‘Kiko En Lala’ review: Nothing to laugh about

Adolfo Alix, Jr.’s Kiko En Lala has all the ingredients for a worthwhile comedy – one that may not astound with its subtle and hidden wisdom, but is good enough for a couple of chuckles.

Shockingly stale 

The premise, about conjoined brothers who grew up in a makeshift amusement park, is a gold mine for gags. Super Tekla, the actor playing both twins, has proven himself to be a capable entertainer. It is both colorful and brimming with potentially colorful characters. There doesn’t seem to be any lack of jokes. 

Kiko En Lala, however, shockingly ends up being one of the stalest movies around. 

The movie is just parched for joy. While it is brimming with sight gags and silly goofs, it lacks real human connection. The characters here are all pieces to a punchline, never people to root for or to see succeed through the many trials that have been set-up in the film’s needlessly convoluted plot.

Kiko is just a face to splatter globs of peanut butter on, hopefully to elicit disgusted giggles. Lala is just another gay character whose desirous glances towards his hunky co-worker should result in mindless guffaws at the risk of reinforcing stereotypes about gay men. The other characters are all tricks and antics, literally sideshow freaks in a film that cares very little for them.

There is no heart in this racket. It doesn’t endeavor for any involvement from its audience. It is all a collection of shoddy bids at humor that never ever works.

Embarrassingly lousy

Kiko En Lala is also embarrassingly lousy.  

There seems to be absolutely no thought in the crafting, with Alix making do with the practical tricks to save on the special effects of having Super Tekla play two characters at once. When Alix does employ computer-generated effects to enhance certain scenes such as when Ai Ai de las Alas makes her appearance as some sort of evil spirit, it is grossly uneven and horridly distracting. The film is a rushed affair, one that shouldn’t have been released because it definitely feels more like a desperate attempt by the producers to recoup on a failed project rather than an accomplishment to be proud of.

There is definite talent involved in the making of Kiko En Lala, making its artistic collapse much more infuriating.

Alix is not a hack. However, Kiko En Lala has less humor than a lot of his more serious works. The film also has a lot of amazing actors and actresses who could have lent their unmistakable personalities to add slivers of bliss to the project.

Sadly, Mailes Kanapi and Vangie Labalan are wasted with roles that do not allow them to flex their comedic skills. Alix concentrates on Super Tekla who seems to be overwhelmed by the task of generating two personalities out of a joke of a character.

Something to avoid

It’s all a shame and nothing to laugh about.

Kiko En Lala is a movie to avoid. — Rappler.com

Francis Joseph Cruz litigates for a living and writes about cinema for fun. The first Filipino movie he saw in the theaters was Carlo J. Caparas’ Tirad Pass.

Since then, he’s been on a mission to find better memories with Philippine cinema.