It had been Annie's long-time dream to play the role of Snow White in Hong Kong Disneyland. However, she totally did not look right for the part. Her boyfriend Migs stole P180,000 from his boss Tito Val to pay for her plastic surgery expenses. Upon discovery of the crime, Tito Val had Migs beat up and gave him an ultimatum: pay back the money in full, or get him a date with famous model Lovely G. If Migs cannot fulfill any of these conditions in four days, he will be killed.
"Pinay Beauty" tackled the obsession of many Filipina ladies to become whiter of skin and look Caucasian. It also followed the adventures and misadventures of Migs and his motley gang in trying various means (fair or foul) to get the P180K together or trying to get a chance to talk to Lovely G, knowing that failure to do meant certain death for him.
Black comedy is a tricky genre that needs a precise directorial touch to get it right. This one had the right ideas, but the comic situations would often come across as forced and fall flat. Absurd is okay as long as it was done right. Unfortunately many gags were not done right.
A major problem of this film for me was the premise that Annie (Chai Fonacier) could not get the P180K back from the dermatological center where she was going to have her plastic surgery. I was not aware that such centers would have such a strict and non-negotiable policy about paying the full amount of the fee upfront a week before the scheduled procedure. As far as I know, a patient could always change her mind, back out and withdraw her consent (and her money) anytime before surgery.
The harebrained schemes of Migs and his gang to earn money should have been very funny because of the full commitment of the actors to the physical comedy. They had all the wacky personalities covered. Isabel (Mariko Ledesma) was a loud-mouth transgender. Japo (Hannah Ledesma) was a pretty lesbian. Bas (Nico Antonio) was a pompous jock. Nino (Janus del Prado) was a timid nerd. Migs (Edgar Allan Guzman) was the "normal" one. However, the execution of their capers seemed rushed and not thought out properly.
To raise the P180K, they first resorted to selling their second-hand things on the internet. It was not too clear how the choices of things to sell were supposed to be funny. To explore a little sex comedy, they also sold their own bodies. The bit with Nino at the bridal shower was cute, but the one with Isabel in the car was not funny at all. They also tried breaking into the house of Migs' father (Allan Paule), a driver who married his rich boss, but that did not really go anywhere as well.
To tried to get Lovely G (Maxine Medina) to talk to them, they first tried to visit the friends of Lovely G's superstar father Da King, Mang Max (Lou Veloso) and Mang Carding (Joel Saracho). The two turned out to be crazy as bats, but this episode felt totally unnecessary. They went to Lovely G's fan meet-and-greet, which failed despite Migs' clever sign saying "I will die in three days". They even gained access inside Lovely G's studio but the comic situations in there (like the coffee making or the styro props) were too stupid and lame.
Chai Fonacier is a very good actress, starring in three acclaimed films in the last two years: "Patay na si Hesus" (Victor Villanueva, 2016), "Pauwi Na" (Paolo Villaluna, 2016), and "Respeto" (Treb Monteras II, 2017). She finally gets her chance for a lead role in this film, but unfortunately, her character had been limited by her unrealistic expectations, nothing much any actress could've done about it. Fonacier did her best to give Annie a perky joy for life, but I did not really like the way her story turned out at the end.
Edgar Allan Guzman is also a very good actor as proven in films like "Ligo na Ü, Lapit na Me" (Erick Salud, 2011) and "Deadma Walking" (Julius Alfonso, 2017). Here Migs played mainly the straight man among his gang of crazy friends and as blindly loyal boyfriend to his girlfriend Annie. The script did not really give much opportunity to shine, but when it did in that scene when he was face to face with Lovely G, Migs' lines were terribly written, so even poor Guzman could not have done any better.
The role of Lovely G seemed to be written with Lovi Poe in mind with all the references to her being the daughter of Da King. Unfortunately, Maxine Medina was as bland and boring as Lovely G was supposed to be bland and boring as an actress in the film. That might have been a great idea to be "meta," but this particular casting decision did not work.
Unexpectedly the best acting work in the film was turned in by Tikoy Aguiluz. He was best known for his work as director and writer in films like "Boatman" (1985) and "Segurista" (1996). Here in the role of the ruthless Tito Val, he was cool, dapper, with that perfect threatening crime boss and dirty old man vibe that gave everyone around him the chills.
I had only seen one other film directed by Jay Abello, which was "Red" (2014) (MY REVIEW), which was good. From writer Alpha Habon, I had seen three that he had also written: "Turkey Man Ay Pabo Rin" (2013) (MY REVIEW), "Buy Now Die Later" (2016) (MY REVIEW) and "Star Na Si Van Damme Stallone" (2016) (MY REVIEW), which were all quite well-written. 'Pinay Beauty" may have had a good story idea and a good cast, but could've been improved with better thought-out and executed jokes. 4/10.
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