Cinema One Originals 2018 | Bagyong Bheverlynn

I read somewhere that the trashiness of Bagyong Bheverlynn was deliberate, that it's reliance on pop culture reference jokes and colloquial humor was intended. In that regard, Bagyong Bheverlynn succeeds: it's the kind of lowbrow movie that wouldn't feel out of place in the trashiest of trashy film festivals, the MMFF.

And to its credit, the film does have commentary about the hugot wave (or should I say typhoon?) that is ravaging the nation. Depicting the folly of toxic relationships where a woman is simply unable  to get over an obviously lousy, problematic love interest is also something I'm very passionate about, considering how many of these kinds of films we've been seeing recently *cough*thehowsofus*cough*. For once, there's a movie that's saying that we don't have to define ourselves by our relationships with other people; the most important thing is our own personal happiness and self worth.

But this film also falls into the trap that other films in this festival are also guilty of falling into: it tries a unique way of presenting its message and it fails. Comedy is like playing a finely tuned instrument; this film is the cinematic comedy equivalent of banging on a keyboard. The movie is basically a series of loosely connected gags that aren't really that funny. The audience reaction to this film when I saw it is quite telling - while there were a few chuckles during the first five minutes of the film, it was deathly silent in the theater for the next hour and a half. That is the sign of a joke quickly getting stale and tedious. Bagyong Bheverlynn feels like a joke that never ends, a bombing stand-up comedian that can't be shooed off a stage, a handjob that keeps on going even if you've already come.