‘Andres’ not a good showcase for Cesar

Cesar Montano

Cesar Montano is a big TV-film star, so we wonder why his latest comedy series, “Andres de Saya,” isn’t giving him a good showcase for his proven skills. Can anything be done to improve the show?

After long reflection, we see that part of the problem is the fact that “Andres” started out as a hit comedy film starring Vic Vargas and Gloria Diaz. We remember seeing the movie, and recall that Vic brought to it just the right mix of macho braggadocio and “under the saya” meekness.

We don’t expect Cesar to copy Vic’s portrayal, but as of last June 25’s telecast, he had yet to make the role his own. He had the “under” part down pat, but he was so acquiescent and subservient to the ever-nagging and dominant Iza Calzado that the situation rarely varied, so any sense of surprise or the unexpected happening didn’t materialize. In the future, therefore, it could be better for the show if Cesar’s character weren’t such a wimp quite so consistently.

As for Iza, her characterization is too unrelentingly strict and peevish. The way she treats Cesar is often much too harsh for us to believe that he loves her so much that he will put up with anything she dishes out. There are limits!

Cesar and Iza are both popular and charismatic stars, but the lack of creative give-and-take between them prevents their scenes together from being diverting and really funny. Clearly, they have to be given more varied and unpredictable situations to work on.

In the June 25 telecast, the new conflict introduced was the discovery that Cesar’s boss was very attracted to Iza. He was young, handsome and rich, so Cesar got really hot and bothered, even if his wife swore that she wasn’t reciprocating his overtures.

In the end, it turned out that the gifts the interloper was suspected of giving her actually came from somebody else. But the episode’s ending felt anticlimactic and flat, because the conflict didn’t really heat up—and its comedy was generally nominal.

In fairness to its stars, who have quite a lot to lose if the show doesn’t eventually get its act together, the production should rethink its options, reassess its strengths and weaknesses, and adjust the way it does things, so that it ceases to be predictable and becomes freshly engaging and funny.

A final note: The original “Andres de Saya” movie may have worked because it was a one-shot deal, so viewers got to laugh at its basic situation because they were watching it unfold only once.

Perhaps, even with Vic and Gloria on board, the weekly TV versions would have had a hard time keeping its conflicts fresh. But that’s conjecture. The reality is that this current show isn’t as fresh and funny as it clearly intends to be.