Review of BEKS DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Dark Developments

May 17, 2023

Reggie Pagtanggol (Lassy), Richard Reyes (Chad Kinis) and Melvin Uy (MC Muah) were flamboyantly gay guys who had been best of friends since they were elementary school kids. One day, Reggie was complaining how his cosmetic business was failing and how he had been unlucky with men he was trying to pick up. Richard and Melvin both noted that Reggie did not look well, and convinced him to see a doctor. 

The checkup revealed an unfavorable diagnosis which caused Reggie to be very depressed. To keep everyone's spirits up, Melvin suggested that the three of them take a short break from their jobs and drive around the various scenic spots in Camarines Sur. Along the way, the three had several adventures -- mostly happy, some sad, some strange, some risky -- which made them discover more new things about each other. 

Recently, there had been a couple of gay-themed comedies which were shown in cinemas -- "Mahal Kita, Beksman" (Perci Intalan, 2022) and "Here Comes the Groom" (Chris Martinez, 2023). Both of these were well-written and well-cast with actors who brought vibrant life to the colorful characters and wacky situations that were quite entertaining and fun. Unfortunately, viewers who expect this new gay comedy to be of the same caliber will be disappointed.

Director Chad Kinis gave his two co-stars more moments to shine than himself. Lassy spent practically the whole film using his unique face as his only crutch to be funny. He had to resort to disgusting gags (like toejam or cat's poop) which were not funny at all. The highlight of MC Muah's Melvin was a reunion with his homophobic dad (John Lapus). However, Muah's delivery of lines was generally dry and unengaging, for both dramatic and comedic scenes. 

The second act was a road trip where the three friends visit tourist spots in CamSur, like Lake Manapao, Century Old Tree, Nalalata Falls and the CamSur Water Sports Complex (where the trio tried to waterski). To fill in the spaces between, there were lame corny jokes (crazy fortuneteller, hunchback girl, old lady on bridge, talent show, congee stall), as well as plenty gratuitous shirtless beefcake shots of several young men for the gay audience to ogle at. 

In the third act, the story would serve up an even more depressing, if not outright miserable, series of developments. I'm guessing that they decided on such a morbid ending for a Beks Battalion movie to expand the acting range of their comedy group, this being their debut as lead actors. This film was supposed to be about real friendship, but I doubt if these dark turns in plot would appeal to viewers looking for their usual brand of comedy-club fun. 2/10.