by Eleo Billet
The penultimate movie to star Filipina-American actress BB Gandanghari, this adaptation of Carlo Vergara's cult graphic novel delivers a queer and utterly entertaining spectacle of grand gesture of love and self-acceptance.
Ada is a Pinoy transgender woman who works as a beautician with her assistant Didi, another trans woman, in a small country town. Even though the former is the guardian of her niece Aruba, she does not feel fulfilled since she longs for acceptance as a woman in the capital. Didi regularly fantasizes about Dodong, the handsome man next door. Meanwhile, Ada always gets rejected by her greedy partners.
Just as Ada is desperate to find love, she is hit on the head by a strange pink meteorite. Ada, confused despite the encouragement of Didi and Aruba, swallows it and then utters the word inscribed on it: “Zaturnah”. She then turns into a voluptuous redheaded cisgender woman before discovering that she now possesses superpowers which she hastens to test with her friend. By chance, her first heroic act is to save Dodong from an assault by armed crooks. However, Ada decides to hide her identity and becomes close to him in the guise of her persona Zsazsa Zaturnah.
But a new threat is approaching Earth: The Amazonistas' spaceship from Planet XXX, who are powerful young women. Led by Queen Feminah Suarestellar Baroux, their misandrist ideology is to turn all men into pigs. Hence, the superheroine will fight a frog, zombies, and vengeful aliens. But most of all, she will be forced to learn about herself to determine whether she is Ada or Zaturnah at heart.
Between songs that are ridiculous in their contrast with the seriousness of the situations and laugh-out-loud one-liners that are camp even when they fall flat, it is hard to resist the charm of the film and its colorful characters. They sing their hearts out, Zsazsa Zaturnah looks straight out of the comics, one of the antagonists is a giant frog in low-budget special effects, and the women from another planet are a mix of Circe and cartoon villains in sexy outfits. The pace may be rambling, but the final message of grand gestures of self-love is splendidly delivered.
The most striking in that regard is Ada's path to self-acceptance. Even if Ada and Didi are regularly made fun of by themselves and the movie, it is always for their decisions and artificial attitudes – never because they are trans women. Therefore Ada/Zaturnah's journey is highly emotional in that we get a glimpse into her difficult childhood. Her father beat her because she was a trans child, something many queer people know about. Since then, she has tried reconciling with her father and herself, as she discovers her new persona. One possible interpretation of these conflicts would be that they serve as a metaphor for body changes through hormones. Also, it is not because of her father or a love interest that she realizes her worth, but by fighting transmisogyny and misandry with her friends. Even more subversive and impacting is her being a flamboyant gay man in the original comics but a feminine trans woman in the movie.
As a character-driven musical comedy, “Zsazsa Zaturnah” had a prerequisite to featuring a cast of talented singers and veteran comedians. In that regard, it is a success. Late comedian Chokoleit is excellent as the encouraging friend of the heroine who pushes her to shake things up with wit. BB Gandanghari, who plays Ada's part, and Zsa Zsa Padilla, whose name inspired the very character she plays, both give outstanding performances despite some false notes. BB Gandanghari's acting is all the more compelling, as the actress came out as a trans woman a few years later. Regarding the main villain, star Pops Fernandez composes the role with visible delight and delivers her line in such a commanding way that she more than once steals the screen.
Vincent de Jesus, the compositor and lyricist of the eponymous famous stage musical, returns for the motion picture with praised songs about love and loss. The choreographies are indeed catchy, and the characters, as well as the extras, give life to the community of this small Philippine town. Moreover, award-winning movie director Joel C. Lamangan alternates efficiently between confrontations scenes, static shots of verbal sparring, and quirky music videos.
The positives apart, the film is far less polished in its settings and photography between poorly adjusted lights and a budget too low to offer funny but also convincing action scenes.
A Pinoy musical superhero comedy that bends with horror and science-fiction, “Zsazsa Zaturnah Ze Moveeh” entertains its public beyond national borders with camp and glitter. With its well-earned cult status, it only needs more reappraisal to become a classic as a terrific launch pad to enter the universe of Filipino movies.
