Ang Tanging Ina Mo Last na 'To!: Movie Review

"Ang Tanging Ina" was a surprise hit seven years ago. It garnered a lot of respect not only from local critics but from the mainstream crowd alike. The first film was original for its time - funny, melodramatic and well-written, it brought new light to what Filipino comedies were capable of. Even a corny title that spins a common Tagalog profanity does not dampen its success - so much so that it has spun-off a trilogy and is deeply-ingrained in a lot of Filipino's minds. "Ang Tanging Ina Mo Last na 'To!" promises to end the Ai-Ai de las Alas saga with a bang. Can it be as successful (or even be better) than the first two films? Read on to find out our verdict.

Ina Montecilio (Ai-Ai de las Alas) has had a full life - more than most of us can achieve even in multiple lifetimes. She has had four husbands - all of whom have died and left children for her to take care off. She has had a successful run being the President of the Philippines and is now a fledging grandmother to some of her children's children. A freak accident at her friend's wedding throws her perfect life off as her x-ray results reveal that she has a "brain tumor", with only a few months to live. Ina struggles to accept that her life will be cut short - with her children yet to show maturity in their lives and towards each other.

"Ang Tanging Ina Mo Last na 'To!" was funny from start to finish but ironically, even with all the laugh out loud humor, it still felt boring as hell and became less and less interesting as the movie progressed. The biggest gripe for this film is not the acting and certainly not the humor but actually the plot and the characters revolving around the story. It seems as though that the film tries to be epic by doing so many things at one time. There are countless instances where a scene just felt so unnecessary. Nearing the end, you just want to see the end credits rolling but it gets so much more frustrating seeing another extra scene pop up and add five more minutes to the running time. Worse, some actors feel like fillers just so the film can have more star power (and no, we are not including cameo appearances). "Ang Tanging Ina Mo Last na 'To" could have been better if they just knew what to put in and what to put out of the film.

Rating: 2 and a half reels





Why you should watch it:
- still funny as hell
- acting was great

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- a hodge podge of ideas, stories and lessons that don't jive well together on screen
- surprisingly is boring for a funny film