A trio of foolish misfits, shamed for their consistent failures, were persistent to break out of their pitiful reputation and be at the top of their rather unlawful career.
A Satirical Rhapsody
A good comedy is something that doesn't force a laugh or two out of a completely rugged and painfully mediocre gags. It invites a natural reaction to a well-concocted, self-aware and sometimes satirical rhapsody that makes you laugh not at it but with it.
Certainly enough, neoteric writer and director Marius Talampas made sure that his movie, Pangarap Kong Holdap, was well-marinated with all these humorous ingredients.
In Talampas' fictional Barangay Husay, Pangarap Kong Holdap follows a threesome of nonchalant buffoons, Eman (Pepe Herrera), Toto (Jerald Napoles) and Carlo (Jelson Bay), a group of street-smart thieves, who were relentlessly defamed for their lack of veering success at their craft.
Eman in particular, was adamant to prove himself among his colleagues and follow the footsteps of his father, Ka Paeng (Pen Medina), a renowned crook and an honorable father figure among his comrades. Eman and the gang was joined by Nicoy (Paolo Contis) who humbly boasts himself as a knowledgeable and more disciplined addition to the group.
Together, they embark on a plucky adventure of self-improvement operating under their boundless compassion and tenacious camaraderie.
New Age Trinity
Relatively known as former sidekicks and sometimes thankless characters to a number of A-listers, Herrera, Napoles and Bay were a perfect new age trinity of talented actors who proves that they can maneuver a film on their own with their authentic witticism and playful semantics. Their nuanced performances were dumbfounding and was certainly the heart and soul of the film.
The story itself doesn't try to glorify an alarming rate of criminality but rather uses its world to create an ideological parody of real life situations deeply rooted at a worrisome state of poverty. Its crude and sometimes sexually vulgar dialogue would probably be off-putting to some, but the progression of the story and the character's comedic timing justifies the need of it.
Talampas' narrative gumption is a testament that a comedy film doesn't need to center itself on cheap insulting banters or sloppily obtuse rhetoric which was and still is an abundant factor to quick buck blockbuster success. Rather, his tale wasn't just a two-hour stand-up comedy but an emotional and grounded mix of relatable woes and familial allegories.
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| - Eman (Pepe Herrera) talking about his goal relative to his father's stature |
What makes the film a real marvel is its sense of completeness and satisfying denouement. For once, the characters have an actual goal that delivered a successful arc by the end of it. A rare feat most films fail to follow through.
Bar the occasional plot holes, the film was filled with hearty quirks and sophisticated values that any of its mishaps was utterly negligible at best.
Let's Be Reel
Pangarap Kong Holdap is a modern comedic spectacle that doesn't just tickle your tummy with its ingenuity but also whelms your heart with a striking lesson that even the best thieves couldn't snatch away from.
This film is still showing on selected movie theaters. Watch it now and have a good laugh.
9.5/10
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