REVIEW: ‘Lolo and the Kid’

The new Netflix Original Lolo and the Kid, from writer-director Benedict Mique (ML, Monday First Screening), is designed to extract tears. Oozing with schmaltz, it targets viewers who are swayed by melodrama.

Glossy, vivid, and colorful, the movie is visually appealing. It features striking night shots of the Manila cityscape with glistening skyscrapers and a zooming MRT, sunsets at the beach, carnival rides, and eye-popping costumes. But don’t be fooled by the cheeriness — it’s a drama, after all.

Following the success of the Thai hit “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,” viewers are treated to another grandparent-grandson drama, seemingly engineered for maximum emotional impact. This time, however, both the grandson and the grandad are crooks.

“Partners forever” Lolo (Joel Torre) and his adorable grandson, Kid (Euwenn Mikaell), are con artists who fancy themselves as cool in their red sunglasses. They target wealthy, childless couples with a heart-wrenching story. Their goal? To get the couple to adopt Kid, provide Lolo with a hefty sum as financial aid — and then vanish into the night with their loot.

They call themselves “rich bums,” humorously using their ill-gotten gains to fund a lifestyle of simple, carefree activities like amusement rides, ice cream, and videoke. And despite Lolo being illiterate, he can sing Kenny Rogers’ “Through the Years” with clear diction and pronunciation.

The dialogue is concise, easy to understand, and includes moments of wit. The movie benefits from strong onscreen presences and a nearly natural, conversational tone from Torre as the tropical-shirted grandpa and Mikaell as the super-cute boy.

However, the film requires a suspension of disbelief. The era is ambiguous — no smartphones are visible (though laptops are common) until Kid’s college years, when the latest iPhone models appear.

There’s a lack of security, even CCTV cameras, and Lolo and Kid, who are easy to spot, seem to operate within the same village or subdivision. They merrily explore the same Coney Island-like area and sell their wares to the same fence, Taba (David Shouder). Lolo also never has difficulty finding gullible victims who are benevolent and super-trusting (they seem to be everywhere).

The plot devices feel almost fantastical in their convenience. Without a strong sense of threat or conflict, and with the crime partners’ routine becoming repetitive and tedious, it’s hard to stay engaged. While the inclusion of notable victims — a single woman (Iza Calzado) and a gay couple (Nico Antonio and Markki Stroem) — adds some variety, the heists themselves remain predictable.

With a runtime of just over an hour and a half, the movie feels overstretched and dragging due to its monotony. Since Lolo and Kid mostly act cute and clever, and it’s challenging to empathize with one-dimensional scammers, it’s hard to feel invested in their relationship.

Mique does attempt to provide a backstory for why Lolo ended up on the streets and how he and Kid became partners. It’s a good commentary on homelessness, showing it’s not always about laziness. But while we shouldn’t judge the homeless, we can still judge wrongdoers.

Some might argue that Lolo’s flawed character isn’t the story’s focus. It’s true — the central theme is the strong bond between a grandfather and his grandson, and Lolo’s love for his only family, Kid.

However, Lolo is a peculiar character.  The old man’s cynicism becomes apparent, including his tendency to blame God for his misfortune and his criminal mindset. However, regardless of one’s religious beliefs, we all have the free will to make our own choices, which makes it difficult to feel sympathy for him.

While his love for Kid is genuine, he struggles to extend that love to others. His belief that cursing and speaking disrespectfully are unacceptable, yet scamming is justifiable, creates an odd character design that seems to emphasize quirkiness over coherence.

Lolo’s redemptive arc is predictable, and the final act rushes toward its anticipated climax: the tear-jerking drama starring JK Labajo, designed to make you bawl your lungs out. It may work for some, but by the time the “explosive drama” unfolded, I was already exhausted.

Lolo and the Kid is aimed at a specific demographic of Filipino viewers who enjoy melodramatic mainstream fare. For me, though, it felt as subtle as a sledgehammer — and just another typical, run-of-the-mill Netflix original.

2 out of 5 stars