REVIEW: Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy

The biggest fault of Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy is that it doesn't even try to be good. It's an unrepentant cash grab: every single scene is window dressing so Vice Ganda can make jokes that can be shown on trailers, which can attract a myriad of people who will think that the movie is damn hilarious they can shell the contents of their wallets for it.

There's a semblance of plot, but it feels trite and half-baked. This time, Vice plays quadruplets with genders already depicted in the title. They get separated at birth, but they eventually get together to save a sibling's life.

The plot is poorly presented. Characters move from major scene to major scene without any build-up, like most of the exposition has been edited out to make way for more Vice Ganda jokes.

There's a lot of characters but they're all under-utilized. Bobby Andrews and Angelu de Leon are in the movie but we don't know why. There are four kids but only Kiray Celis gets a meaty role as the punching bag to Vice Ganda's insults. JC de Vera and Ejay Falcon are interchangeable.

I'll admit that I looked forward to seeing this film because I did like last year's Sisterakas. I was disappointed, and remembered that my assumption must be true: Vice Ganda's comedy skills are weak when he's made to act in a scripted material. His skills are in improv; the funniest scenes of Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy are when Vice breaks the fourth wall. In here, his jokes feel fresh and improvised.

Sisterakas might have been funny not only because of Vice but also because he was working with another comedian, Ai-Ai delas Alas, and Kris Aquino, who was willing to make fun of herself.

In Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy, Vice had no competent actor to work with, so most of the scenes fell flat. In the film, Maricel Soriano looks out of place, like she's hoping the film was a drama. Joey Marquez looks bored, Joy Viado's character was toned down after a few scenes, and Ruffa Gutierrez just couldn't act.

There were also names in the billing that are only in the movie for a few seconds. For instance: Atak and Eagle Riggs were only in the wedding ensemble, so why give them billing importance?

I saw this movie in a half-filled theater, and most of the audience there could only produce a few chuckles here and there. This movie's just really dull.

What's the bright spot in this film? We finally see Vice Ganda in a dramatic scene, and this is where we see where Vice's future should be headed. Seeing the emotional scene where he confronts his father for leaving him made me wish Vice tackles more dramatic roles. One can only hope.