Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2 #ForeverIsNotEnough Review

Eugene Domingo awakens in this sequel to the 2011 indie hit.
(Screengrab from Youtube)

It's very rare to see a film so effective that it leaves you in awe long after it's closing credits. But with this year's Metro Manila film Festival, I have a good feeling that we've got plenty of that for everyone. After last year's film fest scandal which questioned the festival's true commitment and mission, a drastic change was made and we are now welcomed by a whole new Metro Manila Film Festival. The removal of box-office appeal as one of the festival's requirements and the focus on story and content really made a big difference, as seen in this year's list of MMFF entries. According to the committee, all these films are of high quality, films that we can be proud of even if we release them abroad. And I couldn't agree more. All of the entries in this year's festival are mostly independently produced films, but of high quality. Each film promises a truly unique and unforgettable movie experience.

And so, I decided to open my 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival with one of my most anticipated entries, the Eugene Domingo starrer, Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2 : Forever Is Not Enough.

This is a sequel to Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, a 2011 Filipino comedy independent film directed by Marlon N. Rivera, written by Chris Martinez, and starring JM De Guzman, Kean Cipriano, Cai Cortez and Eugene Domingo. The first film was a satire that focused on the Philippine indie film industry and dishonesty of Filipino filmmakers participating in foreign film festivals. I remember watching the first film a few years back after it was shown in television for the first time. The film was one of the earliest indie films I've seen and I was so excited when I finally got the chance to watch it (even if it was just the televised version, which was probably shorter because of all the cuts). I really enjoyed watching it back then. I literally fell down my seat, laughing so hard. That was my fondest memory of the first film.

This sequel, on the other hand, satirizes the mainstream film industry. it also takes a stab on the Filipino romantic genre, with all the cliches and stereotypes that Pinoy romance films usually follow. I was so surprised when I first heard about the project. I never expected that the filmmakers behind the first film could actually come up with a sequel. But they did. Almost all the actors from the first film's cast are back. And I was so excited for it. I decided that this is the first film that I will watch from this year's MMFF. The only thing that I worried about is 1) can they exceed my expectations set by the first film and 2) will the film still be the same without JM de Guzman? Luckily, they did more than that. Thank God they did.

To start off, I watched the film on December 25, Sunday. It was the film's first day in cinemas. I also just got off from work that day (I work the night shift). Plus it was also Christmas day. It was also traffic (which was to be expected on that day). So imagine my exhaustion when I was on my way to the cinema. I was worried that I would end up dozing off halfway of the film. But then, the film did exactly the opposite.

To be honest, there isn't much of a story to tell. I really can't provide a short summary of the film since the entirety of the film is more of a long conversation between the characters, which extends to a little bit more than a day. Unlike most comedies released during the past MMFF, it doesn't have any over-the-top storyline that the usual Vice Ganda or Vic Sotto fanfare follow. Instead, it focuses on Rainier (Kean Cipriano), a director who previously worked with Domingo in his independent film as he and Jocelyn (played by Cai Cortez), his production manager together with their newbie production assistant, Lennon (ina silent but hilarious role by Khalil Ramos) as they try to convince Eugene Domingo (who plays an exaggerated version of herself) to star in their new project. This new film entitled "The Itinerary", written by Rainier himself, is about his personal struggle in his marriage. He has a vision already of how the film would look like, yet as Eugene Domingo comes on board with the project, she requests a lot of drastic changes to the final product, causing a rift between her and the director. The whole entirety of the film is all about Rainier's struggles as he tries to keep his original material intact in the final product, for he wants this film to be more personal. In addition to this, we get a glimpse on how the film is supposed to look like and how it turns out after the changes that Eugene's character wants to apply.

Yet, what makes this film so amazing is that the audience are easily pulled into the film because of these characters. They are too easy to like because they're not the usual kind of characters we see in the common Pinoy comedy. Chris Martinez' script is full of memorable dialogue. The script is one of his best and is reminiscent of his best works like Here Comes The Bride (2010) and Temptation Island (2011).  The exchange of conversation between these characters (with the exception of Lennon, I'll tell you why later) is full of wit and cleverness. They talk about film making; the way the wants of the Filipino audience shapes a film's final product; how Filipinos love cliches and stereotypes; the conventions of the Pinoy romantic genre and the fight between indie and mainstream cinema. They even came up with their so-called 3 levels of hugot which is a categorization of the usual Pinoy dramatic acting. It just feel so meta. All these self-referential humor makes this film so unusual. So memorable. It makes the film stand out from the rest of the film festival's entries. Marlon Rivera's direction brings this script to life with the energy and craziness he had with the first movie. His masterful orchestration of the whole film makes the film's flow and pacing so perfect that the audience don't even realize that we are just watching a group of people talking and coming up with all sorts of ideas and agreements. The pacing wasn't so slow nor way too fast. It was so consistent that we don't even notice that the whole film's event only happened in a matter of a day or two. The whole structure of the film was so clean and coherent. It was just outstanding. I don't think any other director can actually make this film the way director Rivera made it.

But the biggest gem of the film is probably the cast. Eugene Domingo, whom I last saw in the Jun Robles Lana drama film Barber's Tales, is definitely back on the game after her long hiatus. This serves as her comeback vehicle, and it definitely proves her worth to our country's cinema. I am still trying to find a perfect word to describe her performance in this film, but all I could think of is monstrous. Yes, indeed. She is like a monster devouring the audience with her quips and on time punchlines. I recall laughing so hard that I had to calm myself down while watching the movie. Two of my favorites scenes were 1) the sequence where she was explaining and re-enacting the 3 levels of hugot known to man; and 2) the final chase scene. She is no doubt, the soul of this movie. Kean Cipriano who plays Rainier, on the other hand, represents every film maker out there. Me myself is an aspiring director so I could really relate to him. I can see myself in his shoes. Here, Kean Cipriano proves that he definitely has the acting skills that most of his previous films didn't really highlighted. His best scene was probably the his last two sequences, the one where he finally had enough of Eugene Domingo's drastic changes to his proposed film and his last scene where he comes home to an empty house, realizing that it's too late to save his marriage. Cai Cortez was so funny as the group's production manager Jocelyn, trying her best balance keep the balance in making Eugene Domingo's requests and Direk Rainier's original plans. I can still vividly remember that scene where she tries to calm Rainier down ("Can you just relax? We're in a fucking spa!") It was downright hilarious. Khalil Ramos plays the crew's silent production assistant, and yes, he doesn't have any dialogues in the film. Yet, despite the lack of lines, his role is probably one of the most difficult to portray as he is required to express all his emotions through his face. Yet he triumphantly overcomes this challenge with his undeniable acting skills (as seen in his previous indie, Cinema One Originals Best Picture, 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten). His scenes, or should I say his facial expressions, provide laughs without any dialogue. Such example was the scene where he was asked by Eugene, Rainier and Jocelyn to take a picture of them and the part where they were forced to go through colon hydrotherapy. Joel Torre, Jericho Rosales and Agot Isidro completes the already talented cast as the proposed actors for their film project.

Certainly, this sequel does not disappoint. It actually exceeds all expectations set by the first film. I can strongly recommend this film to anyone who has been watching Filipino films for a long time. This film is one brave satire on our mainstream cinema, particularly to the big movie companies that dominate our theaters all throughout the year with their cliched and formulaic romcoms. It will definitely make you laugh out loud with every hilarious stab on the way we look at the Pinoy romance genre. So far, this is my top pick from this year's list of entries. It's inclusion to this year's list of movies for the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival is one of the best and craziest thing that has ever happened to this annual celebration. And I couldn't be more thankful.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰ out of 5

Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2 : #ForeverIsNotEnough (2016)

Starring Eugene Domingo, Kean Cipriano, Cai Cortez, Khalil Ramos with Joel Torre and Jericho Rosales

Directed by Marlon Rivera, Written by Chris Martinez