August 16, 2026
Joanne "Jo" (Jodi Sta. Maria) was a successful writer for a top-rating soap opera and was extremely busy and stressed out. One day, she received a phone call from her Nanay Des (Ruby Ruiz) from their provincial hometown that her mother Paz (Agot Isidro), who had abandoned Jo 27 years ago, was suddenly back from New York City. She brought with her a young man she introduced as her son, Matti (Gabriel Lazaro).
Paz, a former actress, was a high-strung, and unapologetic loudmouth. Even for the slightest of provocations, be it out of mean-spirited sarcasm or even out of what seemed to be concern, she would blow up into foul-mouthed ejaculations and lengthy motor-mouth tirades, which left everyone around her shocked and uncomfortable. She was specially tough on Matti whose mental and emotional issues made him do and say the most unexpected things.
Because of Paz's psychiatric and medical concerns, Agot Isidro certainly had the showier role of the whole cast. We just saw a somewhat milder version of this mother character in her recent Cinemalaya film "Mag-iina" (2026). Her shrill, twangy voice in this one was definitely several notches more irritating to the ear. She was also unpredictably rude and hurtful, but it was to Isidro's credit that audiences can still care no matter how unpleasant Paz got.
Jo mostly kept her turmoil inside, so Jodi Sta. Maria wisely underplayed her part -- the quiet calm in contrast with Paz's loud hysteria. Her first conflict here was her acceptance to an American writing fellowship which may just fall through the cracks because of her mother's unexpected visit. However, Jo had a much deeper reason to hate her mother, an internal wound that festered for 27 years that just got riled up to become unbearably painful again.
Given Matti's impaired mental, social and emotional issues, neophyte actor Gabriel Lazaro (a son of character actor Ronnie Lazaro) was certainly given a very challenging role to portray for his acting debut. In view of the veteran stars acting circles around him, his inexperience was still quite evident. Matti was supposed to act awkwardly, but Lazaro was obviously trying to act his part. His effort was appreciated, but there is still room for improvement.
Gardo Versoza played Jo's father Rene, while Ruby Ruiz played Jo's former nanny Des. The rest of the family were gathered together at a welcome dinner. Mitch Valdez played Paz's colorful Tita Abby, while Joel Saracho played her uncle Tito. Floyd Tena played Paz's film director brother Pipo, while Angel Aquino played her actress cousin Stella. RK Bagatsing played Jo's psychiatrist and lover Doc Migs, who paid Jo a surprise visit that same day.
Cholo Laurel's feature directorial debut was way back in 2005 with the multi-awarded "Nasaan Ka Man." "Ganito, Ganyan, Ganoon" is only his second feature film as director. The buildup to Paz's big reveal was already very well-done, but Laurel just had to insert a candle-lit bull session to reopen wounds all over again. This film and its actors were good, but I wish we'd have less dramas that resort to illness as an intervening factor. 7/10
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