Ryan, the borta guy from Episode 1 (“Best Hook Up Ever”), won’t appear again on “Hanging Out.” Pretty sure the character said goodbye for good when he tapped out of his date’s birthday party and refused to eat the handa.
The strength of the web series, the first of its kind to carry the gay theme in the Philippines, connects to that bit. The show is interesting because, off all the characters on the five episodes so far, all but Ryan can come up again later on—and anybody can practically end up with anybody.
“Hanging Out,” produced by TEAM magazine and co-presented by gay social app Blued, is a departure from the tired plots of many gay-themed productions. Out there is an oversaturation of stories dealing with first encounters and coming to terms, fears of outing and infidelity. This series is not of dilemmas and sob stories—at least not yet. This is a “post-out” story. None of the main gay characters are hiding in the closet.
This series is not of dilemmas and sob stories-at least not yet. This is a “post-out” story. None of the main gay characters are hiding in the closet
The series begins with twentysomething David (Paulito Del Mundo) unintentionally crashing the birthday party of Adrian (Jox Gonzales) because his Grindr hookup gave him the wrong address. The confusion begins a new barkada relationship with a slightly older bunch—Adrian; straight guy Fidel (JP Mercado); promdi gay guy Kiko (Albert Saspa); comic Jessie (Eboy Fernandez); and babaeng-bakla Misha (Sheena Ramos). Over the episodes, you’ll see manly men seeking same-sex orgies, a f__k buddy and, well, the undying pursuit of true love.
Yep, it’s a complicated world nowadays, and we know this because the production team took inspiration from a focus group discussion and real-life people. In that team are director Petersen Vargas of Cinema One Originals Film Festival best picture winner “2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten,” and screenwriters Wanggo Gallaga and Patrick Valencia.
With indie music for reinforcement (Juan Miguel Severo, famous for spoken word, has a song featured in one of the episodes. Also listen to “Sea of Trees” by The Incredible Truth if you want to feel broken.), the web series forces you to reflect on the millennial life.
The tendency for oversexed humor—Jessie’s “[To Misha] Ipakita mo t_t_ mo.”—and bursts of intellect—Misha’s “I’m single kasi hindi ko kailangan ng relationship para ma-validate ang sarili ko.”—are spot on. Fidel is sick with quarter-life crisis. Kiko is defined by a unique quirk, which all millennials want to have. Jessie is very “relationship-oriented.” Many details make you think you’re looking in the mirror.
More importantly, the series weaves important issues and cultural aspects into the narrative. Episode 4 (“Coming Close”) touches on HIV. In the fifth episode, they discussed the difference between being transgender and cross-dressing (there is a difference). David is not your “obvious” gay guy. He has a friend who has to act manly just to attract guys. That friend mentioned “alter” and I’m still asking around what that and at least three other terms mean. And, who knew nightcaps and after-parties were a thing?
Everything happening onscreen, subtle and otherwise, induce speculation. It was so clear in the beginning that the mistaken Grindr address was fate’s way of saying David was meant for Adrian. After five of six episodes in Season 1, though, no one has fallen in love yet.
