Sisterakas (2012) - Vice Ganda, Ai-Ai de las Alas, Kris Aquino

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Main Cast: Ai-Ai de las Alas, Kris Aquino, Vice Ganda
Supporting Cast: Daniel Matsunaga, Daniel Padilla, DJ Durano, Kathryn Bernardo, Tirso Cruz III, Xyriel Manabat
Director: Wenn V. Deramas
Genre: Comedy

Synopsis: Feuding half siblings reunite when a down-on-her-luck socialite is hire by her successful half-brother to be his assistant. He resolves to torment her, but the two are forced to work together to overcome a powerful rival.

Sisterakas is very much a movie of the now, and only of the now. While some films strive to be timeless, or at least to offer future generations a powerful vision of the present, Sisterakas only aims to exist in a very narrow timeframe, its humor derived entirely from references that will be all but forgotten a few months from now. From this shaky foundation, the film delivers a half-hearted plot with questionable execution. The talent of the cast is palpable, but there’s little else going on.

The story has a few intriguing elements, but little is made of them. Plot threads are left dangling and everything is resolved a little too quickly. The direction is speedy, but there are quite a few technical hiccups. Most noticeable of these hiccups is the variable aspect ratio. The movie freely switches between having black bars on the sides and not, often in the same scene. It’s an egregious mistake, especially for a major studio release. If even the cheapest and the most amateurish of our movies can get this right, why can’t this one?

The answer will likely stem from the nature of the movie itself, and the festival it is part of. Sisterakas was likely rushed into existence, and so technical mistakes are made, and the script had to be cobbled together in an unreasonable time frame. Thus, we get the switching aspect ratio and the lazy jokes based on the stars of the picture. It only strives to exist during the festival duration, drawing in audiences with its combination of stars, the entire endeavor meant to be forgotten as regular life returns.