Director Randolph Longjas’ “Ang Turkey Man Ay Pabo Rin” is a comical study of a Filipino-American couple trying to cope with one another’s cultural differences.
An entry to the Cine Filipino Film Festival last September, “Ang Turkey” is a “mockumentary” that focuses on couple Cookie (played by Tuesday Vargas) and Matthew Adams (Travis Kraft) whose love story is being documented by an online Fil-Am dating site that considers them the best way to promote interracial relationships. Both found love online.
Cookie is a single mother from a middle-class family who lives off deboning bangus (milk fish) to provide for her son; while Matthew, or Matchu, is your average Joe, whom Cookie thinks could take her to greener pastures.
As they go along, the couple meets oddball people in the Philippines and peculiar customs and habits inherent to Filipinos: karaoke music, superstitious in-laws, questionable immigration laws, unexpected pregnancies and rotating blackouts.
And soon the two start to talk about moving to the US and processing Cookie’s visa. But it seems Cookie has some reservations about these.
The film also stars Julia Clarete, Cai Cortez and JM De Guzman. The script is written by Allan Habon.
Familiar scenario
The conception of the story was just something out of the ordinary, Longjas said.
“We were in a mall when we were brainstorming for what our entry for Cine Filipino would be,” Longjas said. “Then we noticed a restaurant full of foreigners with Filipino women as their partners. We’ve come to realize that this type of setup is not a surprise to our culture anymore. In fact, it’s a familiar scenario in Filipino families. From there, we’ve agreed that we can explore this type of relationship through injecting a crash and burn humor of the two different cultures.”
Longjas said he wanted to reintroduce Fil-Am relationships in a fresh light.
“We wanted to offer a reality that we usually despise or laugh about,” he said. “This experimental comedy explores the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of two people on a universal love trip, which does not discriminate against color, stature, age or culture. It is a celebration of the Filipino experience in a foreigner’s perspective, and the realization of the American dream in a Filipino’s eyes.”
Ultimately, we shall find out in the film whether Cookie and Matchu’s love found its way despite their differences or eventually got lost in translation.
“Ang Turkey Man Ay Pabo Rin” will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting Dec. 18.