Manay Po!

- Get Your Own










Because the likelihood of one mother's kids turning out to be all gays is slim, its occurrence is a funny prospect. This is what Manay Po! milks for all it's worth, and the result is a comedy that targets the whole family. It begins with a hackneyed awarding rites for Luz (Cherry Pie Picache), upon whom a psychology department of one university chose to bestow the Mother of the Year award. Cut to how it all started, from a far-out incident where she finishes off her military husband's work while very pregnant with her eldest. Her two other sons share the same father, a petty crook who dies after a police encounter. Then she becomes a small-time jeweler who raises her sons on her own, a lax mother who is open to the idea of having a gay son--which her second, Orson, openly is. On the other hand, she is also relieved that her firstborn Oscar and third Orwell maintain that they are straight.







Things come to a head when she loses a pair of earrings worth 2 million pesos which she must pay off, and she gets in and out of hospital because of the stress. Her partner Gerry (Christian Vazquez, in a body-baring role that he does best) resorts to being a cake boy at gay parties to help out. Polo Ravales as Oscar, meanwhile, is in the dark regarding all this; he has problems of his own, like not being able to break away from his girlfriend of six years and to admit that his best friend is really his boyfriend of seven years.



For a gay movie that’s created for a wider audience, “Manay Po” manages to poke into the complexities of some problematic gender identity issues. Director Joel Lamangan isn’t big on subtlety but this comedy-drama, for all its faults, is still watchable. Scenes meant to elicit laughs become highly campy and unrealistic, but oddly, that adds to this film’s deliberately “alternative” feel. It certainly is easier to watch than his previous gay-centric “dramedy” effort, “So Happy Together,” because of this new movie’s smarter, snappier script, and the nice mix of actors.



The movie’s mainstream comedy works. And with the more budget-friendly cost of a more advanced filmmaking technology as compared to what the not so distant past has offered, it is a great improvement to see a more digitally-enhanced OBB (opening billboard) for this movie. It may not be as spectacular as the OBBs of the likes of ‘LOTR,’ ‘Star Wars’ or ‘The Matrix,’ but at least there are efforts made nowadays to utilize digital technology for the almost always tightly-budgeted Pinoy commercial films. However, with the sound, Pinoy movies are still in the trying times – not being able to achieve good sound quality to come in par with international films. This movie, just like most Pinoy movies, gets out-of-synch with some of its dubbed lines. Although it’s minimal, it’s still a weakness.



On the surface, the comedy brought by the actors playing gay roles tends to be funny. However, they do not completely justify their gay roles as the sincerity in their acting is questionable. This may not be caused by the idea that they are straight guys in real life but this shows how far their acting can become convincing to the audience. And this becomes clearly seen with the effective punchlines thrown by the real-life gay actor IC Mendoza as compared to the acting of John Pratts, Polo Ravales and Jiro Manio.



With the story revolving around the life of Luz, a jeweler, and her three gay children Oscar, Orson, and Orwell, ‘Manay Po’ tries to project a family movie image with its wholesome and family-oriented gay theme. The various issues on identity crisis and ‘gayhood,’ the unconditional love of a mother to her children, the value of friendship, the struggle in a competitive and discriminating society, the effort to make stable relationships and overcome adolescent insecurities, the financial and emotional struggle of loved ones, and the search for freedom are all presented in the story.







It pushes the right angst and feel-good buttons, as it focuses on three gay siblings and their loving, devoted single mother. It’s good to see versatile Cherry Pie Picache evolve by taking on disparate roles through the years, and this specific mom is just exceptionally delightful. As Luz, she conveys and deals with rapid emotional shifts along with her three sons, closeted architect Oscar (Polo Ravales), flamboyant art student Orson (John Prats), and volatile teen Orwell (Jiro Manio). The three brothers have gotten accustomed to not having a father around, but the film doesn’t conclusively get into the root of specific sexuality issues that some of the characters experience.



Oscar, for example, has a secret boyfriend (Luis Alandy), and has kept the relationship hidden for seven years. But he also has a clueless girlfriend who wants to start a family with him!




The Oscar character is traditionally macho, but is an overtly homophobic paradox. His self-hate, unfortunately, manifests in repeated bullying of his effeminate and loud brother Orson (whose gay-dar has detected a blip from his older sibling). What isn’t clear is the cause of that inner conflict. Had a concrete reason been given, by flashback or just a casual line, the character would’ve been perfect.




Still, Oscar is used well, and is sewn into a sizable portion of the drama. Prats’ openly gay Orson is more of the comic relief, even when he’s experiencing heartbreak. Prats is good, but his mostly over-the-top delivery downplays the urgency of his character’s romantic foibles. And because of the actor’s angular body type and masculine facial contours, the transvestite look isn’t convincing. But Prats’ lines are some of the funniest and most enlightening, thanks to his consistent swish and sashaying.



John Prats is hands down the life of the movie as Orson who insists to be called Ursula in school, where his best friend (with whom he is in love) grows ever uneasy with their friendship and finds a girlfriend to erase doubts as to his own sexual orientation. Prats gets profuse support from IC Mendoza, one of two sidekicks who has the perfect quips and timing. Jiro Manio gets his own time as the budding bading, but it's hardly a lion's share.






Many can relate to the movie’s theme and this becomes an edge for it. The ‘Magpakatotoo ka’ attitude, the manifestations of true and unconditional love, and the ups-and-downs in love and relationships – all these crawl their way towards the heart of the viewers who get to attach themselves and relate to the feelings of the characters. And it could have been better if these issues have been presented in a more creative fashion and not too contrived in a box of formula. Noticeably, particular issues as the relationship of best friends (a male and a gay) in their adolescent days do not ingeniously address the issue. It only provides a physical stream for the story. And if the viewers don’t try to analyze further, they won’t be able to dissect what the script tries to offer beyond its surface.






“Manay Po” captures the diversity of the gay community through these characters, as well as its third main gay character, Orwell. Manio’s decently played young teen is typically the impressionable kid, but he’s still his own person. The boy can do well enough in schoolyard fisticuffs, but shrieks like a girl when startled. This character shows a formative stage in one’s sexuality, where peer pressure plays a huge role. His innocence is an interesting foil to his older brothers’ more complicated situations.




There are messages about tolerance aplenty and funny supporting characters that embody acceptance, such as the busybody housekeeper (Giselle Sanchez) and the generous father figure (Christian Vazquez). “Manay Po” unfolds without visual or storytelling spectacle, but it succeeds in creating this flawed yet hopeful world, even when the characters’ lives and choices are occasionally easy to map out from our perspective. With lots of swardspeak sprinkled in the script, Manay Po! is a crash course in gay lingo. There are some scenes that do not work, like three dance-hopping in the corridors of the hospital. When it also tries to address a serious situation and tends to go all Brokeback Mountain, specifically when Ravales and Luis Alandy are shirtless after a nookie, even some of the gay viewers cannot help but be snide. The movie also unnecessarily and perhaps unwittingly pokes fun at deformities and imperfections, like the mother's lisp, the live-in partner's Visayan diction, and the sons' sexualities. It gingerly treads But while it gingerly treads on serious gay issues, it is an advocate of acceptance and not mere tolerance. Manay Po is truly a
- Get Your Own