The idea of streaming MMFF movies legally is one of the brighter sides of 2020. Using the platform Upstream.ph, Pinoy viewers here and abroad can easily purchase MMFF 2020 tickets and watch them at the comforts of their homes. Aside from the minor issues with casting the movie to my TV, the experience was generally okay. I mean, I did watch two movies. I set up my room to make me feel like I was in SM Megamall or Robinsons Galleria watching a movie after office hours. Fully air-conditioned at kaunting pailaw from my pin light with a bright EXIT sign distracting me from watching. The last item was a joke. My humor really died with the start of the pandemic. Now onto the first MMFF 2020 entry, I watched: Fan Girl.
[Fan Girl poster]
Fan Girl was, of course, at the top of my watch list. My improv queen friend Ansis referred it to me. That’s what we’re left to do nowadays: referring movies and shows to friends and trying out what they suggested back. Tsk. I miss the outside world.
Paulo Avelino‘s frontal nudity scene had been trending in entertainment sites around the globe. My other friend from the British nation told me about it. Naunahan niya ako for someone like me that checks PEP on a daily basis! This was before Christmas Day so the pirated screenshots weren’t yet floating around on Twitter. On a positive note, the frontal nudity helped stir the curiosity of the people, even after it was revealed that it was prosthetics.
I actually had no expectations watching the movie. I do remember seeing posts about the auditions for the role of Fan Girl. I expected the role of Jane, the eponymous fan girl, to be played by a regular “non-actress” fan girl. Nyek, may expectation pala ako. Haha. Of course Charlie Dizon delivered as the Paulo Avelino stan. She played the role of Jane authentically, like she’s really a teenage fan with an unhealthy celebrity obsession. At just 24 years old, she won the MMFF 2020 Best Actress award for her excellent performance. Hands down. She deserved it.
Paulo Avelino, on the other hand, played the role of… Paulo Avelino, a.k.a. himself, or at least some version of himself. He also won the MMFF 2020 Best Actor award. He played his own character with the right amount of disturbing. He was also equally good despite the “frontal” and butt exposure dominating the discussion about this film.
Fan Girl reminded me of the indie film Fuccbois. If you watched Fuccbois, parang same ‘yung formula nila. Slow burn tapos may mga unexpected twists na what you see isn’t always what you get, etc. The story isn’t really new or ground-breaking but it sends an important message that hopefully viewers understood and took to their hearts. [what is this message]
I won’t dwell on the fact that it was a good movie; I think that’s a given. And it is especially good for the usual quality we get/expect from an MMFF entry. I felt like the meta-ness of having an actor playing himself doesn’t really add to the overall story. If you’re going to take a lot of liberties with some of the real-life details about the actor, then might as well make up a fictional actor.
With someone as high-profile as Paulo Avelino, even someone with a casual knowledge of local showbiz will be thrown off by some of the stuff that happens in the movie that seem to contradict what we know about him in real life. There is one scene in the film where Paulo quizzes the fan girl with facts about him, which are all true (I think). Besides, Paulo doesn’t really have a “good boy” image, so what he does in the film might not be as shocking as they may try to portray. I’m not sure if this was in the script or if it was the actor’s choice, but almost every line of Paulo’s dialogue was punctuated by a tang ina with the occasional gago. I know it’s one of the ways to show his “bad side” but it got grating really quickly.
The character of the “idol” should have had the same level of authenticity as the “fan”. I think this was where the movie missed the mark. I may be nitpicking here but this detail kinda threw me off especially at the end. Just a little. To add, Paulo Avelino already played a character with a “twist” in Kasal, also with Bea Alonzo. IDK. Maybe, it’s just me.
Overall, the movie was good. It deserved all its awards but for me it fell a bit flat. And we don’t need tang ina‘s to make a movie edgy and brave. There, I said it.
[Fan Girl trailer]
Fan Girl is still streaming on Upstream until January 14, 2021, and now also streaming on iWant TFC.