Whereas “And the Breadwinner Is…” is surrounded by heavyweights on this 12 months’s MMFF, it was capable of set up itself as a robust movie whereas showcasing how forging shut bonds behind the scenes (because the solid shared on a number of events) does wonders in making an ensemble shine.
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