posted by Nk. at 7:20 AM

On the suggestion of my friend Art I watched Adam Sandler's latest flick, You Don't Mess With The Zohan, the other night. Before I say what I think about the movie let me first get it out of the way that I'm no Adam Sandler fan, the only movie of his that I'm genuinely fond of is 50 First Dates (and that's also mainly because Drew Barrymore is such an adorable). The reason I watched You Don't Mess With The Zohan was to check out whether our girl Mariah Carey indeed had a cameo in the film, and lots of appearances on Zohan's shirts. Oh yeah, boo, I know Mariah's a total ditz in the acting department (her performance, like in that movie Glitter -- yes, there was such a movie -- was just about as exciting as picking dirt from my toenails) but I still love her long time and have all her songs in my mp3 list. So sue me. But Mariah honey, please stick to singing yes?

Don't Mess With The Zohan was a chuckler -- it wasn't as funny or as enjoyable a comedy as one might expect a plot of an Israeli commando having the secret wish to be a hairdresser. Sure Adam Sandler did a lot of flashing in the movie, there was the smattering of politically incorrect humor (which is fine but it didn't quite work here), and Zohan's humping the geriatrics but overall I found You Don't Mess With The Zohan boring and quite forgettable. So unless you're big on Adam Sandler or just want to see how he carries on with a Mariah Carey shirt well, don't mess with this movie. It's not even half as funny as its poster.

Meanwhile, on the local front, I hear from Helga that tadaaa, our local showbiz is attempting "our" version of that hit TV series Gossip Girl (which I haven't gotten around to watching yet). Is anyone surprised? No? Truth be told people, we may have this paralyzing fear that if we so much as think of thinking of something original our brains will implode. That's how hard it is, so we Filipino citizens, should make do with remakes -- Marimar, Dyesebel (sure Marian Rivera's pretty but her acting skills? Oh I forgot, we're talking about escapist TV here. Right.), Panday (remember this one? It was okay in the beginning but went pffft somewhere in the middle and completely died a natural death in the end), My Girl (my friend Amber went hopping mad about the ABS-CBN people butchering our favorite Koreanovela), and so on (sa dami ng ni-remake I can't remember anymore) and counting (because there are more remakes getting planned, as we speak, that's for sure). This isn't to say that all remakes are bad or to say that all production people are stupids, but haven't we had enough of remakes and spin offs already?

Now I've heard a lot of people raving about the Gabby Concepcion comeback soap opera Iisa Pa Lamang (did I get that title right) being a great remake. So far I've only managed to catch one episode and well, what can I say, Claudine Baretto and Angelica Panganiban are two of the better actresses their generation out there. And Gabby? I can understand why uh, Sharon and half the female population in the country went berserk for this guy in the 80's but I wanted to snap snap my fingers to his face while he was reciting his lines in that particular episode. What's up with the wooden acting, man? But then again, maybe he just wasn't feeling it that time huh. These actors, they're only hoomans too, right? Riiiiight.


So that's Philippine TV for you these days. Nothing new.

***

You guys remember sitcom Abangan Ang Susunod Na Kabanata? That was a gas! Also that talk show with Jessica Zafra, Mo Twister, Cher Calvin, and my crush daddy Teddy Boy Locsin, Jr.? (Okay, that wasn't a sitcom or series I just had to mention that because 1. I'm a fan of Ms. Zafra, 2. I schoolgirl crush Teddy Boy, and 3. I liked that show.) Remember that ABS-CBN series which starred Robin Padilla and Judy Ann Santos? I thought it was a good enough attempt to veer away from the usual nawawalang tagapagmana fairy tales we have. Sure it was no CSI (they're having Laurence Fishburne in the next season!) but at last that one didn't just go aiming for our tear ducts. So come on Philippine TV people, give us something new! (speaking of new, that Sarah Geronimo-John Lloyd Cruz starrer, A Very Special Love, was a cute movie. Was actually surprised that I enjoyed it -- except for Sarah's ugly wig and what's with the movie song title these days?? Geez.)

So how about a collaboration with either Taiwan or Korea, since we're pretty much crazy about their telenovelas? If you guys are running out of ideas my friend Amber has a fantastic idea for a storyline. Darn, I have ideas! Give us something to talk -- no, to rave about. Surprise us. Bewilder us. Play with our heads. Overwhelm us with emotion. Tickle us good. Challenge our beliefs. Make us think twice. Excite us!


How about you guys, what would you like to see on Philippine TV (or movie)?

Labels: advocacies, fangirl posts, film review, Gossip Girl, lucid intervals, Mariah Carey, Philippine TV, showbiz, You Don't Mess With The Zohan