As a child, Remington (Mart Escudero) made incessant fun of “homos,” running around yelling “”Ay! Bakla! Bakla! Bakla!” at practically anyone, including the parish priest. One day he ridiculed the wrong cross-dressing queen (Roderick Paulate, who’s played such roles for over a quarter-century), who cursed him with, “When you grow up, you will become gay!”
Fifteen years later, Remington is turning 21 as a young lout occupied by little more than boozing with buddies and chasing skirt. His interest in pretty college student Hannah (Lauren Young) goes unreturned until involuntary changes to his manner, dress, knowledge of makeup tips, etc., suddenly strike her fancy. Still, he hadn’t hoped to impress her with girly “sensitivity” or swishing around; nor does a newfound attraction to best friend Jigs (Kerbie Zamora) exactly fit his hitherto macho self-image.
Meanwhile, the apparently all-female local police force (including Janice de Belen as Remington’s mother) investigates a series of murders in which a ray-gun-like “gaydar” invented to determine homosexuality in livestock is being used to decimate the local population of hairdressers and other flamboyant gays. Co-scenarists Castro, Raymond Lee and Michiko Yamamoto’s kitchen-sink approach also tosses in a muscular mystery man who terrorizes Remington, rollerblading, a seance, an animation-enhanced disco dance interlude, male go-go ghost dancers, a beauty pageant, and yes, late-arriving gay zombies.
Holding this crazy quilt together to a large extent is Escudero, a teen pinup who surprises here (and has won some awards notice) with delightful farcical facility. His possessed-by-a-demon-of-camp act is a physical comedy stunt reminiscent of Steve Martin’s forced gender blur in “All of Me” and, as with all the stereotypes deployed here, it’s too good-natured to insult any viewer. Supporting players, some with established screen personas that add an in-joke layer, are all game. Inspiration occasionally flags a bit, but the pic’s friendly vibe compensates for its unevenness. Assembly is brisk and colorful.
While watching this in the AVR room we laugh and laugh all the way through but still we catch a good lesson about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment