Ang Tanging Ina (2003)

Sick Product of a Sick System

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The frenetic Ai Ai Delas Alas plays Ina, a mother of 12 who has had a variety of jobs to provide for her children. She becomes a chambermaid with her best friend Rowena and gets to know the Madam President if the Phillipines. She finds out the Vice President is going to have the president assassinated, tries to warn the president at an outside speech and the president gets shot. She shows the proof of the VP's conspiracy and, in a snap election, becomes President..and its a comedy! Ai Ai Delas Alas is like Lucille Ball on hyper drive, and she is a star in the Phillipines, rightfully so. She carries this improbable premise very well, you just love her. Her facial expressions here and there remind me of the great Hong Kong actress Sandra Ng, they express everything. There's even a bold part of this in which one of her sons is gay and invites a stir. You're not really supposed to take most of this seriously, so if you know that going in, you should able to enjoy this slightly crazy but ultimately watchable film.

It's one of the movies that just has everything I'm looking for in entertainment - it's got the comedy, the drama and even corny gags. A quick summary of the movie makes it sound unoriginal. It is about a Ina (Ai Ai) who has to juggle the trials of being a single mother and a working woman. It also seems unoriginal because the children need to realize that they are spoiled and self-centered (surprise surprise) and that they need to help the family more than helping themselves. All of these story plots have been used time and again but what makes this different is the overexaggerated gags and comedies make it much more interesting and makes the film move along pleasantly.I think what makes it so special is Ai Ai. Her talent shines in this film. She's hilarious when it comes to gags or comic lines but she's also talented dramatist. There's a scene where she expresses her frustrations and her anger and sadness was so realistic. My roommate cried at that scene when we watched it. My mother even likes this movie and her list of good movies is extremely short because she's extreme picky.

I don't usually see Filipino films, except those I've already seen when I was a kid (like "Sarah, Ang Munting Prinsesa.") This one though, I did like. It's very funny. The kid actors and kid actresses were superb. The storyline goes from comedy to drama to comedy. I absolutely love it. Ai Ai Delas Alas is an excellent mother, and the kids were very adorable. If you like watching family comedy, this it the best Filipino family comedy I've ever seen. There's the gay son, the little kids, the daughter with the crush... SOOOO hilarious. MUST SEE if you're a Filipino! Heck, even if you're not Filipino, this is a MUST SEE... if only the DVD has an English subtitle in it... Anyways, the story plot is simple but touching. And the comedy in it is JUST SUPERB. Really, definitely a MUST SEE.

despite the unbelievable situation, with 3 husbands dying, it's a corny set-up. however, the comedic instances were actually pretty funny. I may be biased, because I think Ai-Ai de las Alas is funny as hell, but she looked and sounded to be in her element, utilizing a subtle, light comedic beat. the other scenes were quite raw, using too many fast forwards and jump cuts, less can actually be more. the other supporting actors were ok, some were solid, some were effective, the rest were just wallflowers. a solid effort overall, I normally do not like most filipino comedies, the ones I've seen were overly corny and too ambitious, but subtle comedies like this exhibit a good example of the filipino camp comedy genre