For over a decade, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) has had one constant expectation: there will be a Vice Ganda movie, and it will be loud.
It’s usually a colorful, chaotic mix of pop culture references, slapstick, and a distinct brand of comedy.
But Call Me Mother, the 2025 entry, breaks that expectation.
For the popular comedian’s 10th MMFF entry, he achieves what many critics and fans have long wanted from him: an actor who can take on a serious role and disappear into it.
It’s honestly refreshing to see that this veteran comedian, one who can make everyone laugh with just one word, is actually capable of making the audience cry buckets of tears.
Call Me Mother: The Plot
A Departure from the Past
To appreciate what Call Me Mother achieves, we can look at last year’s MMFF entry And The Breadwinner Is...—which made money, but it didn’t exactly win over critics.
It felt cluttered. The script was all over the place.
Was it about the struggles of an OFW and their ungrateful family? A comical insurance fraud scheme where the dead tries to join the funeral while in various costumes? Or a family drama about breadwinners and their struggle to eschew responsibility to achieve their own happiness?
The various plot threads never truly came together.
And The Breadwinner Is... also relied on the old Vice Ganda movie formula.
There were random cameos from past characters and jokes based on trends from current pop culture.
Those moments muddled the movie’s tone, and confused viewers who weren’t able to watch the previous movies.
Call Me Mother is the complete opposite. It ditches the trends. There are no forced connections to previous films or desperate attempts to ride the latest social media wave.
It is focused, cohesive, and confident enough to just tell a story.
The Heart of the Story
The film centers on Twinkle, a gay pageant trainer played by Vice, who leaves fame and her budding career so she can adopt a child.
The bond they form is the heartbeat of the movie.
Things get complicated when Mara (Nadine Lustre), the biological mother, returns years later.
Twinkle is then forced to make an impossible choice about whether to let Mara back into the child's life.
What stands out is how the film handles the topic of adoption for members of the LGBT+ community.
Jun Robles Lana’s expert direction treats the subject with the tenderness and the sincerity it deserves.
It doesn’t use the situation as a set-up for a punchline, and respects the characters and the reality they live in.
Call Me Mother: A Performance, Not a Skit
The film shows Vice Ganda as a serious actor.
For the first time in a long time, the self-aware, sarcastic acting style is gone.
You don't see the host of It’s Showtime playing another character; you just see Twinkle.
Vice fully embodies the role and lives in it.
That doesn't mean the movie isn't funny. It is.
But the humor comes from the situation, not a scriptwriter trying to force a gag.
The jokes are delivered naturally, the way friends actually talk to each other.
There are no fourth-wall breaks or awkward pauses where the actor waits for the audience to laugh. It all feels natural.
Of course, a performance this grounded needs the right people to play off of.
You can't have the lead acting seriously while everyone else is doing slapstick.
Luckily, the rest of the cast meets Vice at that same level.
Nadine Lustre is fantastic as Mara, bringing a raw emotion that balances Vice’s performance perfectly.
But the biggest surprise is Lucas Andalio, who plays the young son, Angelo.
Child actors often fall into the trap of just memorizing lines and waiting for their cue to speak. Lucas doesn't do that. He listens. Watch his micro-expressions in the close-ups, because he reacts to what the adults are saying in real-time.
He is a total gem of a young actor, who we can bet has a bright future ahead of him.
There are many, many intense moments featuring Vice, Nadine, and Lucas that may make the audience sob loudly.
Be warned: bring a box of tissues if you want to see this movie because you will need it.
The supporting cast—John Lapus, Iyah Mina, MC Muah, Esnyr, Klarisse de Guzman, Shuvee Etrata, Mika Salamanca, Brent Manalo, and River Joseph—adds flavor without overcrowding the plate.
They have their moments to shine, but the director wisely keeps their roles tight so the story never loses focus.
The Verdict
It took 10 MMFF films to get here, but Vice Ganda has finally hit it out of the park.
Call Me Mother succeeds because it trusts its audience.
It knows it doesn't need cheap tricks or trend-chasing to keep us watching.
This is a movie that succeeds artistically while remaining genuinely entertaining.
It treats its characters with dignity and its audience with respect.
If you've been waiting for Vice to fully embrace his range as an actor, Call Me Mother is a must-watch.
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