Review: Quicktrip from Click the City Resident Reviewer

TRIPPING

by Philbert Ortiz Dy

One of the strongest recent trends in our local independent filmmaking scene is the gay-themed film. The freedom of digital filmmaking has afforded filmmakers the opportunity to explore themes that that often considered too risqué or too controversial for the mainstream. And like with any other kind of movie, there are good gay-themed films, and there are bad gay-themed films. Quicktrip happens to be a terrible one.

Cris is the sole breadwinner of his family, and most of his salary goes to fulfilling the various needs of his family, leaving very little for his personal use. He gets into a fight with his boyfriend Andro over money, his boyfriend wanting them to celebrate their fifth month together with a bunch of friends. Cris can’t afford it and would rather spend the night alone with Andro. Andro gets mad and leaves. Cris spends the next day trying to raise some cash and texting Andro for his forgiveness. He asks to meet him for a date, but when Andro doesn’t show up, Cris hooks up with a guy he meets outside a movie theater. It soon becomes clear, however, that Cris may be looking for comfort in all the wrong places.

The movie begins by saying that it’s inspired by a true story. If that’s the case, then it’s proof positive that not all true stories ought to be translated to film. There’s just nothing to the plot, offering little in terms of dramatic tension, or character development, or really, anything worth watching at all. The characters are all terribly inconsistent, changing personalities at the blink of an eye. And worse, the characters are unlikable, and it’s makes it a struggle to care about what’s going on. Why’s Cris so hung up on Andro, anyway? Andro’s just a horrible person, and to have a plot predicated on winning back the affection of a completely unsympathetic character is not a good thing. The dialogue is wince-inducing. None of it sounds like anything an actual person would say. The script is a disaster from start to finish.

The filmmaking isn’t great either. You kind of have to give a bit of leeway for low-budget digital productions, since they really can’t help their technical limitations. Still, it’s difficult to forgive the really inconsistent sound. There are some bits of the movie where we can see the character’s mouth move, but no sound comes out. It’s difficult to overlook shoddy editing. The shot logic is just all over the place, and it makes the movie nearly unwatchable. And there are sequences that just go on for far too long, and as the film goes on, it gets harder and harder to provide justifications for the weak filmmaking.

The acting’s pretty bad, too. It all feels a little high school-ish, with actors obviously waiting on their next line. Topher Barreto, who plays Cris, doesn’t really seem to know what he’s doing. Andro Morgan is just unwatchable as Cris’ boyfriend, not that he’s given much to work with at all. The character of Andro is just so lacking in actual personality that it’s difficult to imagine that anyone could’ve made it work.

It’s always difficult to be critical of these low-budget productions, since you really want to root for the little guy. Unfortunately this movie just doesn’t provide anything to root for. It fails on the most basic of levels, feeling amateurish all throughout. At times, it feels like a high school class project. There’s just no reason to see this movie.


Now, take note of the first commenter from the same review. Sounds familiar? He is sooooo out of it, he is already sounding like a desperate man in dire need of praise! Hahahaha! Poor man! Read and weep:

I saw the film and i think you are the one not worth reading. in the first place, you seem to not have undestood the film beginning with the wrong name for the wrong character. Andro is the guy that Cris meets later and Dexter is Cris's boyfriend. I see you as an outsider tring to make things out from the film that you saw. Perhaps you are from the upper middle class because you didn't seem to recognize the gem that the movie is. QUICKTRIP IS ONE GOOD MOVIE AND IS THE BEST WORK OF THE DIRECTOR SO FAR. It is worth watching for those who have a heart for the poor. Topher Barreto made a very good performance. Even when he is just a newcomer. The cinematography is far better than many indie films I've seen. The movie is not for those who can not dig 'real time' movies like 'kubrador' and 'foster child' because you might find it dragging. But to me and my friends who saw the film, the pacing was just perfect! Every scene is telling you to look into your gay life, and if you happen to be a Filipino gay breadwinner, you will really think: 'how much have i suffered for my family and how much more can i give?".Quicktrip is an uncelebrated, quietly made independent film that will make every intelligent, really intelligent gay man think about how much he longs for something he lost, when he already had the most important thing in his life already.