There has been no shortage of comedic talents in our landscape, those who have the fast wits and the funny faces who always put in their minds that their sole purpose is to make people laugh. Many of them have come and gone, the likes of Chiquito, Babalu, Panchito, Cachupoy, the legendary Pugo and Tugo, Balot, Tange, Bayani Casimiro, Teroy de Guzman, Rene Requiestas and others who in one time or another made us roll up with laughter and forget the troubles of the times. Still, many are still here, Redford White, TVJ with Eat Bulaga and their comedic brood, Andrew E., Michael V and the new kind of comedy that they bring.
But of course, no one can claim the crown of King of Comedy from that nonpareil and evergreen Pinoy comedic giant, Dolphy. He has become the barometer, a masterpiece and living legend. Who can forget the characters that he made famous and exhibited, we remember the gay Dolphy in Facifica Falayfay, Pepita Popongay and Jack & Jill, but we most remember and adore him more for that quintessential embodiment of Pinoy everyman, John Puruntong and for the younger generation, Kevin Cosme.
Pinoy humor and comedians will always be here, watch the news and you'll see. Think hard of what our great leaders are saying and you'll understand what I mean…
If comedians are the sidekicks, can the kick-ass action heroes be far behind? Yes, they may not be Schwarzenegger, Willis or Stallone but they surely killed, maimed, exploded and kissed many beautiful women which we cannot count with our fingers. I'm talking about the Pinoy action films and their place in our machismo laced society. Those with two guns blazing under the hot sun complete with the leather jacket and a smoking cigarette coolly annihilating bad guys with efficiency. Cold blooded and hot in bed, the Pinoy action stars are truly so damn blessed.
Consider this premise, our hero tills the land he inherited from his ancestors, the bad guys with the guns, goons and gold will try to get all his possessions including his beautiful wife. He will try to leave it all up to fate and God but in the course of his penitence, his real self that he tried to cover up will rise up from the ashes like the proverbial Phoenix. In the case of our action films, our hero is and will always be a former decorated policeman, an ex-rebel or a war veteran experienced in the art of killing, he takes revenge and all hell breaks loose. In the end, like a battle scarred cowboy in the Old West, he walks off into the sunset.
Our action films do not try to be pretentious; the plot is always simple and is driven by the macho image of Rudy Fernandez, Bong Revilla, Ronnie Ricketts, Philip Salvador, Robin Padilla and other Pinoy action heroes. Their purpose is easy, to kick ass and entertain the public with their pinoy brand, good vs. evil action adventure. I think they have succeeded in sating the fantasies of many a Filipino action fan throughout the years. We have cowboy-themed, police-themed, military-themed, gang-fraternity-themed, outlaw-themed, agimat-themed, fantasy adventure-themed, hell, even gay-themed action movies! We have it in all sizes and shapes, the action heroes are also interesting to watch.
We have seen the matons, astigs, barumbados, black sheeps, suidical cops and others for heroes. But nothing can compare to the action villains, Paquito and Romy Diaz, Johnny Monteiro, Vic Diaz, and a host of others that made our viewing, what can I say, enjoyable. We adore the action films so much that we made one of their own our President because we see them as an extension of our fantasies and ambitions. What we cannot do in life, they do for us, albeit, only in the silver screen.
We cannot leave this topic without giving a salute to the late great Fernando Poe, Jr. FPJ created fantastical characters, meek ordinary human beings which when pushed to the wall metamorphose into a one-man army capable of annihilating hundreds, nay, thousands of bad guys, demons and mythical creatures. Da King's influence still reverberates in our movie industry, his untimely demise at a time when the industry was neither here or there certainly created additional problems. Throughout his career, he has shown a soft spot for the movie workers and an unflinching compassion for the movie going masses. He virtually reinvented the Filipino action genre and the Filipino action hero, from the sword wielding Flavio of Panday fame to the tough and committed cop Isagani Guerrero, he has fashioned movie heroes that are still being imitated and has influenced countless actors and ordinary people who at one time or another wished that they were him. A true blue Filipino icon, FPJ truly is the Man…
