A ‘Kool’ encounter

Ad-libbing is usually done in sitcoms when an actor forgets his lines. The trend in most comedy shows today, however, is for a cast member to ad-lib something about the personal circumstances or love interest of a co-actor. This clicks well with most viewers who love showbiz fodder.

In Kool Ka Lang last Tuesday night, TV audiences saw the mother of all ad-libs when the program, starring Joey Marquez, invited as special guest Phillip Salvador, who as the entire nation knows, is the ex of Kris Aquino who is now the flame of the Parañaque mayor.

Of course, the episode followed a basic plot but with Phillip Salvador and Joey Marquez in one show, the program was wide open to all sorts of ad-libs that came flying from all directions.

The program, in fact, opened with a spoof of that much-talked about Star Olympics incident that started in the hardcourt but may end up in the Court of Appeals or even the Supreme Court (pero OA na ‘yun!).

But the basic framework of that episode was about an old sword – okay a kris – that was stolen from Phillip and was sold for P1000 to Joey. Now, Phillip wants his kris (or should that be with a capital K?) back, but Joey won’t give it to him. "Akin siya," Phillip tells Joey. "Akin na siya ngayon," Joey shoots back.

From the beginning – when that kris entered the scene – all the dialogues were already open to ad-libs. (But some of the lines – although sounding like ad-libs – I suppose were already part of the original script provided by the show’s writers.)

Looking at his new acquisition (the kris, but what else?), Joey comments: "Ang ganda-ganda ng kris na ito, ah! Wala bang kapatid ‘to?" This prompts the one who sells him the Kris to say, "Mayroong kapatid ‘yan, pero galit sa ‘yo!"

The Kris-Phillip-Joey triangle also segued into a side issue – the supposed romance between Jackie Forster and Joey Marquez (again?!) brought up by no less than Jackie’s ex-husband, Benjie Paras, who is also a mainstay of Kool Ka Lang. That they were able to take up these personal matters themselves – and as sitcom jokes at that – was something that came as a mild shock even to a jaded writer like this one.

Later in the show, Phillip Salvador came up with another personal joke when he offered Joey Marquez a bird’s nest (Ness, okay?) in exchange for Kris, er, that old kris that they were fighting over.

In the end, they engage in a duel – until they realize that the kris had been stolen by somebody else. (Is this a foreboding of the things to come? But by whom? Surely, this is an exciting prospect for movie talk shows and tabloids.)

And before the show finally called it a wrap, Phillip and Joey offered a toast to their friendship – but with Benjie Paras, Raymart Santiago and Jomari Yllana asking questions about, well, Kris Aquino. For a while, I felt threatened there – especially since actors are now taking over showbiz talk shows.

All in all, the whole episode with Phillip Salvador was a ball. (I said ball, not Ballsy.) That was to be expected of Kool Ka Lang which – even from its early years – has always been riotously funny, crazy and hopelessly irreverent. What more now that they had a goldmine (Phillip Salvador and his full cooperation in this case) in their hands?

Sure, there was no moral lesson to it all. (Kool Ka Lang never really had any pretension about being morally upright.) But viewers who just wanted to have a good laugh definitely had a good time. And I bet even Alma Moreno laughed her head off over this one.