Jeffrey Jeturian in a different light

When the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) was still called the Film Ratings Board, one movie company that regularly submitted films for review in the hope of getting a tax rebate was Seiko Films.

I don’t recall Seiko Films getting a B rating (and most certainly not an A) – unless it happened before I sat in the board. The fact that its films never merited a rating from us that time shouldn’t be surprising. I know that we should never judge movies by their titles, but what did you expect from something called Hiwa? Or it was Tatlong Hiwa? Sampung Hiwa? It was so forgettable, I don’t care to remember how many Hiwa there was. But I do recall that this Hiwa was worth cutting up to pieces – and most film reviewers did just that.

Then, during the 2003 Metro Film Festival, Seiko Films finally found that one director who finally gave the movie company its first B – Jeffrey Jeturian who came up with the really hilarious and intelligent Bridal Shower.

If you must know, Bridal Shower is one of my favorite local comedies of all time and Jeffrey Jeturian is an even bigger favorite. I won’t be ashamed to admit that I am a certified Jeffrey Jeturian fan and I have always sung hosannas to his films: Sana Pag-ibig Na, Pila-Balde, Tuhog and to a certain extent, Minsan Pa.

What I like about Jeturian is the fact that he always goes the extra mile to give something new, something fresh to local moviegoers. This only shows that he has so much respect for the Filipino audience and I hope that the future generation that would be handling the various award-giving bodies 30 or 40 years from now would remember this when it’s time to give him a lifetime achievement award.

Unfortunately, I don’t think he will be given an award (a citation, he’ll get one for sure – or if he gets lucky, a nomination) for latest work, Bikini Open.

A lot of you I am sure have seen it and for those who haven’t, you probably already know that this movie is about the lives of the contestants in these swimsuit contests for men and women that are now dime a dozen.

In terms of quality, Bikini Open – for sure – is a film several notches higher than most other local movies. The film, in fact, was given a B grade by the Cinema Evaluation Board.

During the CEB discussion, it was pointed out that the film rightfully deserves its B grade if only for the fact that it dares tackle some social issues. One pertains to media’s exploitative ways (ouch!) – and I do fully agree with that. Media has really gone way beyond acceptable limits – all in the guise of "investigative journalism."

For a jaded media practitioner like me, maybe I should be reminded from time to time "to keep my sense of decency" when practicing my profession – and I truly appreciate that reminder from Jeturian and Bikini Open scriptwriter Chris Martinez.

The public, in turn, also need to know their rights and uphold them – the way Dexter Doria does in the movie.

Being a movie about a beauty contest, Bikini Open, of course, also touches on the issues about the proliferation of such competitions and the inside stories in these pageants. Too bad, some of these pieces of inside information had already been made public before – like the way some scheming contestants would hide the shoes, the clothes and accessories of their competitors. Although those bits and pieces are already public knowledge, the inclusion of these ill practices in the story are still appreciated because those happen in real life and I like my movies to mirror the truth.

The trouble is, I wish all these issues had been presented in a more humorous manner because Bikini Open is a comedy – a satire actually. It’s just sad that there aren’t that many funny moments in Bikini Open, and this comes as a disappointment because you tend to compare this to Jeturian’s other comedy, Bridal Shower.

The ending of Bikini Open, of course, is something else – the one part that I truly enjoy in the entire film. Sorry, I can’t discuss that lengthily because I don’t want to spoil the fun for those who haven’t seen the movie. But I swear it is funny. It’s black comedy at its blackest.

I could only wish there were some more hilarious moments like that scattered in the film, but quite disappointingly, these are lacking in Bikini Open. And this is so frustrating because the topic is a rich source of material for comedy and – for heaven’s sake – this is a film by the Jeffrey Jeturian.

My Jeffrey Jeturian!

As the moviegoers leave the cinema, the voyeurs or perhaps the sexually-deprived among us may cry "Harang!" because Bikini Open is not an exploitative film that exposes a lot of bare flesh unnecessarily (again to the credit of Jeturian, who is obviously a responsible filmmaker).

Fans of Jeffrey Jeturian, however, surely would be mumbling something else. Under their breath, I won’t surprised if they collectively sigh, "Sayang!"