On the surface, The Gifted looks nothing more than just another slapstick comedy flick, but scratch that and you will find a brand of comedy whose capacity isn't limited at making you explode in laughs, but also one that's not bereft of life lessons to touch hearts.
There is no denying The Gifted's formula isn't new--it threads through the same tiring ugly-duckling-turns-beautiful-swan storyline--but here, Chris Martinez's ability to recreate and twist seemingly-overused plots, proves to push the genre past its own boundaries. The Gifted's dark comedy feels new and reinvented, and within its established limits, it aspires to achieve more, and succeeds. Martinez's creativity manifests on how he is able to drive the lead characters' potential above their limits.
There is no doubt this movie has Anne at its center, but to forget Cristine and Sam doesn't sound forgivable. While Anne manages to effectively portray the mean, classy and manipulative Zoe, Cristine proves to pull the both geeky and sympathetic Aica with utmost credibility. This movie also showcases a leveled-up Sam Milby, whose promdi and narrow-headed character (Mark Ferrer), never fails to amuse the audience whenever he delivers his lines in visayan accent.
In totality, it is easy to categorize The Giftedas another local comedy that aims to make us laugh--one that effectively make us roll in the floor laughing while we're inside the theater, but never leaves a smile in our lips once we're out. But make no fool of yourself by just judging the cover of the book, for the inside pages may have so much more to tell.This movie cruises through themes of jealousy, revenge, friendship, family and a lot more. My advice: never leave the theater once the end credits start to roll up, for you might miss the biggest surprise that this movie has to deliver. The Gifted is easily my no.1 local comedy of the year.
There is no denying The Gifted's formula isn't new--it threads through the same tiring ugly-duckling-turns-beautiful-swan storyline--but here, Chris Martinez's ability to recreate and twist seemingly-overused plots, proves to push the genre past its own boundaries. The Gifted's dark comedy feels new and reinvented, and within its established limits, it aspires to achieve more, and succeeds. Martinez's creativity manifests on how he is able to drive the lead characters' potential above their limits.
There is no doubt this movie has Anne at its center, but to forget Cristine and Sam doesn't sound forgivable. While Anne manages to effectively portray the mean, classy and manipulative Zoe, Cristine proves to pull the both geeky and sympathetic Aica with utmost credibility. This movie also showcases a leveled-up Sam Milby, whose promdi and narrow-headed character (Mark Ferrer), never fails to amuse the audience whenever he delivers his lines in visayan accent.
In totality, it is easy to categorize The Giftedas another local comedy that aims to make us laugh--one that effectively make us roll in the floor laughing while we're inside the theater, but never leaves a smile in our lips once we're out. But make no fool of yourself by just judging the cover of the book, for the inside pages may have so much more to tell.This movie cruises through themes of jealousy, revenge, friendship, family and a lot more. My advice: never leave the theater once the end credits start to roll up, for you might miss the biggest surprise that this movie has to deliver. The Gifted is easily my no.1 local comedy of the year.