‘Kusina Kings’ pays homage to Pinoy 90s comedy

MANILA, Philippines – A naughty supernatural comedy is the best way to describe Kusina Kings.

Directed by Patay Na Si Hesus’ Victor Villanueva, the latest offering from Star Cinema is said to pay homage to classic Pinoy 90s comedy, all while taking inspiration from some of the director’s favorite anime shows, Cooking Master Boy and Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma.

A buddy comedy movie, filled with good food, naughty jokes, and an unexpected supernatural twist– mix them together and you get the recipe for Kusina Kings.

“When we conceptualized it, we want to do the kind of comedy na parang it’s kind of a throwback to Palibhasa Lalaki, Rene Requiestas,” explained Victor in a mix of English and Filipino during the Kusina Kings bloggers’ conference.

Kusina Kings lead stars Zanjoe Marudo and Empoy Marquez both agreed that the movie is a little more risqué compared to your typical Star Cinema movies. With a PG-13 rating, its humor is definitely geared toward a more mature audience.

“Maanghang itong pelikulang ‘to dahil puro nga kami barako meron lang kaming kasamang dalawang babae. Maraming kapilyuhan pero marami ring lessons na matutunan paglabas ng sinehan,” Zanjoe shared.

(This movie has spice because for one, we’re all men in the movie, and we just have two leading ladies. There’s a lot of humor but there are also lessons to be learned when it comes out in cinemas.)

But more than the naughty puns, Victor said that at its core, Kusina Kings is still a heartwarming story between two friends. He also said that viewers should be on the lookout for one of the recipes called ado-bro, a dish specifically created for the movie with help from renowned chef Myke “Tatung” Sartho.

Fans of Patay na si Hesus, which bagged numerous awards at several independent film festivals last year, can expect an entirely different treatment from Kusina Kings. While Patay na si Hesus went for a more deadpan style of humor, Kusina Kings as Victor put it, “wears its comedy on its sleeves.”

“We wanted it more extroverted, ‘yung comedy niya. From the start, gusto naming magpatawa siya and even ‘yung situation niya very absurd. So may signature style ko pa rin na ‘yung absurdity is still present,” he said.

(We wanted it more extroverted, the comedy itself. From the start, we wanted to make it humorous and the situations absurd. So it still has that absurdity that is still present.)

Kusina Kings tell the story of two best friends, kitchen novice Ronnie (Zanjoe) and chef restaurateur Benjie (Empoy) who joined a shady reality show called Kusina King Challenge in an attempt to save their restaurant from going under.

By some twist of events, Ronnie did not only lose their startup money to a scammer but also ended up putting Benjie in a coma. Ronnie eventually bumped into Benjie’s wandering spirit who, despite of his lack of experience as a chef, convinced him to join the reality show with the promise of guiding him behind the scenes.  

Zanjoe, Empoy’s working relationship

Being close friends both on and off cam, it was easy for Zanjoe and Empoy to play Ronnie and Benjie, respectively. Their friendship goes way back, with Empoy playing one of the supporting characters in Zanjoe’s first teleserye on ABS-CBN.

“Nakikita mo na ‘yung connection. Siguro dahil parehas kaming galing probinsya and laking kalye, nag-connect kami parehas,” Zanjoe shared. (You see the connection already. I guess because we’re both from the province and grew up in the streets, we connected well.)

Seeing how Empoy grew as an actor, Zanjoe shared that he was proud of how the comedian remained unapologetically himself, which eventually paved the way for a new breed of leading men today.

“‘Wag kang gagaya sa iba. ‘Wag kang makiuso kung anong uso. Kung ano ‘yung character mo ikaw lang makakagawa nu’n, maging totoo ka sa sarili mo. Kasi may sarili siyang character, wala siyang ginagaya, wala siyang sinusundan. Kumbaga, ito siya, ito si Empoy. ‘Yun ‘yung gusto kong matutunan na dapat ganun din ako.”

(Do not imitate others. Don’t ride on the trend. Whatever character you have, you’re the only one that can do it, to be true to yourself. Because you have your own character, you’re not imitating or following anyone. In other words this is him, this is Empoy. That’s what I want to learn for myself.)

Kusina Kings opens in theaters July 25. – Rappler.com