Cheap American Adobo (DVD) (Laurice Guillen) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of American Adobo

Interesting Filipino movie
This is an interesting movie about Filipinos living in America, and how their living in a foreign country affects their lives. A group of thirty-something friends get together for a regular Filipino meal called "Adobo", and this becomes the focus for the various activities in their lives. One is a closet gay who has mother problems, a gigolo with a problem about a possible HIV infection, a woman who has relationship problems, among others. If you want to see who are among the best Filipino actors in the Philippines (Christopher de Leon, Ricky Davao, Dina Bonnevie, Cherrie Pie Picache, and with a bonus, Hollywood actor Paolo Montalban who is of Filipino parentage), watch this movie. Admittedly there are some references to other Asian and European films on food, but this is among the better made Filipino movies last year, by a woman director, Laurice Guillen.

---

Too melodramatic
The movie, American Adobo, started off very nicely and the engaging character buildups were encouraging. The actors seem very relaxed and they all seemed to handle their craft very well. However, as the plot starts to turn into the conflict phase, the movie instantly dives into some tearful, very-"Filipino"-like, melodramatic excursion. Ironically, during the movie, Christopher De Leon's daughter, while being reprimanded, reminded him not to turn their conversation into some "Filipino"-movie variety. The director should have also taken heed.

I have seen many Filipino movies (being a Filipino myself) and while the professional presentation (probably due to its international release) was noteworthy, the same components of most Filipino dramas was alive and unfortunately rooted in too much emphasis on the tearjerker approach, and add to that some untimely political and socio-religious moralities. This kind of annoying manipulation sends wrong messages and somehow promotes agendas that were totally not needed in the movie.

Chistopher De Leon gave a somewhat commendable performance but the rest of the cast seem too rigid and too mechanical. Paolo Montalban was thrown in the cast to warrant the movie's parental guidance viewing and his character seemed superficially unexplored beyond his dealings with the afterthoughts of possibly contacting AIDS. Cherry Pie Picache typifies the overtly emotional and over-acting 'masochist'. Her character (and Ricky's) were the central figures but she leaves us with an unsatisfied feeling, probably due to her uneven and 'pitiful' performance. Dina Bonnevie's relationship almost seemed a distraction since her dealings with infidelities bordered on the common day-to-day and her acting needs work and polishing. Ricky Davao's tale was intriguing but the movie seemed to revolve too much around the homosexuality and AIDs issue that we are tied too much to his personal demons without knowing his real character. Gloria Romero's emotional outbursts, while heartfelt, was a bit strained and too 'sentimentally-syrupy'.

The best part of the movie was when Christoper De Leon and Ricky Davao were driving and talking. Unfortunately, there were not more of this - there were too many trite conversations, unneeded banterings, and unrealistic discussions. Why can't they just talk like normal people instead of trying so hard to impress us with their over-the-top chit-chat.

A couple of haunting shots were the two scenes with the Twin Towers in the background - one scene with Cherry Pie and Dina talking, and the other scene right at the end of the movie, which shows the new restaurant and the towers. I expected a lot from this movie and I felt it was dissapointing and 'bland' to say the least.

---

Great movie
This is one of the first Filipino American movies that was in the theatre and is now available on DVD. Considering many limitations (i.e. budget) this is a great movie, especially for Filipino Americans who will really be able to relate to it. The best part of the movie is that the people starring in it are not white and are more realistic than the Hollywood actors and actresses we usually see in movies. This movie is also totally hilarious.