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For reasons not too clear to me, I’ve been following Iisa Pa Lamang, a local teledrama on ABS-CBN starring Claudine Barretto, Gabby Concepcion, Diether Ocampo among others.  Perhaps, I was curious if Gabby had not lost his acting prowess.  Maybe, I desperately wanted to know if Diether had improved as an actor: A few years ago, I regarded him as an expressionless actor trying incessantly to pass as a thespian.  Or maybe, I was in for the endless catfights between Claudine and Anglica Panganiban or Claudine and Cherry Pie Picache.  Regardless, the show definitely has  me glued to my TV.

At first, I was impressed by the show’s fast pace.  I figured this might be a welcome departure from the Pinoy teledramas’ propensity to take the long route as far as plot movement is concerned.  However, I soon realized that the show is actually worse.  The plot is circular that if it were a ride, the viewers, as its passengers, would be in for a nasty, nauseating spin.  It doesn’t help that the writers give their actors the lamest lines seemingly taken directly from a book of cliches.  Catherine, the heroine, in one scene was asked why she wore jewelry even when she was swimming.  Her answer?  “Well, you know, diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”  A shouting match between Catherine and Scarlett, one of the contravidas, features the following lines which I doubt would enter Pinoy’s most memorable lines ever: “Slut,” “husband stealer,” “desperate housewife from hell,” etc.  If I had been given ten pesos every time I rolled my eyes, I would have had a fat wallet.  I am even surprised that I can still look straight ahead after those record-breaking eye-rolls.

Don’t get me wrong.   The show does have its redeeming values.  The acting, for one, is laudable.  Yes, Gabby still has his charisma; Diether has greatly improved; Claudine gives a commendable performance; however, all of them are out-acted by Cherry Pie Picache whose portayal of a contravida is both amusing and irritating.

In spite of this, the characterization is still flat.  I think the blame goes to the writers, not the actors.  The actors have done everything in their capacity to salvage the show.  Their characters are supposed to be intelligent people, but they are thrown in compromising situations that make them opt for stupid choices.  Consequently, their actions don’t elicit empathy from the viewers–not to me at least.  Most of the time, instead of feeling for the character, I find myself laughing at them.  Which leads me to my question:  Is it really a drama or a comedy?