Director Jun Robles Lana is a committed advocate of all queer aspects of life, which he has portrayed in his body of work with contrasting tones of voice, from the theatrical colorfulness of “Die Beautiful” to the dark realism of “Kalel, 15”. “Becky & Badette” sits without a doubt in the former group and, despite not being strictly (no pun intended) a gay story, is as camp as Christmas. A mix of classic comedy of errors and the familiar “high school reunion” genre, peppered with many innuendos and Filipino in-jokes, “Becky & Badette” is pure fun from start to end, and also one of those films you can imagine the cast and crew having a great time while shooting it.
Becky & Badette is screening at UdineFar East Film Festival 2024
Becky (Eugene Domingo) and Badette (Pokwang) are two women in their forties, working as janitors in an all-colourful-girl office and living together above a noisy gay bar. They have been best friends since school, when they were both promising artists; Becky was an amazing singer and composer and Badette a talented and show-stopping actress. They even shared a crush for the heartthrob of the school, Pepe Feniz (Romnick Sarmenta) who dated both but never revealed them who was his favourite one. Unfortunately, unlike the school bully and it-girl Nirvana (Agot Isidro), Becky and Badette couldn't carry on studying for economic reasons and ended up sharing their humble life-style. However, they haven't stopped dreaming; Becky keeps composing songs, like the catchy “Finggah Lickin'”, inspired by the delicious fried chicken they sell as a side business, and Badette keeps applying for little parts in films, hoping for her big breakthrough.
One day, out of the blue, Nirvana appears, like a pesky mushroom (quote!), to deliver an invitation to the high school reunion! It will be a beautiful party with a colorful dress code and an award will be given to all of them. Becky and Badette don't really want to go, afraid as they are to be belittled by their luckier and wealthier ex-schoolmates, but in the end, they decide to go and have a blast, clad in flamboyant costumes, courtesy of their queer neighbors. Predictably, all the participants but them are dressed in elegant black and white and, led by the bitchy Nirvana, don't miss any occasion to humiliate the two, who, in the difficult situation, resort to alcoholic oblivion. Things get messy for Becky and Badette at the end of the party, and a drunk public confession on stage of reciprocal love, mixed with few Vilma Santos' lines, is mistaken for a coming out with surprising and unexpected outcomes.
Check also this interview
“Becky & Badette” producer Perci Intalan directed last year's comedy romance “I Love You, Becksman” a hilarious reverse coming-out tale, addressing and challenging gay clichés. In a similar fashion, in “Becky & Badette” not everything is as it seems. Many layers of lies and truth intertwine and, funnily enough, only through lying our heroines manage to follow their dreams and express their talents; to sum it up, a lie becomes a great inspiration for many others to be honest and sincere. At a first glance, “Becky & Badette” is a film about friendship and the urge to be true to yourself in a world that is becoming more and more about false appearances and fabricated personalities. It is also about ambitions and desires, and a joyful encouragement to keep dreaming and never let go. The scenes where the two friends watch again and again famous Vilma Santos' films, reciting her lines by heart, are a sweet and funny homage to cinema as a comforting dream.
However, Lana's acute observation gets deeper; “Becky & Badette” pushes the stereotypes to a next level, turning two underdogs/working girls into an uber-successful public lesbian couple. Unfortunately, this idea is utterly absurd, and this is the sarcastic point that Lana is making. Reversing it into a lesbian power story, Lana makes fun of one of the Filipino's most loved show business formats, the on-screen love stories, fueled by the country's voyeuristic infatuation with romantic narratives. The “total absurdity” of having to fake a gay relationship in order to be cool, loved and successful is the comic center of gravity in “Becky & Badette”.
The two protagonists' undoubted chemistry is the big drive of the film, delivering endless comedy but also tenderness and a touch of mischief. Pockwang is more sarcastically deadpan and Domingo shows her amazing versatility and endless array of expressions; they are funny and never farcical. Moreover, said chemistry can be extended to their nemesis and perfect sidekick Isidro (the trio also features together in Lana's other 2023 work “Ten Little Mistresses”). “Becky & Badette” is also punctuated by many stellar cameos from Filipino celebrities, some of them playing themselves, like director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, musician Ice Seguerra, singer Moira Dela Torre, and a hilarious one by young star and Lana's and Intalan's regular collaborator Christian Bables, who plays against type in the role of Moira's spiteful assistant, humiliating Becky shamelessly. All the aspects of the production complement and support the mood of the film; bright colors, extravagant costumes and makeup, and, last but not least, the score, featuring catchy dance tunes like “Finggah Lickin”, “Working Girl” and “Babawi Kami”, in the flamboyant cabaret-style finale.
To conclude, “Becky & Badette” is an utterly enjoyable extravaganza, a funny, and rather sharp commentary on ingrained prejudices and stereotypes.
