Working Girls remake

WE GOT excited after watching the trailer of "Working Girls" written and directed by Joey Reyes. This is not a remake but a sequel to the 1986 blockbuster classic directed by the late Ishmael Bernal. There are many scenes that are just as wittily ribtickling as the first one, like Eugene Domingo reacting hilariously to her mom in law, Gina Pareno, who suspects that she's having an affair with their driver, Ricky Davao. Another funny scene is when Ruffa Gutierrez is told that she inherited a townhouse in Angono and she reacts: "May Starbucks ba dun?"

Four characters from the original are retained: Carmi Martin as Suzanne, still a glamorous gold digger just like in the first movie; Gina Pareno as Nimfa, now a grandma whose son, Antonio Aquitania, is married to Eugene Domingo; Maria Isabel Lopez as Rose, former prostitute turned female activist; and Rio Locsin as Sabel, an unwed mom whose daughter, Jennylyn Mercado, also becomes an unwed mom like her, rejecting the dad of her baby, Biboy Ramirez, and finding new love in Carlo Aquino.

Aside from Eugene and Jennylyn, the new Working Girls are Ruffa as Marilou, a social climbing beauty queen who married an MMMM (matandang mayaman madaling mamatay); Eula Valdes as Cleo, a celebrity cosmetic surgeon obviously inspired by Dr. Victoria Belo; Cristine Reyes as Wendy, a promo girl out to marry a rich lawyer, Rafael Rosell; Iza Calzado as Tere, a nurse who is tasked to take care of the dying wife, Ina Feleo, of the guy who dumped her before, Jao Mapa; and Bianca King, the rich, spoiled brat daughter of Cherie Gil who happens to be the stepdaughter of Ruffa and working as production assistant for a bitchy newscast, Mylene Dizon.

How is it filling in the shoes of the late Bernal in doing the new "Working Girls"? "Ano ka ba?" says Direk Joey. "I cannot fill in his shoes. National artist yun, ano? But I really want to thank the whole cast for being so cooperative. I'm very proud of this movie. Coming up with a high quality sequel is the least we can do to honor the legacy of Ishmael Bernal, one of the greatest directors in Philippine Cinema."

We're sure there will come a time that Joey himself will be acknowledged as not just one of the best directors but also one of the best scriptwriters in local film history. Boss Vic del Rosario praised him for not going over budget considering he has such a big cast and for finishing the shooting on time, which is a feat especially when compared to the other Viva project, "Of All the Things" starring Aga Muhlach and Regine Velasquez. "42 shooting days na yun, hindi pa rin tapos," says Boss Vic. "7 days to go pa raw kami bago matapos."