Lost in translation

Don Cuaresma’s “Call Center Girl” has its share of heart-warming and rip-roaring moments, but none of them is strong enough to conceal the fact that its lead actors are either grossly miscast or thespically ill-equipped to make the roles assigned to them credible, believable or sympathetic.

As Teresa Manlapat, Pokwang is simply inconceivable as a call center agent who rises from the ranks as she tries to win back her distant daughter (and coworker), Regina (Jessy Mendiola), and live up to the expectations of her curmudgeon of a team leader, Vince Sandoval (Enchong Dee).

For instance, the film takes a lot of time milking a subplot that has Vince and Terry’s clueless coworkers speculating about their growing “relationship,” despite seeing the beleaguered widow constantly lugging around the urn that contains the remains of her dead husband, Raul (Jestoni Alarcon). —How daft can you get?

Mendiola is a sight to behold—but, this project demonstrates how much more “honing” is required to get the luminous but phlegmatic Jessy up to speed for big-screen stardom—especially if Star Cinema is indeed gearing her up for a starrer with John Lloyd Cruz! With his slurred lines and occasionally shifty, staccato delivery, Enchong is just as underwhelming.

Yes, the BPO industry can get to be very cutthroat, but the production makes call center agents look shallow, spiteful and incompetent, however “conveniently” their issues are ironed out for the requisite Happily Ever After. For a family flick that’s supposed to be hilarious, this one isn’t even all that funny—unless you’re the type who shrieks everytime Pokwang demonstrates her skill at “splitting.”

Whatever lofty message the production wishes to convey is lost in translation. It’s a photogenic genre film, alright—but, a movie has to be rooted in reality to keep its viewers engaged and help suspend disbelief over the notion that its misunderstood protagonists are more than mere figments of a scriptwriter’s imagination or a director’s machinations.

Underwhelming remake

“When The Love Is Gone,” Andoy Ranay’s glossy reworking of 1983’s “Nagalit Ang Buwan Sa Haba Ng Gabi,” does better—but just barely.

Unlike the recent revivals of Ishmael Bernal’s “Salawahan” and Joey Gosiengfiao’s “Temptation Island,” which were given a contemporary spin by Chris Martinez, this remake of Danny Zialcita’s quirky domestic drama feels emotionally disjointed and tonally outdated.

Gabby Concepcion, Alice Dixson, Cristine Reyes, Jake Cuenca and Andi Eigenmann look appropriate for their roles as philandering husband, busy wife, feisty mistress, closeted spouse and spiteful daughter, respectively.

But, if you’ve seen how Eddie Garcia, Laurice Guillen, Gloria Diaz, Dindo Fernando, Janice de Belen and Tommy Abuel captured the urgency and brittle delivery required by Zialcita’s quotably whip-smart dialogue in the 1983 original, you can’t help but notice how their winsome portrayals kept their movie’s narrative convolutions from getting overwrought.

Ranay gives his film a quick and steady pace, but fails to leaven the exposition’s musty and occasionally cringe-worthy plotlines with his cast’s uneven portrayals.

Cuenca has been effective in his big-screen starrers of late, whether in offbeat (“Nuwebe”) or swishy (“Lihis”) roles—but, here, he plays to the peanut gallery and reverts to his off-putting, nostrils-flaring acting style—which irritates more than it impresses!