The Bad Bananas are better than ever

They have mellowed like aged wine. I mean, Christopher "Boyet" de Leon, Edgar "Bobot" Mortiz and Johnny Delgado, collectively known as Bad Bananas (minus the late Jay Ilagan), who are thrown together again in the GMA sitcom All Together Now which is into its third season.

Johnny plays Mamboy, owner of a boarding house in Malate, Boyet plays Blue/Tong who’s forever at odds with Mamboy (jack-of-all-trades, master of none and a sports buff wannabe), while Bobot plays Edgie, dad of Tetet (Angel Locsin), owner of Laff-Laffan Bar and a boarder of Mamboy. Blue, also a boarder of Mamboy, his cousin, is Edgie‘s best friend; he’s happy-go-lucky, forever a bachelor.

Directed by Al Quinn, All Together Now airs Tuesday nights at 9:30 on GMA.

Here are Boyet, Bobot and Johnny, all together now:

• You’ve worked together in Bad Bananas. How has your relationship changed through the years?

Bobot: After Bad Bananas, Jay (Ilagan) and my career laid low, while Boyet‘s career zoomed up. It was difficult for us to be together because Boyet was busy. But we know that even if we seldom keep in touch, the care and concern for each other will always be there.

Boyet: We’ve grown because we have matured and we‘ve mellowed a lot. So there’s more respect for each other’s principles. We understand each other’s shortcomings and quirks better and there’s more acceptance and tolerance of each other as a person.

Johnny: It hasn’t changed. We still respect each other’s quirks. We still have this strong desire to want to do what is not yet done; to innovate and better our craft and do things that are different from the others. We’ve always been hungry for a "hole we could plug," to improve and better ourselves as actors in this business.

• Has your humor changed?

Bobot: Our humor has tamed a little because when we were still single, it bordered on the wild side. But now that we have a family, we’ve toned it down.

Boyet: Now that we’ve matured, we’ve also attacked our humor in a mature way. Like here in the sitcom, I play the elusive bachelor who cracks jokes targeted at audiences specific to my age bracket.

Johnny: The craziness has always been there. We try to avoid as much as possible slapstick and old jokes. If we have to rehash an old joke, we make sure that "iba ang palo." We try to make our jokes natural and irreverent.

• Your friendship with each other helps, of course. But being active members of a church group, how does this affect your brand of comedy?

Bobot: I belong to the Marikina Christian Fellowship. In a way it has affected our comedy because we try to instill values in the jokes we crack. We also try to set an example by veering away with sexist jokes. We just stick to what is natural in a real life situation and just play for truth. Meaning, when a talent gets hit on the head, he/she no longer has to act it (cross-eyed, exaggerated reactions..etc..) but just "play for truth."

Boyet: As a member of Oasis of Love, there is now more a sense of responsibility in delivering and handling humor. I impose self-censorship and make sure that I am comfortable with the role I play. One time, my friend saw an episode of the sitcom and he told me that the character I play is just like who I am in real life...that I joke around with girls but know where to draw the line.

Johnny: I belong to the Marian Movement of Priests but my spirituality or religion doesn’t have to be against the kind of humor we have. For as long as we don’t border on jokes that are meant to ridicule or put other people down, I guess we’re doing okay. We make sure that our humor is fun.

• Best memories of Bad Bananas?

Bobot: The best time for me was when we went to the States as a group for the first time. Jay was still alive then. Both Jay and myself were suffering a slump in our career. And we didn’t have money that time. What we did was bring Boyet‘s Banaue film at yon ang pinalabas namin. Then we had a show. For two months, we went around the States and Canada. Whenever people would see and recognize us in the streets and they would invite us for lunch or dinner, go kami para libre! That was how we survived.

Boyet: It was when we toured all over the States and parts of Canada. Jay was still with us. We called ourselves that time The Lonely Hearts Club Band because we all just had gotten out of a relationship. Me kay Nora; Bobot from Vi; Jay from Laura and Johnny from, secret! Bobot liked to keep to himself and even got a room for himself. So at night, we would go to his room and emote kami dun. We even fomed a basketball team, the FPJ Basketball team. Then we played in the PBL and used Bad Bananas as name of our team.

Johnny: The best memories of Bad Bananas are unprintable (laughs out loud). But what makes this group strong is our ability to look to the future with fervor and to have the energy to move ahead. The same spirit we had when we were just starting out in this business.

• How is your camaraderie with the younger generation on the set of All Together Now?

Bobot: The bagets are very open to us. They talk about family, boyfriends/girlfriends, crushes etc. We treat them like our own children. When we see them na nagpapa-cute, alam na namin kaagad yon so alaskado sila.

Boyet: I have kids so I treat them the way I treat my kids. They sometimes ask for advice which we try to dispense. We also help them in their performance...pag medyo kulang, we tell them where to improve.

Johnny: They call me Daddy on the set. There’s communication between us, which is good, because we know that whatever generation gap we have, is being bridged.

• Comment on each other

Bobot

On Boyet: he’s like a brother and we share a deep feeling for each other. As an actor, he was one of the actors who enlightened me in my craft. If you were to ask me who are the 10 best actors in Philippine Cinema then and now, Boyet will be in my list. I’ve learned so much from him.

On Johnny: he is a very reliable friend, whose care and concern can be felt even if you don’t see each other often. He tries to know what’s happening not only with you but the whole family as well.

Boyet

On Bobot: he is a very dear friend, more like a brother. I never had a brother. The brother I had passed away. I have four sisters so I longed to have a brother which I found in Bobot, Johnny and Jay. Beneath his huge exterior is also a big heart, whose family is first and foremost. I most especially appreciate his effort to be the creative consultant of the group.

On Johnny: Like Bobot, I treat Johnny as an older brother. I admire him as an actor who never tires to better his craft.

Johnny

On Bobot: I love him! Bobot is very generous. Although as an actor, he sometimes plays it safe so he’d rather do comedy than drama.

On Boyet: Also very generous of his time with friends and family. As an actor, I admire him for trying to get away from his comfort zone. He’s still alive as an actor.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected])