Will the presumed substantial fan base amassed by Maris Racal through her recently concluded love team performance with Anthony Jennings on ABS-CBN Netflix Philippines series Can’t Buy Me Love swarm the cinemas starting today, 10 July, to watch her in Marupok A+? It is shown alongside That Kind of Love, starring the on-screen (only, not real-life) love team of Barbie Fortaleza and David Licauco.
It’s the same dark comedy-thriller shown at last year’s Cinemalaya indie film fest as the opening event, not as an entry, as it is a Cinemalaya tradition that the opening and closing films are non-entries. Its title at that time ended with “AF+ -- not “A+.”
Jennings is not in Marupok. Racal has no leading man in the film directed by Quark Henares, whose movies are almost always liked by critics. And they liked Marupok last year, though they were alarmed by how Henares managed to turn the story of a transwoman who was deceived by a full-blooded woman, very cutely portrayed by Racal, into a riotous comedy.
She has no love interest in the story since her main interest is to ruin a transwoman looking for a (male) lover through a matchmaking app company where the Racal character, Beany, works as a very charming supervisor. Some reviews of the film pointed out that it was implied in some scenes that Beany was bullied by trans people in her younger years, so she’s getting back at them by making life miserable for a transwoman desperately desiring a lover.
Initial plan
What Beany does is create a non-existent person she named Theo and order a male employee to be Theo’s voice when the transwoman demanded to hear his voice. The same employee was persuaded by Beany to meet the transwoman in person eventually, and one of those meetings ended with intimacies between them.
Beany has other sinister plans to ruin the transwoman with the male employee as her accomplice. Royce Cabrera portrays the male employee who could not say “no” to Beany as he was afraid of losing his job. (In the office, Theo is actually Dennis.)
The transwoman is played by real-life transwoman actor EJ Fallorina, who began his acting career as a child actor on ABS-CBN’s weekly comedy Goin’ Bulilit, where some of ABS-CBN’s big adult stars began their careers, too, since 2005, such as Kathryn Bernardo, Nash Aguas, Alexa Ilacad, Belle Mariano and Julia Montes.
If you are not well-versed in Tagalog, we will tell you now that for those with sexual minds, the word connotes the inability to resist carnal temptations. If taken just denotatively, marupok simply means “weak” (as in “not durable”). It simply means “fragile.”
The “A+” in the film’s title could mean “extraordinarily weak.” In college (we were academics for more than 10 years plus graduate school study for two years at Ateneo de Manila), the highest grade is “A+,” followed by “A” and “A-.”
The film’s original title actually had “AF,” but the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) seemed to have suspected something highly sexual in those letters, which gave them enough reason to X-rate the film.
Henares and the producers, Anima Studios, petitioned for a reconsideration and were given an R-18 classification, which means it can be viewed only by people 18 years old and above. Also, “AF” was changed to “A+” and all marketing posters were changed to presumably less carnal ones in terms of texts and pictures. All this is according to Henares’ posting on Facebook in April 2024 when the MTRCB finally approved the film’s theatrical release.
Does Racal have a Marupok (carnal) scene in the film? According to some reviews, Racal has a toilet cubicle scene in which she engages in self-gratification after she learns how the transwoman was badly affected by her (Beany’s) shenanigans.
Marupok actually enjoys the reputation of having been screened at an international film festival before its first and only Philippine screening at Cinemalaya in August 2023. It was shown at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah, USA, in January 2023. The film’s complete title then was Marupok AF: Where is the Lie?
In May of last year, the film was shown at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, and at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival with the shortened title Where is the Lie? (Since Marupok is a Tagalog word, it is not needed in the film’s title in global festivals.)
Why did Henares choose Racal to portray the cute evil woman in Marupok, which was filmed in 2022?
He watched her portray a very sensual sex guru in the mini-series The Kangks Show, which aired on WeTV.com in 2021. Racal’s risqué character was in competition with an older sex guru portrayed by Angelica Panganiban. That series was conceptualized and directed by a woman: Antoinette Jadaone, who runs a filmmaking company with her partner, Dan Villegas, called Project 8, an affiliate of ABS-CBN.
Racal’s character in Can’t Buy Me Love, the ABS-CBN series shown on Netflix Philippines, started airing two months after the showing of Marupok at Cinemalaya last year. Her character, Irene Tiu, began as a distasteful one meant to be an unlovable villain. The early publicity about Irene Tiu said she was an alcoholic, a kleptomaniac and a schemer determined to ruin the lives of her stepsisters, portrayed by Belle Mariano, Chie Filomeno and Kaila Estrada. But the character changed to just bitchy and snooty when she met the Rene character portrayed by Jennings. She gave up being a young devil woman in the name of romance.
There really seems to be a trend now to “demonize” our lead actors in the characters they portray, and Racal’s vicious Beany in Marupok, as shown in August last year, may be said to have begun the ‘demonization’ mania. Piolo Pascual did it in Mallari in last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival by portraying a serial killer, and before that, he also played a serial killer in the ABS-CBN and Viu series Flower of Evil. He is now a corrupt politician in his new series Pamilya Sagrado.
Janine Gutierrez was recently reported to be portraying a villain in the forthcoming series headlined by Jericho Rosales and Jodi Sta. Maria for ABS-CBN. Gutierrez mentioned in an interview that characters with mean streaks are more realistic and more interesting than those overflowing with virtues.
Meanwhile, Marupok A+ also stars Cristine Reyes, Gabby Padilla, Chai Fonacier, Red Ollero, Dylan and transwomen Rod Singh and Mela Habijan. Its story is based on a real case of “catfishing” (online deception) involving a transwoman that occurred in the country in 2020. For sure, the real-life story is not a comedy.
Marupok A+ is showing in cinemas of Ayala Malls, while That Kind of Love is in the theaters of SM malls.
Ayala Malls Cinemas are renowned for enhancing the movie-watching experience with state-of-the-art facilities. These include plush seating, generous legroom, cutting-edge laser projections and superior audio technologies, such as Dolby Sound and Dolby Atmos. This ensures that viewers enjoy films in the best possible environment, making each screening immersive and enjoyable.
In addition to their exclusive screenings, Ayala Malls Cinemas are committed to offering diverse movie content that caters to all types of moviegoers. Their programming spans a wide range of genres, from mainstream blockbusters to critically acclaimed indie films, ensuring there is something for everyone. This dedication to variety is evident in their recent lineup, featuring everything from family-friendly adventures and animated films to gripping dramas and intense action movies.
Ayala Malls Cinemas’ commitment to diversity and quality in their movie selections ensures that they remain a top destination for film lovers in the Philippines. For more information on screening schedules and to book tickets, visit Ayala Malls Cinemas’ Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as www.sureseats.com.
Ayala Malls Zing Plus members can enjoy extra perks by earning Zing points when they use their Zing-linked credit card or GCash to purchase movie tickets at the Ayala Malls Cinemas ticket booth or online at www.sureseats.com.
