BORN BEAUTIFUL
Year of Release: 2019
JR's Rating:
(5.2 out of 10, Slightly Bad)
JR's Rating:
(5.2 out of 10, Slightly Bad)
"Too Much Absurdity, Born To Disappoint"
I have high expectations for this film yet it's disappointingly far from the grandeur of it's Die Beautiful predecessor. While the first attempted to legitimize the gay culture scene in the household, school and pageant setting, this spin-off attempts to create an absurd and so much unidealistic love story. Who taught that having a three-way / four-way relationship was a good idea, because for me, it was a really an unlikeable one. Hell, it downgrades gay love and culture to playing with emotions, avoiding responsibility and collecting boys for happiness which is undignifying and offensive. It contests ideas which are blatantly unacceptable. Other than that, the artistry of this film is far from it's predecessor. But I won't judge, if you're just for the comedy that uses heavy gay lingo like the first film, then this is for you. It doesn't really have a story to root for so basically it lacks the empathy I was hoping for that the first film gave me with Trisha. It even tried to replicate the first film's highly intense and pitiful rape scene but failed to really resonate. I have to say Martin del Rosario really had high shoes to fill so I have to give him credit for managing to embrace the character of Barbs just right (but I still prefer Christian Bables). Also, Lou Veloso's one-liners and Chai Fonacier's appearance are a few to look out for in this film. Both are really awards-deserving for acting. Die Beautiful is a movie I really have high regard for, it's one of the best movies spawned in modern Filipino cinema, but it's Born Beautiful spin-off is an underwhelming one. It wishes to convey there is no cure for being gay but definitely a no, no for being gay equated to obsession with dominant men.
🚩🚩🚩SPOILERS AHEAD 🚩🚩🚩
Here are some important points I had on watching "Born Beautiful":
✅ Lou Veloso & His Funeral Homes
- If there is one character to love the most in this film, it has to be Lou Veloso's lola Flora. His one-liners aplenty are to laugh so hard especially when you are caught off guard with the most serious situations. The funniest has to be the time when he spews an orgy (blowjob) joke when two guys are fighting over Barbs. Ironic it may be but his funeral homes serve as a setting full of life and fun.
✅ Fresh Comedy & Gay Culture
- There are too much new comedy to anticipate in this film. They are quips to our country's gay culture and comedy bars. In fact, I would say this film has more laughs to give than the first movie due to its colorful array of new characters. There are also recreation of popular movie sequences, one of which replicates a Jaclyn Jose scene from Ma' Rosa, and many situational comedies involving the main character, one of which was a time he reflects of being pregnant with one of his suitors. The trailers speak for themselves.
✅ Chai Fonacier
- Isn't there something this actress can't do. She played a lesbian on Patay Na Si Hesus, a tambay on Respeto, and a beauty obsessed girlfriend on Pinay Beauty. For this film, anticipate her role as your typical "pokpok."
✅ Akihiro Blanco, Kiko Matos
- Now, emphasis should be made on how majestic acting-wise and physical-wise these two people are. Their personalities are itself already distinctive just by their selection for this movie. Kiko Matos plays a tricycle-driving Greg who appears to be violent and abusive. Akihiro Blanco plays a taxi-driving Michaelangelo who appears to be placid and sweet. They both play characters that fight over the heart of Barbs. The problem, I didn't root much on any of them since both already have a wife to begin win. Akihiro looks hot though highlighted by a scene portraying his character's flirting with Barbs.
✅ Martin del Rosario, somewhat
- Well, I still appreciate Martin del Rosario's take on Barbs for this film despite my liking of Christian Bables to continue the role. Donning breasts and women's clothes, he really embraced the transition needed for the role. Even the personality and gestures are spot on. I commend every time he does a monologue as they are powerful. I also commend that one time he needed to force himself to cry while eating fishballs during a scene replicating Ma' Rosa.
✅ Paolo Ballesteros
- The queen returns for some brief yet memorable appearances in this film. I missed seeing him from Die Beautiful when he brings back the character of Trisha. These moments are not to miss out because they are overly hilarious.
⛔️ Lack of Christian Bables
- I don't know but personally I find the lack of Christian Bables depressing. He always presents his roles in the most impeccable way as possible (i.e. Intoy in Signal Rock and Barbs in Die Beautiful). It's really disappointing that problems in production always cause such blunders in filmmaking.
⛔️ Three-Way / Four-Way Ending
- There's just something wrong with how the movie promotes "love having no limits." While there may be sense to that it doesn't equate to collecting people to suit your own personal preference or agenda. It doesn't help when cheating is romanticized either. They could have gone to an ending which was more fulfilling and not just for the sake of pleasing and comedy. Pleasing is very different with fulfilling. What's worse is they even added a responsibility of getting a pregnant woman into the mix in what seems to be a four-way relationship. If I were to make the ending better, Barbs could have just rejected the two guys and instead decide to adopt Yumi and their eventual kid or if can't really be avoided to have a dominant guy, then they could have opted to make both men as wifeless (just with girlfriends) or uncommitted or without children then one of them gets selected.
⛔️ Lack of Empathy
- This lack of empathy comes from the lack of emotional scenes; the opposite of its predecessor who emphathized me with Trisha's story of rejection, abuse, and eventual success. It tried to even replicate some scenes like Barbs getting raped at a religious institution but it didn't really resonate with how the original did. Other than that, with the movie focusing more on being a comedic love story comes the lack of situations where we could agonize with the character's pain. I can't root for someone who has a dilemma that isn't really worth fighting.
⛔️ Too Much Comedy and Less of Story
- The direction this film did was more of the comedy and less of the story. It's inclining itself to the slapsticks of the MMFF which really aren't that good and worth revering. I'm not really one of those people easily impressed by unique jokes or comedies but more of a person who follows and comprehends what the movie is pushing forth. This may even cause the lack of empathy I mentioned before this point.
⛔️ Way of Light
- This just have to be the most awkward and cringe-worthy I have been in this film. I was really bothered from the onset until the end of this sequence. I get the point it wishes to convey such being there is really no cure or solution to remove the gay out of an individual. It's presentation in the film is exaggerated and overly absurd. I just didn't like the comedy of it.
With 6 good reasons to watch and 5 reasons not to watch,
"Born Beautiful" is a 5.2/10 for me.
#BornBeautiful
#2019Movies #MovieReviews #JRMovieReviews
I have high expectations for this film yet it's disappointingly far from the grandeur of it's Die Beautiful predecessor. While the first attempted to legitimize the gay culture scene in the household, school and pageant setting, this spin-off attempts to create an absurd and so much unidealistic love story. Who taught that having a three-way / four-way relationship was a good idea, because for me, it was a really an unlikeable one. Hell, it downgrades gay love and culture to playing with emotions, avoiding responsibility and collecting boys for happiness which is undignifying and offensive. It contests ideas which are blatantly unacceptable. Other than that, the artistry of this film is far from it's predecessor. But I won't judge, if you're just for the comedy that uses heavy gay lingo like the first film, then this is for you. It doesn't really have a story to root for so basically it lacks the empathy I was hoping for that the first film gave me with Trisha. It even tried to replicate the first film's highly intense and pitiful rape scene but failed to really resonate. I have to say Martin del Rosario really had high shoes to fill so I have to give him credit for managing to embrace the character of Barbs just right (but I still prefer Christian Bables). Also, Lou Veloso's one-liners and Chai Fonacier's appearance are a few to look out for in this film. Both are really awards-deserving for acting. Die Beautiful is a movie I really have high regard for, it's one of the best movies spawned in modern Filipino cinema, but it's Born Beautiful spin-off is an underwhelming one. It wishes to convey there is no cure for being gay but definitely a no, no for being gay equated to obsession with dominant men.
🚩🚩🚩SPOILERS AHEAD 🚩🚩🚩
Here are some important points I had on watching "Born Beautiful":
✅ Lou Veloso & His Funeral Homes
- If there is one character to love the most in this film, it has to be Lou Veloso's lola Flora. His one-liners aplenty are to laugh so hard especially when you are caught off guard with the most serious situations. The funniest has to be the time when he spews an orgy (blowjob) joke when two guys are fighting over Barbs. Ironic it may be but his funeral homes serve as a setting full of life and fun.
✅ Fresh Comedy & Gay Culture
- There are too much new comedy to anticipate in this film. They are quips to our country's gay culture and comedy bars. In fact, I would say this film has more laughs to give than the first movie due to its colorful array of new characters. There are also recreation of popular movie sequences, one of which replicates a Jaclyn Jose scene from Ma' Rosa, and many situational comedies involving the main character, one of which was a time he reflects of being pregnant with one of his suitors. The trailers speak for themselves.
✅ Chai Fonacier
- Isn't there something this actress can't do. She played a lesbian on Patay Na Si Hesus, a tambay on Respeto, and a beauty obsessed girlfriend on Pinay Beauty. For this film, anticipate her role as your typical "pokpok."
✅ Akihiro Blanco, Kiko Matos
- Now, emphasis should be made on how majestic acting-wise and physical-wise these two people are. Their personalities are itself already distinctive just by their selection for this movie. Kiko Matos plays a tricycle-driving Greg who appears to be violent and abusive. Akihiro Blanco plays a taxi-driving Michaelangelo who appears to be placid and sweet. They both play characters that fight over the heart of Barbs. The problem, I didn't root much on any of them since both already have a wife to begin win. Akihiro looks hot though highlighted by a scene portraying his character's flirting with Barbs.
✅ Martin del Rosario, somewhat
- Well, I still appreciate Martin del Rosario's take on Barbs for this film despite my liking of Christian Bables to continue the role. Donning breasts and women's clothes, he really embraced the transition needed for the role. Even the personality and gestures are spot on. I commend every time he does a monologue as they are powerful. I also commend that one time he needed to force himself to cry while eating fishballs during a scene replicating Ma' Rosa.
✅ Paolo Ballesteros
- The queen returns for some brief yet memorable appearances in this film. I missed seeing him from Die Beautiful when he brings back the character of Trisha. These moments are not to miss out because they are overly hilarious.
⛔️ Lack of Christian Bables
- I don't know but personally I find the lack of Christian Bables depressing. He always presents his roles in the most impeccable way as possible (i.e. Intoy in Signal Rock and Barbs in Die Beautiful). It's really disappointing that problems in production always cause such blunders in filmmaking.
⛔️ Three-Way / Four-Way Ending
- There's just something wrong with how the movie promotes "love having no limits." While there may be sense to that it doesn't equate to collecting people to suit your own personal preference or agenda. It doesn't help when cheating is romanticized either. They could have gone to an ending which was more fulfilling and not just for the sake of pleasing and comedy. Pleasing is very different with fulfilling. What's worse is they even added a responsibility of getting a pregnant woman into the mix in what seems to be a four-way relationship. If I were to make the ending better, Barbs could have just rejected the two guys and instead decide to adopt Yumi and their eventual kid or if can't really be avoided to have a dominant guy, then they could have opted to make both men as wifeless (just with girlfriends) or uncommitted or without children then one of them gets selected.
⛔️ Lack of Empathy
- This lack of empathy comes from the lack of emotional scenes; the opposite of its predecessor who emphathized me with Trisha's story of rejection, abuse, and eventual success. It tried to even replicate some scenes like Barbs getting raped at a religious institution but it didn't really resonate with how the original did. Other than that, with the movie focusing more on being a comedic love story comes the lack of situations where we could agonize with the character's pain. I can't root for someone who has a dilemma that isn't really worth fighting.
⛔️ Too Much Comedy and Less of Story
- The direction this film did was more of the comedy and less of the story. It's inclining itself to the slapsticks of the MMFF which really aren't that good and worth revering. I'm not really one of those people easily impressed by unique jokes or comedies but more of a person who follows and comprehends what the movie is pushing forth. This may even cause the lack of empathy I mentioned before this point.
⛔️ Way of Light
- This just have to be the most awkward and cringe-worthy I have been in this film. I was really bothered from the onset until the end of this sequence. I get the point it wishes to convey such being there is really no cure or solution to remove the gay out of an individual. It's presentation in the film is exaggerated and overly absurd. I just didn't like the comedy of it.
With 6 good reasons to watch and 5 reasons not to watch,
"Born Beautiful" is a 5.2/10 for me.
#BornBeautiful
#2019Movies #MovieReviews #JRMovieReviews
Watched on 31 January 2019 at Cinema '76 (Anonas)
Image Reference: Internet Movie Database
Time Published: 18 February 2019 (08:30 PM)
Christian Bables will perform the main role of "Harold Martin" in the upcoming Kahit Minsan Lang Teleserye.
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