Of Pinoy flicks, TV shows and showbiz chismis

I’m not a big fan of Filipino movies and TV shows. Two reasons:

1. I wasn’t allowed to watch or read anything Pinoy when I was growing up. I compared notes with people in my generation and this rule applied to most middle class Pinoy kids of the ‘80s. Our parents discouraged us to watch Filipino shows aired on TV. Yes to Sesame Street, but no to Batibot. Yes to Dallas and The Love Boat. But no to Flor de Luna or Mga Batang Yagit.

For comics and magazines, my childhood bestriend – Minette – and I, used to secretly buy Pinoy Thriller and Funny comics when we go to Sunday mass together. We would sneak them into our bedrooms, away from the sight of our Moms. We will be grounded if they see us reading Pinoy comics.

For books, our Moms would buy as Sweet Valley High and Sweet Dreams. Pero bawal magbasa ng Pinoy pocketbooks.

2. When I was finally old enough to take my pick of TV shows and movies, I tried watching several Sharon Cuneta and Lorna Tolentino movies. I also watched Bagets and Ninja Kids. But most Pinoy movies that I watched never appealed to me. Not that I was accustomed to a different treatment of films, but objectively, I didn’t like their storyline, the effects were so outdated, the drama is over-the-top for my taste. Some movies were also poor adaptations of Hollywood movies.

I never enjoyed slapstick comedy, either, which also discouraged me from watching Pinoy TV shows.

Recently, however, I’ve been giving Pinoy shows and movies a second chance. Actually, this isn’t deliberate on my part. My boss – as brilliant as he is – is also the epitome of ka-jologs-an in terms of taste in movies, TV shows and even commercials. During lunchbreak, he would go on and on about the Pinoy movies and shows he watched and encourage us to see them as well. My teammates would also talk about Pinoy shows and I couldn’t catch up on the conversations because I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Who the hell is Uma of Pinoy Big Brother, anyway? I didn’t know Uma was a big-haired guy, until I saw him in Studio 23.

B. also likes – nay, loves watching showbiz chismis. In fact, I was surprised that she knows more about the local showbiz info than I do. So our Saturday and Sunday afternoons in Manila are spent watching the showbiz TV shows on channels 2 and 7.

Actually, we both like Nuts Entertainment. B. even has this video in Hong Kong where she was imitating Balakubak (Balita at Kwentong Bakla). I was laughing my ass off and until now, I’d play it over and over to get a good laugh.

After this, I’m getting my fix of Pinoy flicks. I rented La Visa Loca, starring Robin Padilla. It’s a comedy about how a lot of Pinoys desperately try to get a US Visa just to see the land of the milk and honey.

Para naman maka-bangka when my friends talk about Pinoy movies. Hahaha.