MMFF 2013: My Little Bossings

Growing up, I was cultured to watching Eat Bulaga. Seeing them everyday made me accustomed to Vic Sotto’s comedic style. So every year it is expected that whenever he joins MMFF, my family will be watching his film first among others. It’s probably a common sentiment, I must say, because the opening day gross income result of this year’s film fest made My Little Bossings the biggest earner among the eight entries.

But Sotto is not the sole reason why this film clicked. It is the first tandem of the current President’s nephew, James “Bimby” Yap and the noontime show child wonder, “Aling Maliit” Ryzza Mae Dizon.

With the idea of the film being a source of laughter, My Little Bossings slightly delivers to teach values of family, love, honesty, and forgiveness, too. Vic Sotto is at his simplest, throwing punchlines effortlessly. But who shined best in the film was really the kids.

Ryzza Mae retains her energetic and adorable aura from her noontime comedic quips. She’s proven before that she can make us laugh and now, she shows us that she can also cause water build up in our eyes. Her witty remarks, impeccable timing, and graceful dancing is truly a delight that one can’t help but think that this child would really go a long way in the showbiz industry. She reminds me of Aiza Seguerra, also featured in the film, due to both being a product of Little Miss Philippines.

Bimby on the other hand, is effective as a child brat. He seems like he’s not acting at all but when the drama scene kicks in, his acting chops are tested and proven. He’s still got a long way to do to come at par with Ryzza but their team up definitely works. You’ll just find yourself smiling at the scenes of these two.

Then there’s Jose Manalo and Paolo Ballesteros’ team up which is surprisingly good, even better. I can’t imagine another man playing Paolo’s role in the film, it’s as if it was tailored for him. Meanwhile Aiza Seguerra shows us some of her excellent drama skills while Jaclyn Jose portrays the funny villain and she does it well by ridiculously instructing to fire a gunshot at someone and miss it on purpose, just to evoke fear.

There are two main concerns about the film, though: First, the endless lineup of advertisements shifting focus to earning money than telling a story. It’s an eyesore. We did not pay Php 200 to watch a movie about what should we buy. From Aiza using a lot of airtime to promote Ariel, to Ryzza Mae eating spaghetti made from El Real pasta, to Bimby consuming a plate full of Lucky Me! Pancit canton, up to Vic explaining how Solmux is “tamang gamot, maling dosage.” Lastly, they implemented a shaky camera technique on the first part of the film which was pointless and disappointing. I feel like it’s the “Sige, okay na yan” kind of film. It was really careless of them to execute the film this way.

All in all, the film felt like a one big entire commercial that mainly thought on how to place ads than how to share a story. But what do we expect? The public isn’t too critical about these things, especially if it involves the ever familiar Vic Sotto whose main concern is to earn money than to give quality entertainment. I used to believe that Vic Sotto movies will always be successful no matter who he is paired with. And a charming and talented kid is a sure fire way to make it to the box office but I know better now. And for that, My Little Bossings gives born to our newest and youngest blockbuster king and queen, a title that is… never mind, the kids might read this.

Rating: 6/10

Watch the trailer HERE.