Apat Dapat, Dapat Apat?

One of the attractions of watching Apat Dapat, Dapat Apat was having shared the Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong last August with the movie's leads. I did not see them then but my traveling companions did. Kayers and my 79 year old aunt saw Rufa Mae Quinto and Pokwang while S1 and I were lining up to pay the travel tax. Since S1 and Kayers were the last to board the plane, they saw all 4 who were seated in front. S1 who used to loathe Pinoy TV but has since become addicted to telenovelas even recognized Direk Wenn Deramas who helmed the movie. As with most Cebu Pacific flights, a fun game was conducted during the flight. Pokwang was gracious enough to sing the complete Voltes V theme. But I digress. The reason I saw the movie was to see how they shot Hong Kong. I also had time to kill and I've already seen Stardust, Wedding Daze and No Reservations.

The movie is about 4 friends who vow to be best friends forever and to stay together no matter what fate befalls them. Because of financial need, they end up as domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Res, played by Candy Pangilinan, is killed by her employer. Her friends, Gay (Pokwang), Bright (Rufa Mae Quinto) and Dolly (Eugene Domingo), spirit her out of Hong Kong to save their lives by passing her off as one of the living. Concealing the truth from Res' family is what the rest of the movie is about.

The plot is nothing new and is reminiscent of Weekend at Bernie's. But somehow, I do not find anything funny about death, particularly when an OFW is involved. One may argue that the movie is trying to be socially relevant by featuring the plight of OFWs. But the movie is meant to be a comedy. Why poke fun at other people's misfortunes?

The movie also brought to mind the issue about Desperate Housewives and Filipino doctors. Some of our countrymen felt insulted and called the remark racist. Others argued that it was said in jest and should be taken lightly. Some pointed out that as a nation, we love poking fun at various things/people yet do not take kindly to jokes directed at us. The movie was full of such jokes -- about Germans having the measles, Middle Easterners having laundry problems, etc. But then again, humor at the expense of another should never be condoned.

While it is true that our OFWs occasionally become victims of bad employers, it is also true that there are some who are lucky to have good employers. Much was shown about the ill treatment accorded Res. It would have been better if some balance was shown by showing an OFW being treated well and fairly.

The movie did show a few shots of Hong Kong: the airport, Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui promenade and the Symphony of Lights.

One of my objectives was to find out the best comedienne of the four. Unfortunately, none stood out. This is not to say that they were terrible being funny. It's just that they had little room to be creative. After all, I've been wowed before by Candy Pangilinan early on in her career when she played sidekick to Donna Cruz. The same is true with Rufa Mae Quinto who was funny being Booba and as sidekick to Regine Velasquez. And I loved Eugene Domingo in Paano Kita Iibigin?

Unlike that last movie also by Viva Films, this one did not have as many advertisers. The only one I recognized was PLDT call card which had 3 spots. The first 2 spots were ok because it showed the usefulness of the card for OFWs and their families but the last one was just too much. How can you possibly explain having a tarpaulin of PLDT at Pokwang's back while she was doing the laundry?

One of the taglines of the movie is dapat ulitin, kahit apat na beses ay sulit pa rin. I don't think so. And I'm willing to say that 4 times or more.

apat dapat, dapat apat, movie, pokwang, ofw, rufa mae quinto, hong kong, candy pangilinan, eugene domingo

Photo from this site.

Treadmill x 30 minutes x 178 calories