What his new version lacks is the level of crudity the first movie has, which we think was the very reason that endeared it to gays, yuppies and ad agency people who made it a cult classic because they feel somewhat above it and look at it with a certain condescension. The remake really made us laugh out loud, especially the scene where the marooned cast members eat the grilled flesh of John Lapus while they were singing “Habang May Buhay” with long faces. It’s supposed to be morbid and gross as it portrays cannibalism but Martinez makes it the most hilarious scene in the movie.
Lovi Poe easily shines in the film as she has the best role as a bitch incarnate and she goes to town spreading her bitchiness all around. Wonder why Heart Evangelista dumped it in favor of her insipid virgin role where she hardly did anything that makes its mark on the audience. Rufa Mae Quinto as her maid easily steals all their scenes, particularly with her wild dance number in front of the bonfire while everyone else is making love. Marian Rivera also registers well in her wacky role as a con artist-female faggot who falls in love with a handsome waiter, played by Tom Rodriguez, who’s every inch leading man material wonder why ABS-CBN is letting him go to waste. Newcomer Mikael Daez also elicits some guffaws with the way he pronounces Joshua, the name of John Lapus that he delivers as Joswa. Solenn Heussaff tries her best delivering her Tagalog lines well but her accent is so disconcerting. John Lapus surely does better than his original counterpart, delivering his sarcastic lines with aplomb and managing to be quite touching in his crying scene. If you want to have a good laugh, don’t miss this ribtickling remake.
