Ang Pambansang Third Wheel (The National Third Wheel): Movie Review

"Ang Pambansang Third Wheel" is a pretty generic, pretty predictable, and pretty safe romance comedy. It never really did anything special, memorable and didn't even do its title any justice. While it had some great comedy in tow to at least make it pleasant, you'll pretty much forget about "Ang Pambansang Third Wheel" as soon as it's over.

Trina (Yassie Pressman) has always found bad luck in her past relationships so much so that she has been a third wheel all her life. But when she meets Neo (Sam Milby), she finally hits pay dirt or so it seems. But Neo has his own baggage who turns out to be a single dad to an 8-year old boy while his former lover and mother to the boy is still around. Can she find a way to overcome Neo's issues to grab true love finally?

For someone who has struggled to find love so much in her life, Trina, our lead character, meets the love of her life in the first fifteen minutes of the film. Then in the same amount of time after that they become intimate lovers with just one project and just one date. The movie moves in a very brisk pace but not in a good way. The pacing and development felt rushed and ultimately unnatural - it was a clear reflection of how sloppy and haphazardly the film was made. There's this overall sense that the littlest amount of time, effort, and budget was made to produce "Ang Pambansang Third Wheel" and that's a real a shame because Yassi Pressman was actually impressive in the film. Her portrayal as Trina was nuanced as she had to tackle a lot of issues with as her relationship with Neo (played by Sam Milby) developed. It's just unfortunate that most of these issues were brushed off eventually disregarding the possible heft and depth they could have brought. While there are other standouts like Candy Pangilinan, the other characters did not have much material to work with for viewers to truly care for them. Finally, the film at least had good comedy to make it watchable.

Rating: 1 and a half reels




Why you should watch it:
- great comedy at least entertained us

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the narrative and pacing is a mess