'Show Me the Manny'

Film review: Wapakman

Solar Films’ Wapakman is Manny Pacquiao’s foray into true-value family entertainment, with the world-renowned boxer playing a down and out sewerage-disposal Everyman who turns superhero, and only wants to do good, provide for his family, and make his children proud of him. A Metro Manila Film Festival entry, Topel Lee directs, and while it may be considered something of a departure from the suspense/horror genre he has built his reputation on, I for one, was impressed and amused by the trailers that had been running for the movie since it appeared on our screens a few months back. It displayed off-the-wall humor, stark imagery, and augured well for Topel’s handling of the material.

At the premiere of the movie, Solar boss Wilson Tieng made mention of the fact that some of the latter reels still had to undergo some SFX cleaning and post-prod work; but the winsome charm of the film shone through. As mentioned, Manny is one of a team of poso-negro specialists, and in campy style, the team of four (Manny, Benjie Paras, Onyok Velasco and Long Mejia) are presented to us in Ghostbusters style. With his wife (Rufa Mae Quinto) working in Italy and finding an Italian boyfriend, Manny’s mild-mannered, bespectacled character is in charge of his family of four children, and even adopts one of the kids from the neighborhood. Conflict and villain presence is provided by mad scientists Jojo Alejar and Mura (who’s terrific in the film) and a secret formula, Walo-Walo, that accelerates the growth and powers of those who make contact with the mysterious liquid.

To be perfectly frank, I was even more impressed with how Topel made Manny tackle the role of downtrodden “paterfamilias” — basically playing himself and “underacting,” in these scenes, Manny displayed humor and a childlike enthusiasm that truly worked. In superhero mode, the SFX took over and while some battles went on for too long to my liking, there was the anticipation of how Manny would slip back to Everyman and win the audience over. The villains play it over the top and this was consistent with the comic strip quality of the movie. At times, it reminded me of Will Smith’s Hancock, the reluctant superhero, coping with his newfound powers while struggling with ordinary life. In Wapakman, these scenes had to do with balancing parenting (being a single father) with low self-esteem and a menial job. Scenes like when Manny had to go to his son’s school for a show-and-tell of how Dads are “superheroes,” and the daily routine he had for preparing the children for school, were standouts.

Topel’s idiosyncratic humor and touch comes through as ”throwaways,” at times operating outside the main plotline. I loved one scene where as the camera pans the simple neighborhood where Manny’s character lives, we see two people sparring, and as they go off-cam, we just hear the sound of a truly solid punch and something flying in the air! The scene where Manny is made to discover and experiment with his newfound powers is also played for laughs and display how Topel does have an assured feel for comedy, visual puns and jokes. While Manny is now more comfortable with his time in front of the camera, it’s good to see him aware of his limitations and there are no big dramatic scenes that he has to carry on his own, it’s more moments and quick vignettes, and he holds his own.

There seems to be something of a rushed quality to the film, and I suspect this may have to do with how Manny’s schedule and availability must be a nightmare to deal with, how the film had to fit around his training and bouts, TV series, endorsement deliverables, and personal appearances — but given all this, there is a shaggy-dog lovability to the film. It may not cop trophies come MMFF Awards Night, but it is smartly calibrated to provide solid family entertainment.