Joey’s approach to life

MANILA, Philippines - There is no doubt that Joey de Leon has every right to be called a legend. Having done 60 shows in his 40-plus years on TV could also attest to how his gift of gab indubitably works with all types of audience.

And to this day, Joey never fails to elicit laughter whenever he delivers comedic lines onscreen or speaks his mind out as Ang Poet N’yo in his Sunday column Me, Starzan in this paper’s Entertainment section. Even his approach to life, which he shortens into the four-letter word TITE, tickles the mind and triggers curiosity. But before anyone starts to think naughty, according to Joey, TITE stands for Trabaho, Ipon, Travel, Enjoy.

“That’s how I see life, we all need to take a break from working hard,” Joey says. “I always tell everyone in Eat, Bulaga like Allan K, Ryan (Agoncillo) and everybody that they should find time to relax, to travel to break the monotony so when they come back, they feel refreshed and more inspired to work. Even during a TV show, there’s a gap (that says) we will be right back after a short break. There has to be an ice breaker kumbaga. So for me, trabaho then ipon, travel and enjoy.”

Traveling, he says, also serves as a source of new ideas for him to offer a fresh take on comedy. It’s a no-no to stick to the conventional or routine approach especially in these fast-changing times. “We have to follow the trend and as much as possible we come up with a new trend. That’s why I never stop writing, too, because that’s where the ideas come out. Traveling is the best way to find out what’s new in the world then I’ll share it in my column like the biggest ferris wheel can be found in Las Vegas. Meron na ding mga ATM ng mga cupcakes. ‘Yung mga bagong nakikita mo kinokomedi naman pagdating sa TV.”

In his writing, Joey is able to coin words that stir funny thoughts. He either reads them backwards or derives another meaning from them. If you read his columns, there you will find various words that will make you smile and say, “Oo nga ano.” One example is lakbay which means travel. According to him, lakbay is a combination of eating and buying. How so? Lak is short for eat or laklak in the vernacular and bay rhymes with buy (or to shop) so there, lakbay means to eat and shop.

On TV, his comedic flair is evident in Wow, Mali and Eat, Bulaga both still running strong for 18 years and 30-plus years, respectively. “On Eat, Bulaga, our style has evolved unlike before when Vic (Sotto) or Tito (Sotto) and I used to plan our routine. Now, it’s more on issues through conversations nakakapagpatawa na at marami na kami andyan sila Allan K, Jose (Manalo) pati si Ryzza (Mae Dizon) barangayan na.”

And though new formats seem to pop up in a blink of an eye, sitcoms are still “in” these days. Starting tonight at 9, televiewers will see Joey play former OFW daddy Jerry “DJ” Silang on TV5’s latest offering One of the Boys that also topbills Eula Caballero and the boys of Juan Direction. Eula will portray Joey’s daughter Gabi who grew up in the company of boys while the Fil-Brit hunks Juan Direction — Dan Marsh, Michael McDonell, Brian Wilson, Charlie Sutcliffe and Henry Edwards — are the spoiled brats who were sent to the Philippines by their parents to undergo “DJ’s lecture of life.”

It has been 14 years since Joey was last seen in a sitcom (with Rayver Cruz) titled Kiss Muna. He had refrained from accepting projects in the same format because sitcoms, he reasons, eat a lot of time. “Ayoko sana ng sitcom because it takes long hours to finish compared to my other shows like Wow Mali na one or two hours (of working) per episode, okay na. But here (One of the Boys) about 10 hours parang time flies fast probably because I also miss doing a sitcom.”

Asked what made him decide to accept the offer, Joey quips, “I’m the hero of Channel 5. My first TV show was a talk show called Stay Awake with Jimmy Santos which was produced by Danee Samonte.”

As a writer himself, the comedian can’t help but have a hand in the script, “Even in movies, I either co-direct or co-write the story. There were times when I wrote the whole script. Sometimes, you just need to change to be updated dapat mabilis ka magpalit.”

Joey said that he would like to be known more as a writer. “Malikot ang imagination ko. I don’t drive to and from work so I get to read all the signs on the street and I keep on writing. I want to be known more as a writer than an actor because every actor can now be a comedian. I admire comedians who can write, that way you’ll know that they can really make you laugh. Meron kasing mukha o pangalan lang nila ang nakakatawa.”

Being an old hand on TV, is he concerned about the ratings game?

“I believe that with the advent of the remote control, no one could ever exactly tell that a show is rating well unless the show is Pacman’s fight or the NBA championship game where you expect the audience to tune in from beginning until the end, so magre-rate talaga. But now even the social media is involved in the ratings na kahit gaano kaliit ang show libo-libo agad. So I’m not that concerned about ratings. But once the producer says that the show must end, then that’s the only time I will believe the show is no longer doing well.” 

(One of the Boys, directed by Robert Quebral, also stars Nadine Samonte, Empoy Marquez and Benjo Leoncio.)