The school in the Netflix film Kontrabida Academy should give Hogwarts a run for its money. The training it provides is more beneficial in the long run. It’s a survival training camp for the next generation of villains.
The academy boasts several illustrious graduates. Portraits of Cherie Gil, Bella Flores, and others proudly adorn the walls of its sacred hall of fame. The campus is littered with students of all ages, arguing and trying to get one over each other. It’s actually a send-off on Hogwarts, yet its curriculum is more engaging than a how-to on flying on a broomstick.
First graders, for instance, are taught how to insult the underprivileged. Older ones are trained to laugh big and triumphantly. They also attend a course on raising eyebrows with contempt, and hitting below the belt by insulting one’s physical shortcomings. Physical Education involves the art of slapping and hair pulling.
Faculty members are played by seasoned thespians including Celia Rodriguez, Jean Garcia, Gladys Reyes, Baron Geisler, and Rez Cortez, among others. They’ve all played our favorite villains on both the big screen and flat screen. They instill in their pupils the academy’s mantra: Kung walang kontrabida, walang bida!
Written and directed by Chris Martinez, the film actually tells the story of Gigi (played by Barbie Forteza). She’s an assistant manager in a Korean restaurant, but her career is going nowhere. She’s overworked and bullied by her boss (Jonathan Tadioan). Her personal life is also unpleasant. The boyfriend (Yasser Mata) cheats on her, and she’s forced to withdraw her savings to cover her mom’s enormous credit card bill.
Gigi is somewhat consoled when she wins the restaurant’s Christmas party raffle for the staff (held before Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday). The prize is a flat screen TV, and she finds solace whenever she watches it. Strangely, only one show is aired: a teleserye so typical it’s actually Cinderella set in a hacienda. Gigi empathizes with the show’s Cinderella, called Mirinisa (Ysabel Ortega), who gets slapped by the stepmother (Eugene Domingo) in every scene.
As every episode seems to be a repeat of the previous one, an exasperated Gigi shouts at the screen and tells the stepmother, “Go ahead, slap Mirinisa! She deserves it because she hasn’t done anything to stop her suffering.”
Astonishingly, the stepmother hears her. She responds to Gigi. Evil stepmother soon becomes Gigi’s evil fairy godmother. Gigi gets pulled into the flat screen and is introduced to a wonderland of teleseryes. She’s quickly convinced to enroll at Kontrabida Academy. The benefits of crossing to the dark side are enumerated. Bad guys are often driven to doing nefarious deeds because of the unfortunate situation they find themselves in. The education Gigi would receive can be used against the people who’ve caused her much misery in the real world. The school would toughen her up and teach her to more than just cope in the real world; she would be taught to get even.
With Kontrabida Academy, Chris Martinez has written and directed the funniest movie of the year so far. We’ve seen a lot of homegrown shows on Netflix, and most were overhyped disappointments. Kontrabida, however, earns its place on this streaming platform. Martinez’s script is spiced with wit, and he finds the right kind of humor at almost every turn. The campus scenes are downright hilarious.
Alright, I’ll say it. Kontrabida Academy is better than all the movies I’ve seen this year. It’s up there with the serious ones that carry a social message. Kontrabida has its own social message, and it’s up to the viewers to receive and comprehend it. Many of us see ourselves in Gigi, who toils in a world that isn’t different from ours. It doesn’t seem obvious, since the script and the star makes us laugh, constantly. What makes the film so superior is the fact that it’s harder to make audiences laugh.
Kontrabida is part satire and part send-off. It’s also an indictment of today’s TV programming, which hasn’t evolved since the time of Flor de Luna and Gulong ng Palad. Chris Martinez spoofs them, but not in a cruel or hateful fashion. Think of it as a backhanded tribute. He also sort of sends off that obscure movie Barbie when he has the cast of the teleserye enter the real world to face their TV sponsor (Jaime Fabregas) in his corporate office. I’m happy to report that Martinez’s version is better than that of Barbie (not Barbie Laforteza; I suppose it’s meant to be an insider joke).
It’s part satire and part send-off. It’s also an indictment of today’s TV programming, which hasn’t evolved since the time of ‘Flor de Luna’ and ‘Gulong ng Palad’
The movie is quickly paced, and it’s a rare Tagalog comedy that has a sense of rhythm. Martinez gets the entire cast to flow and dance with that rhythm. Better yet, he hired a cast that understands the film’s purpose. Their experience in acting and comedy is put to great use, and they all give such nuanced performances. It was their chance to have fun with the stereotyped roles they regularly play. Even the background actors cast in non-speaking parts are realistic, as they effectively add texture to every scene.
Villains or not, every character in the film is likable. Even the characters that have done Gigi wrong are not unforgivable. Just seeing Carmina Villaroel play Gigi’s big spending mother is in itself a treat, and their scenes together are memorably written and played.
Given the outrageous concept, all the actors have to do is play it straight. They don’t try too hard to get the laughs. They don’t go for camp, either, because camp always happens unintentionally. Screen legend Celia Rodriguez has a tiny role, but her appearance plays like a stamp of approval. She does away with the familiar antics she uses to underscore her villainy. She plays a loving mentor who nurtures the children to become the ultimate adversary. And that’s what you call camp!
Flamboyance comes courtesy of Eugene Domingo as the evil stepmother in the teleserye, and as Gigi’s academy sponsor. She does the usual Eugene Domingo shtick, which works well for the movie. She’s a perfect foil to Barbie Forteza.
As for Barbie Forteza, this young actress has charisma in spades, and carries the movie with little effort. Showbusiness know-how, natural talent, and a full understanding of the role she’s playing—she has it all, and she uses them for the good of the movie. She’s so authentic as the downtrodden working-class Gigi, and deliciously contemptuous as the vixen. Whether she’s playing the oppressed or the oppressor, she kills it. She goes all out when she becomes a kontrabida, but through her nuanced acting, she still shows a little of the old Gigi that viewers sympathize with.
Also on hand is Jameson Blake, Star Magic’s most popular matinee idol. He has so many charming scenes with Forteza. Their budding romance is cutely written and developed. Blake has played evil before, and when he’s bad, he’s even better. But for this film, he lets his leading lady shine even while Forteza holds back her star wattage to prevent herself from overshadowing her leading man. It’s safe to say these talented actors are the stars of the 2020s.
