‘Ayuda Babes’ pokes fun at pandemic
“Laugh and the whole world laughs with you.” This saying rings true, especially this time of the pandemic. Laughter has indeed become the most important medicine for all.
If you want more reasons to guffaw, then “Ayuda Babes” is the perfect laugh-out-loud movie. This motion picture from Saranggola Media Productions Inc is one-part black comedy, one-part comedy of errors, peppered with bits and pieces of parody and a good sprinkling of satire.
Black comedy is defined as a film that deals with a distressing or tragic subject matter in a humorous way. To poke fun on the great equalizer that is the pandemic, that is what viewers will enjoy in “Ayuda Babes.”
Its colorful characters that make situations more amusing because of their bungling incompetence makes this a comedy of errors.
With a cast of standup comedians, comedy bar hosts, concert performers, singers, vloggers, a Best Actress winner and a seasoned character actor, parodies are surely an expected ingredient from the talented cast.
One cannot help but wonder, are some parts of “Ayuda Babes” that used humor, irony and exaggeration made to expose people’s eccentricities, peculiarities or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues?
“Ayuda Babes” star seasoned character actor and newly minted TikTok King Gardo Verzosa, theater stalwart Joey Paras, Cinema One Best Actress for “Mamu Is A Mother Too” Iyah Mina, It’s Showtime Miss Q and A First Season Queen Juliana Porizcova Segovia, comedy bar hosts, performers and vloggers Negi, Brenda Mage, Petite Brockovich, Berni Batin, and the Original Mash Up Queen Ate Gay.
Completing the cast are Bubble Gum Pop Princess and YouTuber Christi Fider (singer of Teka, Teka, Teka), HashTag hunk Zeus Collins, Bidaman Dan Delgado, with the special participation of heartthrob Marlo Mortel, and Marc Logan.
Director Joven Tan declares: “Aside from its entertainment value, this movie is my modest tribute to the courage, tenacity, never-say-die attitude and the survivor that is in every Filipino who by the grace of God, always faces every crisis head on and manages to rise above it, even laugh about it. The quarantine that we are all in and the pandemic brought about by the COVID-19 is a year old and yes, we all experienced periods of anxiety and even depression, but we still count our blessings, thankful for what we have and smile. We take things seriously but we still manage to enjoy our lives, our family, and this is what the movie highlights in the funniest of situations.”
“Ayuda Babes” begins streaming March 5 on iWantTFC and Ktx.Ph.
***
The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has named the 60 honorees and awardees for this year’s 5th Film Ambassadors’ Night (FAN) as well as the performers for the online event that will take place on Feb. 28.
The FAN, an annual event spearheaded by the FDCP since 2017, recognizes Filipino film industry creatives, artists, filmmakers, and films of various formats that gained recognitions from established international film festivals and award-giving bodies in the past year.
Leading the FAN 2021 honorees are the A-Listers, filmmakers Rafael Manuel and Lav Diaz. A-Listers pertains to those who bagged awards in prestigious A-List international film festivals as declared by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).
Rafael Manuel was awarded the Berlinale Shorts Silver Bear Jury Prize for “Filipiñana” at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in Germany while Lav Diaz won the Orizzonti Award for Best Director for “Lahi, Hayop (Genus Pan)” at the 77th Venice International Film Festival in Italy.
The Feature Films category has six honorees: “Sunshine Family” by Kim Tai-Sik, “Write About Love” by Crisanto Aquino, “Latay (Battered Husband)” by Ralston Jover, “Pan de Salawal” by Che Espiritu, “Lingua Franca” by Isabel Sandoval, and “John Denver Trending” by Arden Rod Condez. The honorees in the Directors category are Maria Diane Ventura for “Dein Fabre,” Mallorie Ortega for “The Girl Who Left Home,” and Derick Cabrido for “Clarita.”
The Actors category will award Cristine Reyes for “Untrue,” Ruby Ruiz for “Iska,” Elijah Canlas for “Kalel, 15,” Louise Abuel for “Edward,” Isabel Sandoval for “Lingua Franca,” Alden Richards for “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” Lovi Poe and Allen Dizon for “Latay,” and the cast of “Kaputol” led by Cherie Gil, Alfred Vargas, Angel Aquino, and Ronwaldo Martin. Dingdong Dantes and Arjo Atayde are the television awardees who made it to the FAN 2021 Actors list.
- Latest
