BFF: Best Friends Forever

Running mainly on the much hyped first -- and, who knows, maybe only -- cinematic tandem of Megastar Sharon Cuneta and Comedy Queen Ai-Ai de las Alas, "BFF" (subtitled "Best Friends Forever" as if fearing its target audience wouldn't know what the heck the tri-lettered acronym stands for) affords no glint of optimism to what could be a barrage of films created less for their narratives than a chance to pit two local film legends and/or tabloid fodder with one another. Essentially a female counterpart of the Dolphy-Vic Sotto-starred "Dobol Trobol", Wenn Deramas' put-down to slapstick cinema has not, save for a few chuckle-inducing skits, a single hilarious moment, though more frustratingly glaring is its corny comedic scenes punctuating every overly manipulative tearjerker with the imprecise rhythm of a trying-hard drummer.

A coincidence-laden plot sees Honey (Cuneta) as a wife to Tim (John Estrada) and a mother to three kids, but getting so dedicated to her latter role leads to neglect both to her weight and her husband's emotional needs, a chance seen by Tim to fool around with the comparatively slimmer and radiant but otherwise none-too-lovable Frances (de las Alas), a single mother trying to raise her daughter who's getting a little too chummy with her for comfort. Compounding an operatic plot is that Frances is actually Honey's dance instructor whom she met at a gym and have regular chat sessions with, resulting to their blossoming (best-)friendship.

Of course, such a confounding issue would be too much for Deramas, whose stock in trade appears to be fast-forwarded chaotic scenes and copiously borrowed dialogs from Tagalog classics, that any attempt at properly addressing what could -- SHOULD -- have been the main issue of infidelity is wasted inordinately on hackneyed gags and comatose family-drama filler that only serves to pad a film that lacks balls well enough to resort to a lame deus ex machina in the end. After all, it's simply the on screen team-up of the leads the viewers paid to see (plus the cameo in the end); why give them something else?