Fear, uncertainty take a toll on Vice Ganda’s performance

Vice Ganda

While the planned third installment of Vice Ganda’s hit movie franchise “Praybeyt Benjamin” has already been announced as one of the entries in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), the comedian himself is unsure when or how shooting can take place amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We have yet to finalize when we could start filming. There are a lot of things that need to be finalized … Parang lahat plano pa lang,” he said in a recent video conference for his new online entertainment platform, the Vice Ganda Network.

To be produced by Star Cinema and Viva Films, “Praybeyt 3” is among the first four entries to make it to this year’s MMFF roster based on the merit of their scripts. “I don’t know how we will be able to shoot,” the 44-year-old Kapamilya star admitted. “But the bosses told us that they’ll find a way.”

What he’s sure of, however, is that movies won’t be specially geared toward children. “Unlike my previous movies, which were fantasy and comedy, this one hindi masyadong pambata. I don’t think minors will even be allowed to go out and watch a movie,” he said. “So, it doesn’t have to be super wholesome. But definitely, it’s still going to be a family movie.”

Meanwhile, he revealed that all the uncertainty and fears over the pandemic and the nonrenewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, have inevitably taken a toll on his performance as a comedian. “I was sad and depressed. I was worried and scared. It affected my work because I felt I couldn’t perform to my full potential,” he said. “It’s hard to make people laugh when your mind is preoccupied with other things.”

Vice was dissatisfied with his showing when the variety program “It’s Showtime” returned on air via livestreaming on the Kapamilya Channel on cable last June 13. “I felt so bad the first few weeks, because I myself knew the performance I was giving wasn’t that good,” Vice said. “I had to acknowledge, first, that I wasn’t happy.”

And he wasn’t the only one in the same mood. That’s why he tries his best to cheer on his cohosts. “I felt we needed to reset. Before we resumed airing, I urged everyone to just let it all out—cry what we wanted to cry about, shout to our hearts’ content, vent our anger. But after that, we should regain our focus,” he related.

Though he’s thankful that “It’s Showtime” continues to air, doing the program without a live audience simply isn’t the same.

“I miss the energy of the ‘Madlang People,’ our crowd. The fun simply isn’t the same. Sobrang layo. I miss the kulitan with my cohosts,” Vice said, adding that not having the spontaneous reactions from a live audience is challenging. “Because you don’t know if your jokes are havey or waley.”

One of the things Vice has realized from the recent spate of troubles that have befallen his network and the whole world is that life and health always come first. “Sometimes, we can be so focused on work or money or social media. Now, we have to let go of those and protect ourselves. Value yourself first, because if you lose that, everything else will be useless,” he said. INQ