GMA Films’ “Overtime” is an Insult to Filipino Moviegoers Sensibility

I was actually excited to go and watch the film since it’s Richard Gutierrez’s comeback film after his resurgence with his ladylove, the half-Swiss, half-Filipino Sarah Lahbati with their newly introduced one-year-old son, Zion; and it is Lauren Young’s follow-up flick since 2013—in the film ‘Puti’ where she displayed a sterling performance as Ana. However, when we reached the movie house—I could already sense that there’s something wrong.

Was this a case of bad marketing?

In the theater, we were just five—my four other companions and I plus another person sitting a few rows above us. That makes us six. At least, we were six and we had the theater for ourselves.

It was such a Drag.

The flick opened with Kumander Bungo’s acid social commentary against the Philippine nation via a video blog that left with an imminent warning—a threat that something big is going to happen.

Then it shifted to another character named Jody Amistoso (Lauren Young), an executive assistant who hasn’t gone to bed with any guy and is living a miserable life with a drunkard and gambler father (William Martinez) and a chain-smoker mother (Yayo Aguila) struck with emphysema. Jody has a younger brother named Bryan (Renz Valerio). She provides for her family as she works for Hunterton Pharmaceuticals.

I am not sure if I was the only one who was getting bored, but I didn’t see any part where in the first few scenes—that the film has taken-off, even to the point where Jody was already stressed out because of the tasks she’s been getting after her co-employees were leaving. I didn’t see any tension at all.

When it reached the part where she agreed to meet a long-time chat mate, named Dom Garcia and she went to a motel with the guy—it could have been better that they proceeded with the steamy sex scene in order to establish Don’s shady character. And if he loves the country so much—then he wouldn’t turn insane or show a tinge of insanity at all. It’s just too ironic.

Characterization is Too Weak.

A character-driven story makes it more interesting and it hooks the audience, unfortunately I didn’t see it in this film. Pardon me, but I really didn’t see anything that would make me sit any longer to watch the film except that I had to review it. I can’t just walk out of the theater without finishing the movie.

If the director of the film Wincy Ong claimed that this is a black comedy that aims to challenge the idea of identity and family in a Philippine setting, as well as the idea of the Filipino mainstream movie itself—I am sorry—I was not impressed at all.

I even wondered why it was graded B by the Cinema Evaluation Board. Are they kidding me? The film never gave me any feeling of suspense. I didn’t see any reason for me to believe in every character included in the film. All the more, I didn’t get to ask the question that the director and at the same time the writer of the film mentioned in an article published on gmanetwork.com that said: “[Everyone is a] villain here,” he says. “Even Lauren Young is actually a villain. When I was writing the script, I wanted the audience to ask, ‘Sino ba talaga kakampihan ko?’”

This is one classic film that you’d like to grab the fake gun that Dom’s character had been carrying all along and pull the trigger to just stop the idea that this film has actually been produced.

Mitch Valdes as Lola Vi, the 60-year-old SPO1 woman didn’t even have a redeeming factor till the end even if she prevented the bomb from detonating. She was like the boy who cried wolf and I suggest you catch the film and see how silly the characterization of her character was created. Then, there were some characters that need not be there—the barangay captain and the one that Francheska Farr assumed. These were unnecessary characters.

There were so many inconsistencies, loopholes, and attempts to make the film go forward, but it didn’t. This is an insult to any Filipino moviegoer’s sensibility. The writer’s use of exposition like the dialogues, flashbacks, character’s thoughts, and all were all a failure.

I can’t exactly pinpoint Dom’s character as ‘heroic’ and at the same time as a ‘villain’? I can’t see the motivations behind it.

The Whole Movie was a Big Joke.

This film should have a funny alternative title—Over-hyped.

Ong’s insistence on working on almost everything, from writing the script to directing the film to editing and scoring it as well didn’t help to convince me that he did a great job. Citing directors like Robert Rodriguez and Woody Allen as his inspirations isn’t reflective on this film. Not at all.

Forgive me to burst his balloon—this is not a film that would even pass the sensibilities of the intelligent indie film supporters.

If Young’s character was hyperventilating in most of her scenes, probably any moviegoer who would decide to risk watching the film would end up like her, too.

The film was not even a social commentary. It didn’t affect me to do something positive, but would rather hate myself if I won’t say the truth about how this film is a big joke.

And what kind of ‘bomb’ that this film intends to detonate? This is a film that I wouldn’t recommend for anybody to waste their time, money, and even the slightest efforts they could muster.

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