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By Joseph L. garcia, senior correspondent
movie review
Bar Boys: After School
Directed by Kip Obanda
Produced by 901 Studio
MTRCB Rating: PG
2017 movie bar boys With a 2024 stage adaptation and now a second film, a much-loved franchise is forming. Unfortunately for me, I didn't ride on the hype of the 2017 debut film, which was about friends' lives and law school. In other words, I didn't see it.
What this review of its sequel meant was that I had no emotional investment in the characters (played by Rocco Nacino, Carlo Aquino, and Enzo Pineda). Keane Cipriano attends law school, which his character did not go to in the first film. (All actors play the same roles they played in the first film.)
The “boys” are shown now living their lives after passing the bar 10 years earlier. Mr. Aquino's lawyer works for an NGO. Mr. Nasino's character is a devoted family man, a handsome attorney at a law firm (and is used as the face of his firm, much to his displeasure), and a law professor. Mr. Pineda still plays a struggling rich guy who can't have it all; Mr. Cipriano dropped his showbiz act from the first film and began serious work in law school.
Meanwhile, his beloved law professor, Justice Hernandez (played by veteran Odette Khan) is dying. The boys take turns taking care of her. Now, for him, I felt instant love. The boys are nice, but any scene in which Ms. Khan, vulnerable by being in a wheelchair and a hospital bed, is immediately overshadowed by them.
However, Ms. Khan also suffered from clunky dialogue, which was probably why I couldn't immediately like the characters. They don't seem like real people, or the actors aren't comfortable with their lines – we especially notice this with the newcomers to the cast, led by internet sensation Sasa Gural. In all fairness to her, she does upgrade her acting skills in the latter parts of the film, when she is no longer required to act out the lessons in class. However, to the rest of the cast, his presentation only seems like a rough idea of how people talk to lawyers. The few times the dialogue hits home (mostly when there are only four of the main cast), I only remember the ambitious lawyers I didn't like (but maybe that's just me).
Despite my criticism, this film is not worth watching. Perhaps due to Mr. Obanda's roots in activism, we are given additional stories related to social issues: for example, Mr. Aquino's character becomes a victim of violence related to his profession. Economic issues are highlighted by Mr. Nasino's character students: Therese Malvar's CJ attempts to become a lawyer to save her village from a corrupt quarrying company; Will Ashley's Arvin struggles between law school and real work. We applaud Mr. Ashley's acting skills in bringing justice to that specific arc (it's a bonus that his young boss is a kindly “Napo Baby” played by a handsome Emilio Díaz). The story bounces away from the problems of the main four to give the film a little more energy and longevity. We give credit where credit is due: despite the clunky, jargon-filled dialogue, the film shows the tedium of paperwork, meetings and red tape that more glamorous legal dramas won't – and yet somehow makes it interesting.
This movie is not for me: I am not a lawyer. I think the subplots could be developed into standalone films; But as far as the main plot goes, I imagine mid-career lawyers might be feeling shivers down their spines while watching some of the scenes. This is their show and they should relate to it.