June 14, 2023
Happy (Hershie de Leon) was an on-and-off nursing student, who resorted to being a freelance home service masseuse to earn her tuition and boarding house rental. She would even go all the way as extra service if the client requested it so she can earn more, but she drew her line at kissing lips to lips. She spent her days walking around the streets of the University Belt, pulling her red suitcase that contained her massage paraphernalia behind her.
One day, Happy was picked up by wedding planner Precious (Angelica Cervantes) who hired her to give her a massage at her house. Precious complimented Happy on her beauty and encouraged her to be a model under her company. She called her business partner and photographer Leo (Mon Mendoza) to conduct Happy's photo shoot. When the photos were ready for pick up, Leo called Happy over to give him a home service massage as well.
Since the three main actors were newbies, the thing that caught my attention about this particular Vivamax film was the name of the director -- Ma-an Asuncion Dagñalan. This is actually Dagnalan's follow-up project after winning Best Director in Cinemalaya 2022 for her excellent last film "Blue Room." This is her first film for Vivamax, with a script by no less than her Palanca awardee husband Michael Angelo Dagñalan.
Perverse as it sounds, the plot about an attractive couple luring unwary money-strapped college students to become unwitting participants in viral porn videos was actually a cautionary tale. How this sneaky sleazy modus eventually climaxed in violence fit right into the Vivamax formula. With her DP TM Malones, Dagñalan captured the bustling atmosphere of downtown Manila as Happy walked along familiar streets like Recto and Mendiola.
As for the sex scenes, which are the trademarks of a Vivamax film, Dagñalan unexpectedly had a good eye for blocking and choreographing them compared to other male directors. However, Dagñalan's overall execution of the script was more miss than hit. Aside from the slow, prolonged sex scenes, there were also several repetitive scenes and long-winded scenes that bloated the film's running time to an interminable two hours.
At least, De Leon, Cervantes and Mendoza, plus the relative veteran Vance Larena (as a corrupt police officer), looked like they were having fun during the filming, Dagñalan probably telling them not to take things too seriously. That final confrontation scene of Happy, Precious and Leo in the car was dead serious on paper, but the campy, over-the-top manner the three neophyte leads were delivering their lines was just inadvertently hilarious. 4/10.
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