Four Sisters Before the Wedding (2020)
Havenโt seen the 2013 Filipino movie Four Sisters and a Wedding? Thatโs ok. You can start with its 2020 prequel, Four Sisters Before the Wedding. Its dramatic scenes overcome cultural boundaries. The comedyโฆ sometimes does as well. Itโs nice, breezy fun.
Sisters Alexandra โAlexโ Salazar (Gillian Vicencio), Theodora โTeddieโ (Charlie Dizon), Roberta โBobbieโ (Alexa Ilacad), and Gabriella โGabbieโ are ordinary teenagers with ordinary troubles. While working hard to earn the grades their parents expect and crushing on boys theyโre not allowed to date until theyโve graduated from school they begin suspecting their father (Dominic Ochoa) is having an affair.
In a foreign movie, I want a taste of something different. I donโt want to see another country merely emulating what Hollywood does; I want to see customs and culture weave a new story or make an old story feel new. You get a fair amount of this in Four Sisters Before the Wedding. The sisters are ordinary sisters in every way. They tease each other about which boy they think about, argue about who is borrowing whoโs shoes, worry about who their parents like best, etc. There are also some parts of this story that are definitely Filipino. The familyโs financial situation, for example. Bobbie is being offered a prestigious scholarship in New York. Can her parents afford to pay for her lodgings in America? The girls canโt even reliably count on their phones having minutes left. The parents could ask Grandma but this stress is probably the reason why dad strayed - assuming he did. If you have family members whoโve had to work abroad and send money back home, youโll recognize yourself in these characters. Even if you donโt, the dynamics between the actresses are excellent. You get to know them well as individuals, which makes their little romantic adventures sweet and satisfying.
Less successful - or perhaps palatable to foreign audiences - are the comedic scenes. Comedienne Kakai Bautista plays a private investigator that drove me up the wall. Her schemes to get the truth revealed are just too dumb, even in this kind of movie. Thereโs also a horrible lesbian stereotype played by Cai Cortez. The P.I. is necessary for the plot and ads some welcome comedic hijinks to balance the drama but a little of her goes a long way and Toti Marie you couldโve eliminatedโฆ if she didnโt appear in the โsequelโ.
Although Four Sisters Before the Weddingโ (a title whose meaning becomes clear during the last act of the film, a surprisingly mature and heartfelt conclusion) is kind of Little Womenย -lite. It also has a bit of a something-something that I could see you latching onto. Iโm excited to see whatโs next so I imagine anyone whoโs seen the โoriginalโ will be pleased to get more out of this charming family and the people who surround them. (Original Tagalog with English Subtitles, December 29, 2020)
