Finally, we're on the third Filipino movie that I'll share this month, and since I've watched straight horror/thriller movies over the past days, I decided to try watching something else that's far from those genres. That's why, for today, I'm gonna share a comedy movie. Honestly, while I'm growing, there's no shortage of Filipino comedy movies that I've seen with my family. I think comedy films are the ones that dominated the cinemas when I was growing up, and even though I grew up with them, I failed to absorb the humor. Enough with the memory trip, come with me as we get to know the story of the brothers—I mean sisters who have a weird surname.
About the Movie
The Panti Sisters is a comedy and drama movie that was released way back in 2019. This is more than an hour and a half movie was directed by Jun Lana. So it started with the introduction of the oldest son among the Panti siblings—Gabrielle/Gabi. Ever since he was a child, Gabi had known he was gay; however, his father adamantly rejected the idea of having a gay son. The harsh treatment and cold rejection ultimately led him to leave their house for good.
Now to the next daughter, I mean son—Daniel/Dane Panti. Unlike his strong-willed older sibling, it took time for Dane to break free from the fear that shackled him from coming out. At first, he was in denial about his true identity; however, as he grew up, he realized that he was indeed gay, and so, like his sibling, he also left their house. And to complete them, Samuel Panti, who is the illegitimate son of the head of the Panti Family. Samuel is gay; however, he grew up away from his father, which made him long for his father's attention.
And when their fateful reunion happened, and with all the Panti siblings present, their father announced something. He will give them their huge inheritance, but of course, they need to fulfill his condition, which is to give him a grandchild. At first, they aren't convinced with the offer, but as soon as they realize how that inheritance could possibly change their lives—the Panti sisters are out for it. May it be by hook or by crook, they'll do everything to get their share of his fortune. Outrageous plans and desperate measures will be made, but unexpectedly—along the heat of their competition, they will unravel each other, thus forever changing the course of their lives.
The concept of this movie was really promising; however, I felt that it fell short in the execution of its whole story. The flow of the story was all nice at the start, but when things started to get to their climax—it somehow felt boring to me. Yes, it was definitely funny and I had some good laughs about their jokes and humor, but I do think with a more established storyline, it could have been better. Further, since they have unconventional characters with colorful backgrounds, this movie could have more impact on the viewers, but since it kinda felt short on the execution, the message also wasn't conveyed well.
Anyway, like I've mentioned, I had good laughs from it. Like the previous Filipino comedy movies that I've watched, it also has familiar Filipino humor in it, which is why it felt homely to me. Also, it's nice how this movie subtly tackled the importance of acceptance. It could have been more stressed out, but it's decent enough to tell us that a worth of person doesn't solely rest on the gender or sex. Honestly, our country, until now, is still not fully open to LGBTQIA+ communities. There are still judgments and stereotypes about them, and they're something that really hard to stomach sometimes.
It's sad because I do have friends who are part of that community, and I can say that they're far from what people visualize them to be. Yes, they're different and they can be odd sometimes—but not the kind of odd that's bad. They're just as unique as all of us are, and I think this movie somehow showed me how these people can be unique in their own ways. You just need to be open-minded, and believe me, once you get to know them, you'll enjoy their company. But if you really don't want to be with them, that's okay as long as you don't mess with them because believe me, they'll also not shy out from paying you back haha
Anyways, perhaps one of the parts that somehow felt uncomfortable for me were the vulgar scenes, which are also funny. They aren't explicitly showed all the times, but they're hard to miss because they're part of the funny scenes, which somehow cracked me up. I know the actors playing them, and I'm totally impressed with how they're able to portray their gay characters. Not all of them are gay—especially the one who played Daniel Panti. I often see him as the villain or in a very male character from other TV series, so I was quite shocked when I saw him portraying the very feminine Dane.
So overall, I enjoyed watching it and it undeniably made me laugh. With their familiar humor and interesting characters, this movie is somewhat fascinating. However, there are some jokes that I think wouldn't be fully understood if you're not from the Philippines, yet anyways, I still think it's worth a try. Finally, with all its flaws and nice stuff, I would rate my viewing experience a 7.5/10.
And before I end this review, I'll share with you its trailer, so—
Have you seen this movie already? Or is this your first time encountering it? If you have something to share about it, then please do comment them below. That's all for today, everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading my review.
Most of the pictures were screenshots from the movie while the first picture was edited in Canva.