In a distinguished career spanning three decades, AiAi delas Alas has earned every title and accolade an entertainer can ever dream of: Comedy Concert Queen, Comedy Box Office Queen, Box Office Queen, Best Gameshow Host, Best Comedy Actress, Best Actress and even Global Achievement by a Filipino Artist.
Although known for making people laugh, thanks in large part to her hugely successful Ang Tanging Ina movie franchise, AiAi has also proven her mettle as a dramatic actress as of late. She earned praises for her performance as a policewoman in the Cinemalaya indie, Ronda and garnered awards for her riveting portrayal of an aging prostitute in Area, another acclaimed independently-produced film.
Now, AiAi is back in her best element—in the genre that pretty much defined her career: comedy. Together with Zsa Zsa Padilla, Carmi Martin, and Beauty Gonzales, AiAi headlines Bes and the Beshies.
The film is about four friends and the struggles they encounter in their daily lives. Ai Ai plays Charla, a solo parent who is hoping to restore her relationship with her ideal husband to complete her family.
It’s a character that hits a little too close to home not just because Ai Ai has got the mother down pat with her Ang Tanging Ina series. The actress is a doting single mom to her three kids in real life. After two failed marriages, she may have finally found Mr. Right in fiancé Gerald Sibayan who she was recently engaged with.
While AiAi’s character, Charla, has to deal with her own personal concerns, she also has to contend with the problems of her own three kumares. There’s Mabel, played by Zsa Zsa Padilla, a traditional martyr wife who will do anything and everything to maintain her family. There’s Tisay portrayed by Carmi Martin, a desperate woman who will do anything and everything to have a family.
And then there’s Sophie played by Beauty Gonzales, a young woman who despite her age, was able to connect with her Titas and will do anything to support and protect them.
What makes Bes and the Beshies a cut above your average garden-variety comedy is that the film is from the award-winning tandem of director Joel Lamangan and screenwriter Ricky Lee.
Known for heavy dramas, Lamangan and Lee promises moviegoers a rollicking good time with Bes and the Beshies. The duo hopes to fulfill this promise without losing sight of the film’s underlying message: that even in today’s difficult times, Filipinos are naturally resilient and fun-loving; that as long as families and friends stay together, every issue, every concern can be addressed with firm resolve.
A quality CINEKO Productions offer in cooperation with Regal Entertainment, Bes and the Beshies also stars Emilio Garcia, Sanch Vito Delas Alas, Alan Paule, Nikko Natividad, Jon Lucas, Wilbert Ross, Mark Joseph Tam, and Heaven Peralejo.
The film opens in cinemas nationwide on Oct. 18.