A kid had to face the world in his own animated version and conquer life's biggest monster. ANI (The Harvest) It's as if a child's imagination is a safe haven, a place where the world is a playground for all the possibilities the mind could think of. And even the tight and humble space called home, situated on a busy Metro could not hinder the inquisitive headspace of a young Mithi (played by Zyren Dela Cruz), a boy who accomplishes the day by playing with his colorful toy robots that perform a vital role in his imaginary narrative. With a loving father and a mother that sings him a self-assuring lullaby, Mithi is blissfully unaware of the harsh reality. But life decided to toy with his fate, and Mithi's perfect little world is now showing its cracks, putting his vulnerability to the test and slowly depriving him of his happiness he thought would last forever. And through his eyes, the world suddenly transforms itself into a menacing monster. Set in a lush ...
"Boy Tokwa: Lodi ng Gapo" Review - An Insufferable Slapstick Garbage
A young boy from the states went to Olongapo City to learn about his grandfather's life, also known as Boy Tokwa, as told through the memoirs of his grandfather's comrades.
In this day and age of hard-hitting foreign blockbusters, it is always refreshing and somewhat patriotic to look back and appreciate our own Filipino-made films. In particular, comedy is one of the most beloved and go-to genre when it comes to movie entertainment.
Enter Boy Tokwa: Lodi ng Gapo, the first local comedy film of 2019, starring Jose Manalo as the titular role and directed by Tony Y. Reyes, who is also famous for his Enteng Kabisote franchise among others. It was first planned to feature Joey De Leon as the leading role but was later handled over to Manalo due to conflicting schedules.
The movie follows a young Andy Morelos Woods (Mino Sotto), who went back to the Philippines to acquire information about his grandfather Rodrigo Morelos, also known as Boy Tokwa — the infamous conman from Olongapo, through the accounts of his grandfather's friends and associates.
In this loosely based biopic, Boy Tokwa started off as a wise and street-smart small time entrepreneur who mainly sells a variety of items, from dried gecko to showgirls' undergarments, to the American naval infantrymen during the Vietnam War.
Realizing a bigger opportunity, Boy Tokwa graduated from selling harmless items to scamming the marines through his playful words and well-planned acts with the help of his friends. His influence also grew, especially during his time in prison, where he learned how to counterfeit money, and boosted his fortunes out of it.
Despite all of these, Boy Tokwa managed to wed an American officer and bore a daughter with her. As the story goes, the remnants of his foolishness was affecting his relationship with his wife and his vision of a happy family is starting to shatter into pieces.
Jose Manalo, known for his swift slapstick jabs, boasted a passable dramatic composition in this movie.
His commitment to the role is admirable and his professionalism is commendable, especially as this is his first solo picture, away from his usual sidekick disposition to Vic Sotto's commercially-succesful films.
The Bad
Tony Y. Reyes' obsession with vacuous banters and abhorrently unimaginative comedy is very evident in this film. His male-centric toxicity and blatant objectification of women sadly pulled the film's potential to be a strong comedy-drama and possibly a huge jump to Jose Manalo's career. And because the substance was so fluffed, the film also failed to justify why was he even a Lodi of Gapo in the first place.
Mino Sotto's acting all throughout is laughably underwhelming, from his emotionless eyes to his robotic delivery, which makes me wonder how he got the part. In addition, the abundance of illogical sequences, useless side characters, weak script and cheaply executed cinematography is a testament to how monotonous and irreverent this film was, not only to Jose Manalo's fans but to the rich and cultural city of Olongapo as well.
For some reason, Tony Y. Reyes' reluctance to evolve as a director is the sole factor why this movie isn't getting any roar from any cinephiles at all.
Whatever their demographic was, I'm sure there's a few people out there that will draw a few giggles out from this movie. Overall, the film is bland, unfunny, and uninspired.
Boy Tokwa: Lodi ng Gapo, as a movie, is a scammer in itself — a masterpiece of shit.
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