If you’re familiar with “American Pie” then “Boy Bastos” comes off as the local version of it. Don’t get us wrong with this comment because the film turns out to be highly-enjoyable especially for us who had our teen years in the same time frame as the film is set in. Minus some tumbles in its writing, “Boy Bastos” is more than its raunchy title may imply.
Felix (Wilbert Ross) is a young man who is starting to discover a lot about his body like most boys his age. Having an innate ability to draw well, he is labeled “Boy Bastos” when one of his teachers catches him drawing a raunchy image. Surprisingly, even hough he has a girlfriend (Jela Cuenca), Felix isn’t too excited when she invites her to have sex for the first time. And as he finds himself confused with his desires, he meets an older woman (Rose van Ginkel) to whom he finds himself attracted to but forbidden to love.
Being set in 2005, it was a nostalgic trip to experience “Boy Bastos”. From having to deal with slow internet, Friendster, Counter-Strike and even Yahoo Messenger, for us who grew up in that era, this was a fairly accurate representation of that time. Unsurprisingly, the movie isn’t shy to talk about sex in this film and in this case, we actually found the sexual content appropriate and not excessive. Minus one or two scenes that went overboard, most were well-integrated with the story and the comedy that the film was trying to gun for. Another highlight for “Boy Bastos” was the performances of its cast. Wilbert Ross and Rose van Ginkel impressed us in this film. They showed that they had the chops to be leading actors in the future. The supporting cast was just as talented as the leads with the comedic tone of the film highlighting well with their talents. “Boy Bastos” though isn’t perfect and that’s actually okay. For a film that we didn’t expect much, it showed us that it actually had something to say. And while its narrative may be too shallow and predictable, the nostalgic trip alone was well worth the time we spent on it.
Rating: 3 and a half reels
Why you should watch it:
- a nostalgic surprise and an accurate representation of the era it was set on
- the film’s comedy was funny and fun even if simple
Why you shouldn’t watch it:
- don’t expect the film to impress you with its shallow narrative
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