Fruitcake

 

tags: comedy, Filipino movie, Netflix

⭐⭐⭐⭐
 

From IMDB

In modern-day Metro Manila, a diverse group of Filipinos faces life's lows as their destinies collide on a fateful train ride, unfolding a heartwarming and comedic tapestry of interconnected stories.

First time I watched a Filipino movie in 1 sitting. I usually stop the movie or series to decide if it is worthy of my time then I eventually abandon it. Filipino movies are always either dramedy romance or horror usually with subpar script and acting. 

Fruitcake is mostly comedy except for one character who got pregnant after a drunken night with her ugly co-worker. She wanted to abort the baby and asked her brother, a priest, for advice. Naturally the priest was against it and gave her the reasons why she shouldn't. And they were good reasons too without him being preachy. The movie bombed at the theaters. I knew why I liked it because Filipinos didn't.

The characters have indirect connection with each other except for the guy who wanted to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend. The movie will be funny only to Filipinos. Foreigners won't understand the jokes. Example: the guy who went to Manila to look for his ex-girlfriend has a piggery he runs with his mother. The sows have names of famous movie personalities with 1 or 2 letters altered but still recognizable as the celebrities they are named after. One of the pigs was sold by the mom so he can afford the trip to Manila from the province. It was later shown being roasted over live coals, a Filipino delicacy called Lechon. 

Photo by DUDE FOR FOOD

Spoilers

The characters who got on the same car of the train:

The country boy who travelled to Manila to reconnect with 

The ex-girlfriend, a mistress of

The married political candidate

The female train operator who got pregnant by

The obnoxious and ugly male security official at the train station

The YouTuber and stand-up comic who had a mental breakdown when he found out his younger brother skips classes. The younger brother is friends with 

The 22 year old college student who tried to buy weed for a girl but he himself doesn't do drugs. The weed turned out to be fake. It's dried taro leaves and the police told him to buy some coconut milk to make into laing. His part is one of the funniest scenes. He bought the fake weed from one of

The 2 male colleagues on a swimming team who kissed when they got high; one insists he is gay. They are on the train to protest the politician whose donated laptops to his constituents were defective.

The Instagram or TikTok addicted girlfriend of one of the 2 males who kissed.