The Debut (2000)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Gene Cajayon

Writers:

Gene Cajayon (writer)
John Manal Castro (writer)

Release Date:

13 August 2003 (Philippines)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

One night can change a lifetime.

Plot:

The story revolves around Ben Mercado, a talented high school senior who has rejected his Filipino heritage...

Plot Keywords:

Party | High School | Birthday Party | Artist | Debut

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Dante Basco	...	Ben Mercado (as Danté Basco)
Jayson Schaal	...	Doug
Brian Card	...	Dave
Mindy Spence	...	Jennifer
Nicole Hawkyard	...	Susie
Brandon Martinez	...	Rick
Ernie Zarate	...	Tito Lenny
Gina Alajar	...	Gina Mercado
Emelita Moll	...	Tita Connie
Gina Honda	...	Tita Florie
Tirso Cruz III	...	Roland Mercado
Bernadette Balagtas	...	Rose Mercado
Rawlins Apilado	...	Jun
Derek Basco	...	Edwin Mercado
Joy Bisco	...	Annabelle Manalo

Also Known As:

The Mercado Family Debut

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

94 min | USA:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Tagalog | Filipino

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Denmark:7 | Germany:12 | Sweden:7 | USA:R

Company:

5 Card Productions

Trivia:

Bernadette Balagtas (Rose Mercado) had injured her ankle while basketball training for the movie. She had to wear an ankle brace throughout the entire filming schedule. The brace had to be digitally removed in one of the major dance sequences where her ankle is prominently featured.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

A fresh take on the immigrant experience in the movies

I went to see the Filipino-American "The Debut" because I make a point of seeing any ethnic coming-of-age movie, as I'm curious to see how they compare to the Jewish experience in movies, including last year's Asian Indian-American films "ABCD," and "American Chai," the Greek-American "Astoria," and one of my all time faves from a few years ago the Korean-Canadian "Double Happiness."

Like all movies in this genre (usually for semi-autobiographical reasons), the conflicted lead wants to be an artist rather than what his parents plan for him.

A particularly original angle is that the main character is younger than usual, a high school student way immersed in MTV culture, from comic books, heavy metal and hip hop language, and, of course, embarrassed by his family's cooking and other traditions. The titular event is his sister's coming-out party, which becomes an evening of ethnic discovery for him.

Unlike the older generation of immigrant vs young artist movies like "The Jazz Singer," the ethnic culture here is not all retrograde but is lovingly shown in class and generational diversity and warmth, while showing the conflicts the parents face as well. The political debate among the teens as to whether the lead is a "coconut" is a bit forced but interesting.

The variety of dance scenes leave the realism a bit as they are as choreographed as in the cheerleader satire "Bring It On" but they are fun. The naturalness of the actors in supporting roles makes up for some of the amateurishness in their performances, and the leads are charming.

I asked director Gene Cajayon, who was at my showing, how could it be that such a gathering would attract kids from across class lines. He explained that such Filipino family events bring together a large slice of the community as friends of the family, as here the dad works in the post office and the uncle is a doctor.

The closing credits are open-hearted-- amusingly and passionately thanking the myriad people with the explanations of what they did to help.