On Watching the Making of the Most Artistic Filipino Pornographic Film Ever Made

I was invited last night to watch the premier of 69 1/2, aka the Making of the Most Artistic Filipino Pornographic Film Ever Made.

Was it Artistic?  Yes.  How else can you translate oral sex, anal sex, intercourse, etc. but turn them into, surprisingly, a musical?  Somehow the process reminded me of this scene in Glee the night Jesse and Rachel were supposed to have sex; Rachel locks herself in the bathroom in fear and in hesitation, and on the other side of the door Jesse says something like, "Maybe we can talk about it.  Or maybe we can sing about it" --- so yes, if you can't talk sex, sing it.  Guys can complain about cunnilingus whilst standing on a grass of pubes.

Was it Filipino?  Very.  I could not help but laugh at the idealistic spins (typically young) indie filmmakers rant on about.  And it's funny but not in a slapstick way.  In true Filipino fashion, the funny parts seem more like a joke translated into a scene.  Like those knock knock, "wala ka sa lolo ko" kind of funny.  

Was it pornographic?  Let's say there's that part that is reminiscent of Justin Timberlake's "Dick in a Box".  And implied bestiality.

I really enjoyed the movie, and what I liked about it is that the actors --- despite being relatively unknowns  (except for Jao Mapa, Bituin Escalante, Tado and Katherine Luna) or are more popular outside the mainstream --- are very effective.  Harry Chua's character was hilarious and the sidekick (I'm sorry I can't remember his name) is so deadpan that there is hilarity in his "moments".  I do think that 69 1/2 is a movie that sketches characters and the stereotype, but what makes the movie hit home is that fact that despite all the show, the amusing songs and the puns, there is the underlying truth that strongly enforces the movie.

69 1/2 (2009), dir. Ted Manotoc.