American Adobo

Plot

Tere Sanchez (Cherry Pie Picache) is an accountant who is in her early forties, single, and not especially happy about it. Tere is an excellent cook, and often throws dinner parties for her friends, and the arrival of her old friend Lorna (Sol Oca) from Manila is all the reason she needs to invite her friends over for a feast. Mike (Christopher De Leon) is a former political journalist who is now enjoying the fruits of a lucrative career as a newspaper editor, but he wonders if he left his principles behind along the way; he's also feeling unfulfilled in his marriage to Gigi (Susan Valdez-LeGoff). Gerry (Ricky Davao) is an advertising copywriter who is afraid to tell his friends and family that he's gay, though circumstances may well drive him out of the closet. Raul (Paolo Montalban) is a good-looking womaniser who prefers to date Caucasians, and lacks a certain amount of emotional maturity. And Marissa (Dina Bonnevie) is on the surface a well-to-do social butterfly; however, deep inside she's woefully insecure, and is afraid to confront her boyfriend Sam (Randy Becker) about his constant infidelity. Meanwhile, Lorna confesses that while she's married to a wealthy man in Manila, she's terribly unhappy, and is considering staying in America as an illegal alien.

Cast

Main roles

Christopher de Leon as Mike

Dina Bonnevie as Marissa

Ricky Davao as Gerry

Cherry Pie Picache as Tere

Paolo Montalban as Raul

Randy Becker as Sam

Keesha Sharp as Debbie

Sandy Andolong as Emma

Supporting roles

Gloria Romero as Gerry's mother

Susan Valdez-LeGoff as Gigi Manalastas

Sol Oca as Lorna

Wayne Maugans as Chris

Martha Millan as Candy Manalastas

Lordi Villanueva as Lydia

Jojo Gonzales as Frank

Luis Pedron as Nonong

Jason Verdadero as Mark

Marcel Simoneau as Sal

Traci Ann Wolfe as Denise

Symbolism

Adobo is a very popular dish in the Philippines and aside from being a hearty viand in the film, it also serves as a symbolism of the clashes in the different struggles of the characters. Acidic vinegar, salty soy sauce, meat, salt, pepper, all are combined in a pot to produce adobo. In the film, despite the conflicts in their characters, in the end, everything ended up well, just like a well cooked adobo.

Production

The film started out with a conversation in 1995 between Tony Gloria and Vincent Nebrida that there should be films depicting Filipino life in the US. Two months later Vincent finished a screenplay called "Magic Adobo" but only received attention from movie executives in April 1999, after four years since its conception. The entire movie was filmed in chilly October 2000 on location in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, including a summertime pool party scene which required the actors, who were shivering between takes, to wear skimpy bathing suits outdoors. The scenes were filmed over a span of twenty days.

Release

The film has been Rated-R by the MPAA for sexual situations, nudity and strong language.

Box office

The film had a very limited release in the United States on January 25, 2002, in 7 theaters for 3 consecutive days. The crew acquired a Mayor's permit to shut down the Queensboro Bridge for the premiere night of the film. The film grossed $41,001 on its opening day ranking it on 54th spot and by 3 days of screening the film went on to gross a total of $342,855 in the United States.

The film was released on VHS and on DVD on May 30, 2003, by First Look Pictures. The DVD featured an English and Spanish subtitles.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 30% based on 23 reviews, and an average rating of 4.6 out of 10. The site's consensus states: "The characters and situations seem borrowed from overwrought sitcoms." On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 30 out of 100 based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.

John Anderson of the New York Newsday stated that "American Adobo is a tasty dish of a movie. A tender film with genuine insight into the urban heart. The way it treats the totally non-ethnic aspects of life--love, loneliness, dying, friendship--is what makes this Filipino film so attractive and also so American." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times stated that, "American Adobo is an intimate, good-humored comedy with lots of heart. Delicious and very funny!" while Andy Klein of San Francisco Weekly stated that, "American Adobo is sophisticated and entertaining. A solid step forward for the emerging Philippine-American cinema." Oliver Carnay of Asian Journal stated that "[the film] is rich, funny and entertaining. A gem reminiscent of Eat Drink Man Woman." The National Board Review was also very positive about the film saying, "A wonderful movie with a lot of heart. Among the year's top foreign language films" while Stephen Holden of The New York Times was less positive about the film stating that, "American Adobo certainly doesn't lack emotional energy, but it has two or three more plots than it can handle and plays like a compressed, strident soap opera."

Accolades

Official selection

2002 San Diego Asian Film Festival

2002 Los Angeles Cinema Indios Festival

2003 Women's International Film Festival, South Korea

2003 Fukuoka International Film Festival, Japan

Los Angeles Cinema Indios Festival

Winner best actor for Christopher De Leon

Winner special achievement award

Star Awards

Nominated best actor for Ricky Davao

Nominated best new actor for Paolo Montalban

FAMAS Awards

Winner best supporting actress for Cherry Pie Picache

Gawad Urian Awards

Nominated best actor for Ricky Davao

Nominated best actress for Cherry Pie Picache

Nominated best actress for Dina Bonnevie

Nominated best director for Laurice Guillen

Filipino Heritage Awards

Winner most promising talent, Paolo Montalban

Extreme Awards

Nominated best picture