Last night, Hannah and I met up to watch ‘Sosy Problems‘, GMA Films’ official entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival. It stars my favorite Kapuso stars namely Heart Evangelista, Solenn Heussaff, Bianca King and Rhian Ramos under the direction of Andoy Ranay.

 

Honestly, I am not expecting Sosy Problems to be in the Top 3 of the top-grossing films for this year’s MMFF. It is fun to see it on the line-up because I love chick flicks, although I can say that some of the Filipino films released in the previous years with the same genre failed big time. Let’s just say that the casting for this movie is perfect because the four lead stars are known for being ‘sosyal’ in real-life. No need to exert much effort. Some mainstream film companies tend to adjust the script for the sake of the artist the producer wants to cast.

The cinema lobby is filled with ‘upper class teenagers’ when I lined up for tickets. Target Market. Check.

 

First of all, let me complain about the trailer. The first trailer uploaded online doesn’t give justice to the film. I don’t see the point of using Gwen Stefani’s ‘Luxurious’ The song is louder than the audio. Boop Boop. Not right. They could’ve used one of Solenn’s songs instead.

Sosy Problems shows kaartehan, but with a heart. I’ll try to present it in the best way I can through the lead characters:

 

Rhian Ramos is Lizzie Consunji, the self-proclaimed leader of the group. She’s bossy, inconsiderate and annoying. She wants to do things her way and I can say that she’s the biggest brat among the four. Ika nga, What Lizzie wants, Lizzie gets. She throws tantrums when things don’t go her way, which drives the people around her (assistant, secretary, friends and even her dad) crazy. She spends too much on things and yeah, she got a million followers on Twitter. Her part in the story just proves that being ‘sossy’ is not really their fault. I can say that we can blame the parents too. Instead of spending quality time with their child, some parents tend to shower their sons and daughters with gifts and money to make them happy. It is also the reason why a vacation to the province is suggested. How will the rich kids learn to deal with other people if they’re not exposed to it?

Bianca King is Danielle Alvarez. I think her character is the most realistic among the four (except on the Evian water part lol). I know some daughters of ex-politicians who find it hard to face the reality that they’re not as rich and powerful as they used to. In the movie, Danielle’s father is a former Congressman pressed with criminal charges. Still in denial that they’re losing their wealth as time goes by, she pretends that she is still ok. Instead of looking for a proper job to earn decent money like what her younger sister did, she came up with a solution to seduce seduce a rich bachelor with hopes that it is the answer to her family’s problem. She has genuine intentions, but the solution she came up with is just not right lol. It may sound silly to some, but I know some rich people who grew up with all the luxuries in life that end up having a hard time dealing with sudden financial downfall. I like Bianca King’s way of portraying her role. So natural lol but you can also see the desperation in her eyes.

Playing Frenemies in the film are Solenn Heussaff and Heart Evangelista. These two girls first entered showbiz with the ‘socialite’ tag, but their irresistible charm and talent made both the ‘masa’ and ‘sosyal’ crowd love them. Their inclusion in the film is one of the reason why I want to watch it.

I met Solenn Heussaff last year and I can say that she is really kalog in real-life. In the movie, she is Margaux Bertrand, a daughter of a French Ambassador and former beauty queen (portrayed by Cherie Gil). Let’s just say that she represents the ‘dumb’ stereotype, but lovable in her own way. Way before she became an artist of the Kapuso network, she was actually tagged by some members of the press as ‘the pretty one’. The truth is this girl can do a lot of things! I think she accepted this role because she wants to make fun of that tag. I like the mother-daughter chemistry of Cherie Gil and Solenn Heussaff.

Last but not the least, let’s talk about Heart Evangelista as Claudia Ortega. I like her character the best because it reminded me of her ‘teeny bopper’ days. I loved her in G-Mik and the movie ‘Trip’. Watching Claudia Ortega is like watching Missy all over again. Her character is sweet, but can be very vocal at the same time. She used the words ‘stupid’ and ‘idiot’ to Margaux as a term of endearment. She represents the pa-cute sosyals that gets kilig with hot ‘pangkaraniwang’ people. Her mom in the movie is Agot Isidro. The love-hate relationship of Margaux and Claudia’s mom didn’t affect the friendship of the two girls… until one person butts in (Aljur Abrenica). It’s funny that mothers can be competitive with each other up to the point that they drag their daughters!

Mylene Dizon as Bernice is my favorite supporting character. Well, she is the main antagonist of the movie. She stole the show in some moments and she represents some of the ‘biglang yaman’, who becomes arrogant instead of helping those who are in need.

Surprisingly, I liked Ruffa Gutierrez here. Agot Isidro, Cherie Gil and Maritoni Fernandez represent the different types of conyo mothers (with good and bad qualities). I’m glad that Aljur Abrenica and Mikael Daez were assigned with the roles they perfectly fit in (unlike in Temptation Island). The Tween stars (Barbie Forteza, Lexi Fernandez, Kristopher Martin and Alden Richards) shows promise. Tim Yap is… quite tolerable. Mickey Bustos is fun to watch. Robert Arevalo is a gem of Philippine Cinema.

SOSY PROBLEMS QUOTABLE QUOTES AND CONYO LINES:

“No to Yaya Mall! Yes to Polo Club!”  – Hmmm… inspiration or imitation from Kevin’s viral video? 😉
Lizzie Consunji: My God! You’re Craaaazzzy!
Bernice: OOHHHHH MMMMYYYY GGGGAAAAWWWWD!!!

Lizzie Consunji: Lola, wanna have some tea?
Lola: Anong ginawa n’yo sa arinola ko?!
Everyone: What’s Arinowwla?

Lizzie Consunji: Mamang, Whatevs.

 

Margaux Bertrand: Is that you’re yaya’s car?

Claudia Ortega: (to mom)  Girl…..

Claudia Ortega: Oh my God, this is so unreal! I’m so gonna tweet this moment. Siguro naman there’s internet here..

Danielle Alvarez: Ano ka ba, no one wants to make friends with the poor!

Danielle Alvarez: I am so poor na!

“Makibaka? I don’t even know what that means!”

“Choose your friends wisely because you’ll never know kung sino sa kanila ang ahas. The only snake you should keep is a snakeskin Birkin bag” – Martina (Cherie Gil)

Claudia Ortega: Oh my God! Cute o, it’s magsasaka!
Margaux Bertrand: What’s Magsasaka?
Claudia Ortega: Oh my God, you’re so stupid!

“We’re all living in a third world country kaya pare-parehas lang tayo!” – Luca (Ruffa Gutierrez)

Lizzie Consunji: I hope your horse becomes your new anak!

Bernice: With plenty money, you can do anything!

Sa dictionary lang nauuna ang bestfriend sa boyfriend!

Dra. Vicki Belo (yes, she’s there): Ang boyfriend, madaling palitan. Ang bestfriend, hindi.

* I’ll update this post with more quotes and lines later!

Some of the films competing this year for the Metro Manila Film Festival have heavy content. If you simply want to laugh… or stare at gorgeous ladies, watch this film. I do recommend that you watch it with your girl or gay friends. Boys, back off not unless you’re a fan of any of the lead stars. With its good casting, direction and cinematography, GMA Films made a good move in producing this film.