August 7, 2023
The Guy (Juan Karlos Labajo) worked for his Uncle to supply recreational drugs to his classy clientele. When the pandemic hit, a couple of rich girls from the penthouse of the building, Tanya (Nourijune Hooshmand) and Taylor (Chaye Mogg), called him for an order of weed edibles. Later, they asked him to help them organize a rave party for their friends. When he learned that Taylor could help him get a US visa, The Guy was all in.
Frequently, The Guy would sneak up to the roofdeck of his condo building to smoke. He was always caught and asked to stop by the roofdeck caretaker Rosemarie (Jorybelle Agoto), who cited that smoking was against building policy. With a secret they agreed to keep between the two of them, The Guy and Rosemarie eventually become friends despite their differences. The Guy now realized he had the perfect venue for the girls' big party.
The Guy was a drug pusher who would also be asked to take the drugs himself to convince his buyers that his products are good. Therefore, a good percentage of the film were The Guy's drug-induced trips with the psychedelic colors, imagery and musical score drawing the audience to immerse in it. His ultimate trip was the so-called "ego death" induced by a 'shroom concoction by his perpetually high neighbor Neeks (Jiro Umali).
Many movies about drug-induced trips are shallow, but this first feature by Kevin Mayuga was actually quite multilayered. It tackled the contrasting pandemic lifestyles and behaviors of the penthouse rich and basement poor, in some sort of a local iteration of "Downton Abbey" in a condo. The friendship of The Guy and Rosemarie was established, but was not pursued much further because of circumstances, leaving us curious to see where this would lead.
The rich characters like Tanya, Taylor, Nicole (Renee Dominique), and particularly the flamboyant character of Aaron (Aaron Maniego), were negatively portrayed as over-the-top bossy and selfish. Meanwhile the service staff like Rosemarie, Likha (Zara Loayon), Lottie (Lottie Bie) and Kuya Ruel (Jonathan Tadioan), were mostly friendly, meek and subservient, with the distinct exception of strict building manager Ms. Kate (Lotlot Bustamante).
Juan Karlos had already proved his acting mettle in films like "Blue Room" (2022) and "Ako si Ninoy" (2023). His The Guy was practically onscreen for the whole film going through all kinds of emotions. We rode this roller coaster along with him from the blinding lights and throbbing club music, through his freaky, mind-bending psychogenic trips, until he came crashing down head first back into real world where he finally realized his true place.
The film chose to devote more screen time to the relationship of The Guy with his estranged mother Lanie (Ana Abad Santos). She had married an American and soon immigrated to the States to build a new family, leaving The Guy to fend for himself on regular allowances that she sent over. As much as this was where the main heart of the film lay, psychological studies of abandoned children are already a familiar topic in past Cinemalaya films. 5/10.
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