Movie review: 'Juana C. the Movie' is a satirical slam dunk

Unabashed, irreverent and laugh-out-loud hilarious, “Juana C. the Movie” is that rare example of Philippine satire done absolutely right, representing a comedic home run by Jade Castro, the director of 2011’s indie hit, “Zombadings 1: Patayin sa shokot si Remington.” Based on the long-running series of “Juana Change” Youtube shorts (an online advocacy calling for social responsibility in and out of political office), theater vet and comedienne extraordinaire Mae Paner reprises here the role that made her an internet star.

The film opens in a rural village where Juana Changge (Paner) is a high school senior on the verge of graduating third in her class. Following a freak toxic waste incident involving hallucinogenic mushrooms, our hapless heroine finds herself the recipient of a scholarship to the most expensive, prestigious university in Manila. In the big city, small town girl Juana (who is rechristened “Change” by a classmate) will encounter – in situations simultaneously ludicrous and all-too-real – facets of modern Philippine society she never knew existed.

When the first trailer for “Juana C.” was released, there was concern that, in the transition from internet short to big screen romp, something might be lost along the way. After all, aside from the less-than-stellar success rate of sketch comedy, much less internet sketch comedy, retrofitted for the cinema, this is still a country where the mere mention of something like “reproductive health” makes a movie controversial by default, regardless of actual content and/or merit (or lack thereof).

Thankfully, Castro and his cohorts throw such concerns to the wind, more than delivering on the original premise while, at the same time, pitching the audience a curve ball comprised of a surprising amount of raunch (nothing explicit, but usually at the comedic expense of Paner) to balance out the commentary.

From the very first scenes, it is clear that the writers understand the first rule of political satire, which is to keep the audience so entertained, it’s only afterwards that they realize they’ve actually sat through the cinematic equivalent of a civics lesson.

To say that the film covers a lot of ground would be an understatement; to say that it handles these topics with finesse, aplomb and wit is a compliment. “Juana C.” doesn’t pull any punches, and succeeds as a result. Indeed, “Juana C.” rips mercilessly into everything from politics, corruption, monopolies, illegal mining and drugs to homosexuality, prostitution and social climbers, with none of it coming across as forced or preachy.

This isn’t to say that every gag here is a winner, mind you, but the zingers and sequences that do work are of such a quality and speed that they are able to make up for the ones that don’t.

It is truly wondrous to see a local film – a comedy, at that – wearing not just its heart, but its intelligence on its plus-sized sleeve, and a good deal of the credit must go to Paner, who commits with seemingly gleeful abandon to every sequence she is in, no matter how ludicrous or physically impractical. Whether the script calls for her character to lose her clothing (which is often), pose as a rich college student or break the Fourth Wall to deliver punch lines more directly, Paner is a comedic force of nature who never outstays her welcome.

The supporting cast isn’t made up of slouches, either, boasting the likes of John James Uy, Niño Muhlach, Annicka Dolonius, Joel Torre, Ronnie Lazaro, Soxy Topacio, and Joel Lamangan. While acting levels vary wildly, all seem tuned in to the level of insanity that the material requires, to the point that we can forgive the inadequacy of some of the lesser players.
 
For a local cinematic culture such as ours that has grown seemingly complacent and undemanding in its attitude towards comedy, “Juana C.” is a long overdue shot in the arm.

With all that’s happening these days, Heaven knows we could use the dose. — BM, GMA News

Mikhail Lecaros is a professional magazine editor and freelance writer. The views expressed in this article are solely his own.