MARUDO. Demonstrates a measure of versatility in “Bromance.”
Wenn Deramas is known for his gay “fantasy comedy” flicks, madcap and messy screen romps characterized by prolix plotting, a merry mish-mash of different laugh-provoking styles and over-the-top characterizations, and everything thrown in with the fervent hope that at least some of the gambits will turn out to be actually funny.
It would be easy to dismiss the florid filmmaker’s flicks as irrelevant irritants not worth our time of day to bother with, but some of them make a lot of money, which means that they connect with viewers, so we should at least acknowledge that there’s savvy method to their gung-ho madness.
More to the point, whether we like it or not, his flicks say a lot about what local viewers find funny these days, so we should give them their due, at least as indicative pop artifacts—even if we don’t like what they’re saying about us, and how feckless our national funnybone has become.
Truth to tell, even as we wince at some of the filmmaker’s in-your-face absurdities, we see that some of them do work—trouble is, there are too many of them, so a lot of “editing” is decidedly needed!
The good news is that, 10 minutes into his latest flick, “Bromance,” we note with relief that Deramas’ storytelling here is less messy than in his previous profitable potboilers.
We are briskly drawn into his swishy and “switchy” tale about a set of twins, one gay and the other straight (both played by the decidedly macho Zanjoe Marudo). They just can’t get along, until “Brandy’s” life is at risk, so “Brando” has to pretend to be a flaming fairy to make sure that his “sister’s” profitable design studio doesn’t close shop. —So far, so relatively clear-cut.
Complications
Then, the usual “complications,” adumbrations and “embroidery” start kicking in! It isn’t enough that the leads are interesting, they have to be made more “colorful” with the addition of their respective sets of “sidekicks”—Brandy has his back-up group of floridly gay amigas, Brando has his rough and tough bros, and all sorts of other zany supporting players, co-workers and neighbors are added to the equation to make the entire shebang even more “fun” and “eventful”! —Oh-oh, it’s back to messy business as usual…
That really is too bad because “Bromance” has its funny “moments”—but, little highlights and effective exclamation points here and there do not a thoroughly funny movie make.
The good news is that Marudo manages to get some comic licks in and demonstrates a measure of versatility. But, poor Cristine Reyes, the flock’s ostensible leading lady, is pretty much upstaged by all the allegedly comedic “traffic” that slows the production down and messes up its focus.
“Bromance” has too many “supporting” zanies, but only a couple stand out—one of Brandy’s “sidekicks,” Joey Paras, and the goony and loony actor who’s cast as a weird millionaire who hires Brandy to do the interior decor for his, of all things, mausoleum and columbarium!
That last detail exemplifies the flick’s penchant for loopy and messy details that, in the end, don’t do much to raise its humor quotient. Yes, weird can be funny, but that’s all it is if it isn’t develped and shaped by a focused antic wit in sharp and pointed satirical stilleto heels. The last time we looked, “Bromance’s” makers were wearing flats.