Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha Cinemalaya Review

Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha knows that it has an icon in its roster and makes the most out of her surely expensive talent fee in the worst way.

The movie prefers to mine whatever joke it can find instead of delivering a coherent narrative, a compelling story, and relatable characters. The script is distracted by running gags and comedic subplots. And when it finally remembers that it has a talented actress in its cast, her story is injected to make more gags.

In one sequence that takes a jab at millennials – Cora loses a job to a random girl after becoming viral on YouTube and instantly gets a career with the possibility of becoming an investigative reporter. 

We don’t know why her family can’t stay in one place – she simply has restless kids and a philandering husband. She’s good in anything that she puts her mind on – whether it’s being a reporter or a businesswoman – but for some reason, she can’t keep her family together.

What we do know is that the movie has two comic relief – a boy-crazy maid and her devious but likable uncle – and prefers to make jokes at their expense.

The cast is game in whatever the script makes them do, but they all have one-dimensional characters.

The result is an episodic the-madam-and-her-maid sitcom rather than a movie.

In one scene, Cora tells her story to Bebang in their first drinking session, but the movie simply recycles their gestures in a fast-tracked loop with chipmunk voices so we don’t have a clue what they talked about. Likewise, the movie leans on the interactions of Cora with other comic relief characters, while the main narrative remains in the background and never fully explored.

Towards the end, it stages an overlong dramatic scene and Sharon Cuneta does the best she can. Unfortunately, it’s hard to care for her plight because the movie doesn’t give us any compelling reason. Even when Cora has finally come to accept the things she can’t control, the pay-off isn’t earned enough to celebrate with her.

There is an interesting Filipino story here. How some are pushed to believe urban legends out of desperation. How families don’t always stay together and they don’t have to.

The silly premise also had potential had it not tried too hard to be a crowdpleaser. One can draw a parallel between Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha and Cora’s own broken family.

Unfortunately, the movie commits the same problem that cash grab mainstream films do – milk the popularity of its actors and use the lowest common denominator. It’s especially disappointing considering its a Cinemalaya entry.

Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha would appeal to the Sharon Cuneta fans, but even then, those who want to see a compelling role worthy of their idol will find nothing here.