Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers!
First things first: I AM NOT watching this film with my parents.
If you are settling in to see I Am Not Big Bird expecting another unserious Filipino adventure comedy with elementary-level humor, you will not be disappointed.
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ELEVATED CHILDISH HUMOR
Aside from being introduced to Enrique Gil’s character, Luis Carpio, as someone who's mistaken for notoriously well-hung Thai porn star ‘Big Bird,’ we also have to sit through merciless digs at Luis's tiny manhood, and Filipino tourists in Thailand shouting "tite" to connect with compatriots.
I brushed it off thinking maybe there’s just no shortage of people who can stomach a barrage of jokes where the punchline is a man’s genital. That although most of the gags leave an explosive nasty taste in the mouth, it becomes clear so soon that the film was cooked up for the sole intent of tickling the childish funny bones buried in each one of us.
When I finally caved in to the madcap crassness and incautious chutzpah of it all, I caught myself busting a gut laugh from the most nonsensical things ever. One of which is an iteration of the classic Filipino confrontation where a third person tries to quell the fight by crying — only in this film, all three of them went full frontal in what appears to be a cock exhibit, or should I say, ‘cocks-hibit’.
There's more where that came from and without fail, I'm guilty of letting it get me every time.
Even the use of Parokya ni Edgar's nostalgic Please Don't Touch My Birdie song was so easily foreseeable, and yet still so satisfying to hear during the climactic turn of events.
Read: Enrique Gil on Liza Soberano's absence at premiere of his movie: "I know she’s really busy."
WELL-PUT-TOGETHER COMEBACK
In any case, I Am Not Big Bird did Enrique a commendable service as his longed-for comeback on the silver screen. Yes, it’s no award-winning frontrunner. But, it’s so lightweight that it makes for an S-tier choice on laid-back, maybe even uninhibited barkada nights out. This project brings him back on the map as someone larger than the love team he was famous for. It also doesn't hurt that he is supported by three strong acts — Pepe Herrera, Nikko Natividad, and Red Ollero — whose foolhardy antics are smooth in the eyes thanks to impeccable comedic timing.
The movie's appeal lies in its oddity, dancing on the line of the insanely ridiculous throughout its runtime. It manages to imprint itself into memory by means of parlance that hit close to home among local viewers. Essentially, the secret sauce to I Am Not Big Bird hinges on its non-Filipino format and anthem paired with deep-set Filipino relatability. Like latch mechanisms, it just clicks.
Kudos to film director Victor Villanueva too, who continues to impress with I Am Not Big Bird after the success of his similarly-themed film, Patay na si Hesus, for maintaining cross-cultural mindfulness despite how exploitative and offensive the promos may seem.
For all its raunchy absurdity — slapping together three sex-repressed best friends, a Thai-pretending Filipino tour guide, Japanese drug dealers, porn producers, and a fragmented Thai public with contrasting opinions on ‘Big Bird’ — I am giving it the same credit as some of Hollywood's eccentric materials that surprisingly earn cult classic status after posterity's consumption.
READ MORE:
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- Enrique Gil at James Reid, suportado ang first Hollywood movie ni Liza Soberano
- Enrique Gil on relationship with Liza Soberano: "We’re both focused on ourselves first."
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