Film Review : Mano Po 7 Chinoy

Mano Po 7: Chinoy (華菲人) is a Filipino film starring Richard Yap, Jean Garcia, Enchong Dee and Janella Salvador. This is the 7th offering of the Mano Po franchise from Regal Entertainment. The movie is set to center on relationship issues among the modern generation Tsinoys.

My notes on Mano Po 7: Chinoy

1. ‪I learned two Chinese words in college that would appropriately describe my viewing experience of this movie. Yes, both are nasty curse words.

I suddenly missed the glory days of Regal Films when it rightfully earned that crown in its bright red
"R" logo (shown in their '90s OBB that resembled a horror movie) and it wasn't reliant on a tired franchise that just seemed to get worse with every new sequel. Seriously, the Mano Po series would be no different from an inaamag na tikoy.‬

2. I had high hopes for this one since Ian Loreños directed one of my favorite films of 2012, the father-son drama slash human trafficking cautionary tale Alagwa. I remember sobbing hysterically by the end of that movie and taking a mental note that I would never leave any child unattended ever. It was that powerful. I wondered what happened with this one. The only reason I could think of was that it was rushed to ensure a slot in the MMFF. Such a waste of talent.

3. For a Chinoy movie, there was nothing distinctly Chinoy about the problems of this family. The stories here could very well have been another family drama with all-Pinoy characters directed by Laurice Guillen.

It was a disaster from the moment Enchong Dee (as the black sheep) made a grand entrance in his parents' 25th anniversary party. That scene was no different from the first Mano Po with Ara Mina disrupting the engagement party of sister Maricel Soriano by showing up in a backless dress with the cut dropping all the way to her butt crack (that's how you do it, Enchong).

4. Good news: At least we didn't get actors donning exaggerated chinky eyes and speaking in weird Chinoy accents that bordered on being racist.

Bad news: Except for the veteran greats like Jean Garcia (looking very much like the lovely Michelle Yeoh) and Eric Quizon (such an underrated actor), the rest of the Chinoy cast seemed to have been
chosen because they looked the part even if they couldn't act the part.

The worst offender was Sir Chief Richard Yap who only displayed two types of emotions in the entire movie: furious with matching nanlilisik na mata and shocked with matching nanlilisik na mata. He displayed more range playing the chef in that Chowking commercial.

5. Rose Po Que? Really? Didn't these Chinese name jokes peak during the Bubble Gang era?

6. Sir Chief's character was supposed to be cold and uptight because he had a damaged childhood. His mother was so strict that she wouldn't let him play in the street with the other kids. In effect, he wouldn't let his wife join him in bed without cleaning up first after a long day at work. But wait, wasn't that the first rule of hygiene regardless?

7. Several scenes were spent on the rehab love story between Enchong and Jessy Mendiola (who probably watched Girl, Interrupted several times before taking on the role) but it really had no weight on the story, except to assert his masculinity and dismiss all the gay rumors.

8. I would probably go crazy the next time I see a board meeting where somebody would be presenting a pitch like "The higher the risk, the higher the reward" and everyone would be nodding their heads and smiling like it was Confucius talking and they were just blessed with his wisdom.

9. You knew immediately that Jake Cuenca's character would be a villain because he looked so sleazy in a man bun. Besides, why would a customer like him confide to a Miladay jeweller like Jean after his fiancee broke up with him? Sabagay, kapag malungkot din ako ang unang tinatawagan ko ay ang alahera ng nanay ko.

10. I wouldn't have been too harsh on this movie if there weren't so many groan-worthy scenes (Enchong running after his father's car while saying "Papa!", Jake's breakdown scene in the car, Enchong wailing in a van with an overdosed Jessy, "Gumising ka! Lumaban ka naman oh! Waaaah!", Janella Salvador hugging Jean from behind and saying "Mama, don't go!", Marlo Mortel punching a maniac professor while screaming "We will report you and sue you for harassment!!", and Sir Chief asking his estranged wife to dance as a gift to his daughter). Very much like airplanes, cinema seats should be equipped with barf bags, no?

11. In one scene, Sir Chief was jogging around Nuvali. He suddenly stopped and bent over and I really thought for a moment that it would turn out to be an ad for Flanax (he ended up having a Ventosa).

12. Bakit wala yun bunso sa Taiwan family trip? Kinulang sa budget?

13. Two hours and the movie still didn't want to end. Siao siao!!


Movie Rate : ★☆☆☆☆
Movie Review by : Jason Javier