Last laugh

The reviews are in and it looks like they bode well for Kris Aquino. North American critics and viewers have spoken and found Crazy Rich Asians a delight to watch. The region’s box-office results saw the movie at the top with an estimated US$25 million on its opening weekend.

Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern remarked that the film is “hugely enjoyable,” while Time Magazine’s Stephanie Zacharek said it is “simply great fun and a winsome romantic comedy.”

Johnny Oleksinski wrote in his review for the New York Post that Crazy Rich Asians “is a defibrillator for a genre that flatlined ages ago.”

Rotten Tomatoes’ aggregate review has the John Chu film pegged at 93 percent rating.

These glowing reviews are sure to reflect on the cast, director and Kevin Kwan’s dedication to the material. It is most especially true for Kwan, who insisted on having his novel adapted for the big screen rather than distributed on a popular video-streaming site.

The success also affirms that growing clamor for a diverse and true-to-form cast especially after past film adaptations of stories with Asian characters have featured non-Asian actors portraying the part. This sends a strong message to Hollywood’s notorious reputation of whitewashing.

The artists, save for Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh, are relatively new names and faces in Hollywood. But after this box-office success, it now stands to change.

For the Filipinos in the cast, it’s even great. Nico Santos, who played Oliver Tsien, cousin of Henry Golding’s Nick Young, will have another feather in his cap. He is doing absolutely fantastic playing a Filipino in the ensemble comedy series Superstore aired in NBC.

Kris Aquino’s exposure as the snobbish Malay royalty, Princess Intan, might be a little under three minutes, but it was a memorable scene at the wedding involving the story’s main female protagonist. This is in addition to the rave reviews of Aquino’s yellow Michael Leyva gown during the film’s green carpet premiere in the United States.

The loquacious TV host, who is sometimes tagged as the “Queen of All Media,” had admitted to facing a rough time prior to her coveted Hollywood stint. It was a time when she, ironically, had no presence in all three popular media because of her political background.

She only had her endorsements and social media accounts to make her presence still known to the public. But when news broke out that she got a part in a major Hollywood film, Kris found herself hogging the limelight, with much gusto. Just like old times, but even better.

And now that the film debuted with a bang in the United States, and no doubt today as it opens in Philippine cinemas, it seems like Kris has the last laugh.

Although the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) has just ended, it continues to make the news. Much of the buzz is actually a spillover of the Cinema Evaluation Board’s (CEB) controversial Grade Zero given to two of the Special Features entries of the festival.

The producers and directors of Balangiga: Howling Wilderness and Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus took to social media to air their questions and grievances regarding the unexpected poor grading.

Had their films were given Grade A or Grade B, they would be entitled to 100 percent and 65 percent tax rebates, respectively.

Perci Intalan, one of the producers of Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus, posted on Facebook on 15 August: “I have been silent about this for a while because I wanted to understand what is happening. I also don’t want to look bitter just because I am credited as a producer of this film. I stand by this film. It’s a beautifully made film and I am proud of it. But I also wanted to respect the CEB’s decision,” he began.

“However, I saw the review and I feel that it is taking a dangerous turn. Even more dangerous than what they claim about this film. The point of the review – of no less than a film that won 2nd Best Picture and a number of awards and has passed the standards of the selection committees of 3 festivals: Cine Filipino, Cinemalaya and Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino – is not to evaluate the craftsmanship of the film, but rather questions its very purpose. The creation of art can be discussed, even if still subjectively, based on set standards of craftsmanship. But the purpose of art? The purpose of a painting, a sculpture, a poem, a song? You cannot question that because it is different for everyone and it is by design supposed to inspire thought, pose questions and even spark debate,” he continued.

He added that the board had better be ready to defend its decision “against standards that reflect their expertise in film production, or at least film appreciation.”

“Because this is the bottom line for me: what is truly DANGEROUS is letting any institution impose on what we can and cannot express through art,” Intalan ended his post.

Netizens have also started to ask questions on why these two films, which they think are among the better films made in recent years, were denied of potential tax reliefs.

The CEB released their review for the Balangiga movie, highlighting why they think the movie got its grade, but they have yet to release a statement regarding the entire issue.

The issue brings to light how the grading system works. Tax relief is important for filmmakers and producers because it helps them recover their expenses, as well as inspires them to make more films.

Past films of more commercial value and headlined by big name stars had it easy with their grading, some even Graded A. They did not necessarily have to be quality films worthy of a spot in prestigious international film festivals. But then perhaps, therein lies the “uproar.”

How are these supposed critics and netizen-approved films any different? Should they have been more commercially appealing, staying on the safe side of the status quo and not even trying to rock or offend any institutional dogma, for them to be Graded A or B?

These are questions that beg for answers.