Symptoms of a life far too ordinary: sporatic blogging

This goes out to everyone as a general warning... do NOT go see "American Adobo". Hot on the trails of the well-recieved "The Debut," "American Adobo" tried to appeal to the 30 - 40 year old filipino audience, and failed horridly. The entire movie was an exercise in pure sap and fluff, further enhanced by the plethora of pinoy cliches throughout the story. An old maid who cooks well (Tere). A playboy hot-shot (Raoul) who becomes repentant after possibly contracting HIV, who later marries a blonde nurse. A debutante with her well hung musician boyfriend with a fidelity problem. A former political activist who goes back to the Philippines and leaves his newly-rich, mah jong-addicted wife (Mike). A pinay who gets impregnated by her boyfriend but successfully supports her new family through college. A gay man (Gerry) whose mother is devastated when she learns that she'll never get grandchildren and whose lover is dying of AIDS.

Since the movie deals with the complexities of interpersonal relations, one would imagine that the writer would've focused on explaining everything. But that is not the case. The playboy's actions are never justified, and neither are the debutante's. Both have a predisposition to create relationships that are based almost exclusively on sex, but they have no reason to. The most notable of inconsistencies occurs almost at the end of the film. During a New Year's gathering, the group of collegemates celebrate the new year, and Gerry comes out to his friends in the most lukewarm fashion possible. Later, he is driving with Mike to the airport to pick up his mother (who is visiting from the motherland) when at some point he pulls over, confesses his love, and kisses his friend. Disregarding all his attachments and declarations of undying love to his lover Chris.

The cinematography of the movie makes it painfully clean how low-budget the production was. Most scenes are shot from the same angle with an unmoving camera and an occasional close up to point out certain elements. Also, the script was horribly written. There are far too many moments where the music turns to violins and piano sonatas as actors give unpassionate voice-overs of letters written to people that are never actually mentioned.

Then there's the gratuitous nudity. Plenty of plump breasts giggling at inappropriate segments, and even a completely unnecessary shower scene involving the musician and his hairy bush. And notice that they are all not filipino.

Albeit, there were a few funny parts. Mainly in the beginning when Raoul's date takes off her jacket and accidently exposes a breast, or Gerry scrambling home to the Philippines to intercept risque photos misaddressed to his mother. All these moments are severely overshadowed by the painfully lackluster segments. At some point I lost all interest in giving the movie a chance and performed a MST3000 with a sharp tongue.

As the impregnated daughter said herself: "Dad, do NOT turn this into one of those bad filipino movies you and mom like to rent!"