MEDIUM RARE
Certain days and hours of the week are set aside for senior citizens to enjoy movies free, minus the popcorn. It was an aha! moment when the producers of Monday First Screening, a movie about second chances for senior citizens, struck gold with their first wide-screen obra. Last we heard, the movie starring Ricky Davao and Gina Alajar, both seniors in real life, had shot up to No. 2 of Netflix Philippines’ most watched movies.
Word-of-mouth advertising? Family values at last getting their just due from an audience who need a break from “the usual” formulas? In my family, it was two of my four children who pointed out the movie to me. A pity it did not make it to the Metro Manila Film Festival. According to an insider, Net25 Films owned by the same religious group that operates Net25 Agila TV, they don’t need or want off-color jokes, slapstick that gets sick and sicker, themes like adultery and pornography. Why, if you’ve been invited to appear on their shows, you’re reminded to wear the proper clothes, i.e., nothing scandalously skin-baring.
Although I cannot imagine senior citizens wearing seductive clothes and acting in “intimate” scenes that leave nothing to the imagination, Monday First Screening proves so delightfully that with everything in its proper place, a GP (general patronage) rating can be as attractive a come-on as “for adults only.”
The success of the movie is due to a linear, clear-cut story line, realistic dialogue, and acting by a pair of actors who can anticipate each other’s every move, gesture, and sentence. The result? An audience who empathizes with the jokes, the fun, the plot and characters. Who but the Ricky-Gina tandem could bring the screen to life with their antics, with such ease and convincing power?
As Congressman Ompong Ordanes whose party-list represents senior citizens will tell you, they represent a potent force (of about 10 percent of the population) who continue to be ready, able and willing to contribute to the nation’s natural and economic resources. Knowing the congressman’s political affinity with his constituents, seniors may expect a work-in-progress sked that will result in one or two more privileges for seniors. By the way, Cong Ompong, have you watched Monday First Screening?