Mirrors and circle lights

Netnet Camomot .

IF you think “Jowable” is a comedy, well, think again.

Kim Molina, Kakai Bautista, and Candy Pangilinan let their hair—and everything else—down in this movie, it makes you wish Kathryn Bernardo was as spontaneous in “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” same goes for Arci Munoz in “Open.” Bernardo and Munoz were seemingly bent on always looking pretty and perfect onscreen, resulting to facial expressions that could be summed up as blah.

The Pinoy deserves more quality films with actors who don’t have imaginary mirrors and circle lights while acting.

“Jowable” is about family, friendships, and relationships. Yes, it has its funny scenes, such as the many meanings of put*ng in*, as enunciated by Karissa (Cai Cortez), but its Realizations 101—note the plural form—are what could make you ponder on your own life, on what’s truly important, and what should matter. Its director, Darryl Yap, did warn, “tatraydurin kayo ng trailer,” in one of his interviews.

As for my Realization 101, there’s this scene in the movie where Elsa (Molina) is singing “Maging Sino Ka Man,” and I was like, Is that her voice? Uh, I didn’t know she could sing. When the closing credits rolled, Molina’s name was there as the performer for that videoke scene and also for the “Jowable” theme song. Well, Pinoy showbiz cluelessness is what happens to the Pinay—moi—who has chosen to finish reading all her unread books before going back to watching TV and Netflix.

I did stop watching Pinoy movies once upon a time when they became so predictable. They continue to be a hit-and-miss but “Jowable,” despite its flaws, is a must-see for fans of pleasant surprises. If it doesn’t make you laugh, go to “The Panti Sisters” then.

A movie has its perks. A book may take a week, a month, or a year to read, depending on one’s priorities. A movie, on the other hand, takes at least two hours of his precious time, after which he can go shopping and have a delish meal while savoring the cool weather inside the mall. That’s definitely hitting many birds with one stone. Plus, he saves on gas.

Jane Hamilton’s “Disobedience,” the book I’m reading now, is the kind that may take a year to read since it requires a lot of focus. Which does make me wonder why I bought this book in the first place, way back in—gasp!—2007. June 12, 2007. On Independence Day 12 years ago. Independence from what?

So many things have happened since then, and they could be the reasons why “Disobedience” doesn’t resonate with me anymore.

Note to self: Read the book right after buying it. Don’t wait for a dozen years.

A roof leak required transferring the book cabinet to a safer location, and that’s how I saw “Disobedience” after the books were rearranged. The house help found old DVDs inside that same cabinet, DVDs whose containers were already damaged due to, hmmm, old age. Somehow proving that books have a longer shelf life than DVDs.

Food and medicines have expiration dates, too, thus, the need to check them out. I recently found a box of snacks that expired last July. Good thing I discovered that. It was a waste of yummy food, though.

What else have expiration dates? Hmmm. Relationships, friendships, and even customer satisfaction.

What’s customer dissatisfaction? Kana bang naa kay suki nga mall, store, resto, coffee shop, establishment, or product, but it doesn’t deliver the same service or quality anymore.

And then, there’s that coffee shop whose non-coffee products are either not available, or will be available after 40 minutes, or will make your tummy go crazy if they’re available. Lesson learned: buy their coffee only.

There’s the resto whose branches have varied food quality and taste, and its suki foodie has no choice but to justify the unmet expectations to his guests: Ah, bag-o siguro ang chef.

And there’s the resto that serves spoiled fish three times in a row to the same prospective suki foodie. Of course, she doesn’t return for the fourth one, because the third time’s a charm.

Forever 21 is also one proof that there’s no forever. It used to be one of the favorite stores of fashionistas. I remember when it even had fashion consultants.

A successful showbiz career may also not last forevermore unless you’re Nora Aunor, Vilma Santos, or Sharon Cuneta. But Molina is proving to be a success, too, with her “Jowable.” Yay!