Eugene Domingo, Sidekick No More

When “Kimmy Dora” came to town last Sunday, we had a one big laugh trip for a presscon. “Kimmy Dora” is the film that, finally, gives comic genius Eugene Domingo her first starring role—or rather, starring roles.

She plays twin sisters Kimmy and Dora who are polar opposites of each other. Kimmy is “beauty, brains and billions,” while Dora is…the opposite, that’s it. Thanks to Eugene Domingo, who came in character, we were served with what I could describe as the most fun of all the movie presscons I’ve been to so far.

From our Q&A, let me share some of her quotable quotes, which were delivered mighty-quick and dripping with tongue-in-cheek humor.

Question: How hard was it doing the kissing scene with leading man Dingdong Dantes?

Eugene: The kiss was hard. I’m happy that Dingdong did not take advantage of me.

Question: How did you prepare for the pool scene with Dingdong, wherein, for the first time in your career, you got to wear a swimsuit?

Eugene: I prayed A LOT. (In this scene, she also gets to rework a famous Julia Roberts movie line: “I’m just a girl, floating in front of a boy, telling him to love her.”)

Question: Why was Joyce Bernal chosen to direct the film?

Eugene: I chose Bb. Joyce Bernal because I have no choice. (Joyce Bernal, along with actor Piolo Pascual and two other friends from the industry, are the people behind Spring Films, the producer of “Kimmy Dora.”)

Question: What advice can you give to young people looking up to you, wanting to be like you?

Eugene: I’ll just tell them, ‘Keep looking up to me.’

Still, beyond the joke time and eruptions of laughter at the presscon, how much grateful and overwhelmed Eugene is over this solo starrer wasn’t lost on us. Asked where she draws her seemingly eternal supply of side-splitting antics, great comic timing, and snappy punchlines, she said: “I think I’ve always been like this, maybe because I’m always happy. I have no right to be sad. I cannot afford to be sad because of the many blessings that have come my way.”

One of these blessings is a fast-growing fan base. For one, there are online forums devoted to compiling her most unforgettable movie lines and interviews. Here’s an example: When asked on Entertainment Live to give a special message to a co-star who was sick, she said, “Get well soon before God gets you soon.”

In a one-on-one with The Buzz host Boy Abunda to promote her film, she was made to pick between her two hunky leading men (Dingdong Dantes and Zanjoe Marudo). Without batting an eyelash, she answered with beauty queen-like inflections, “I’ll have to pick my producer (Piolo Pascual) because without him, I will never have a leading man.”

But before the fans, media attention, and stardom came, who was Eugene?

The 38-year-old, happily single actress revealed that in her family, she’s the first and only one to enter show business. “For me, this is really a gift from God. But I do come from a family of weird people... ma-drama,” she said, “so I must have inherited this [acting] talent from them.”

She was, however, first exposed to the acting rudiments as a Theater Arts student at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. She then sharpened her craft through multiple roles in theater productions—from props crew, cast, stage manager, to producer. In TV and movies, she started from the bottom of the credits as a bit player and movie extra before becoming the perennial sidekick, mostly to comedienne Ai-Ai delas Alas.

But the sidekick became such a solid scene-stealer, making award-giving bodies sit up and take notice. She was Best Supporting Actress (Bahay Kubo) in the 2007 Metro Manila Film Festival; Best Supporting Actress (Foster Child and Pisay) in the 2008 Gawad Tanglaw Awards; Best Supporting Actress (100) in the 2008 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival; and the Bert Marcelo Award (for Comedians) in the 2009 Guillermo Mendoza Foundation Awards.

Now, the sidekick extraordinaire gets to headline her own movie, and, from the looks of it, could very well give our long-standing leading stars a run for their money.

“Kimmy Dora” opens on Sept. 2 in theaters nationwide.