The Mall, The Merrier

The Mall, The Merrier is a 2019 Philippine musical family comedy film directed by Barry Gonzales and starring Vice Ganda and Anne Curtis. The film was co-produced by Star Cinema and Viva Films under the working title Momalland.[3][4][5]

The Mall, The Merrier
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Gonzales
Produced by
Written by
  • Alpha Habon
  • Jonathan Albano
  • Daisy Cayanan[1]
Starring
CinematographyNoel Teehankee
Production
company
Distributed byStar Cinema
Release date
  • December 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
Running time
123 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino
Box office₱742 million (January 7, 2020)[2]

The film premiered in Philippine cinemas on December 25, 2019, as one of the official entries to the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival.[6][7]

The Mall, The Merrier marks the first on-screen collaboration between Anne Curtis and Vice Ganda, both of whom are regular hosts in the noontime variety show It's Showtime.[8][4]

Synopsis

Two siblings, Moira and Morissette, feud over Tamol Mall, a mall they inherited. The feud is compounded with the arrival of their Aunt Moody, and mysterious events begin to occur when a book containing secrets of the mannequins, toys and mascots that come alive after dark is unsealed.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Guest cast

Development

The film was shot in Harrison Plaza in Malate, Manila,[9] before it ceased operations on December 31, 2019.

Reception

The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics, despite coming in first at the box office.[10] Most of the criticism was directed at its "non-existent" plot, stale humor and poor use of the shopping mall setting.

Oggs Cruz of Rappler lamented what he saw as a wasted opportunity, stating it is "more of the same – and messier" and "while the settings change or the genre it spoofs shift, the elements remain the same. The comedies are all anchored on mean-spirited hilarity, all utilizing a broad moral lesson to make its abject crassness palatable to the families it caters to," comparing it unfavorably to George Romero's seminal zombie film Dawn of the Dead whose department store setting was used to satirize consumerism.[11]

Conversely, Jocelyn Valle of PEP.ph gave the film a more positive review, praising the cast, special effects and pop culture references, particularly the feud between the Baretto sisters and the network rivalry between ABS-CBN and GMA Network, a scene of which where Vice's character Moises and a parodic depiction of the living doll Annabelle from The Conjuring, played by Ruffa Gutierrez, get into a hair-pulling fight and wind up in the premises of the GMA-7 broadcast facility. Valle did, however, criticise the "lack of a strong supporting character for Vice to throw punchlines at and comedic flair" and found Vice's use of a joke pertaining to German dictator Adolf Hitler to be of poor taste in light of Holocaust victims.[12]

Television release

The film premiered on KBO from May 1-6, 2020[13] at the time ABS-CBN Channel 2 and its broadcast stations went off air on May 5, 2020, due to the "cease and desist order" given by the National Telecommunications Commission due to expired franchise, and KBO was not affected in this "cease and desist order" (due to the channel is on a digital station that is owned by AMCARA, which has its own franchise and where ABS-CBN had a blocktime agreement with the said station) until June 30, 2020 in Metro Manila and July 1, 2020 nationwide. The film premiered on Cinema One on August 2, 2020.[14]

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References
  1. "Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Official". Facebook.com.
  2. Gabinete, Jojo (10 January 2020). "Miracle In Cell No. 7, mahigit P100M ang lamang sa The Mall, The Merrier" [Miracle In Cell No. 7, earned only P100M more than The Mall, The Merrier]. PEP.ph (in Filipino). Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  3. "MMFF 2019: These 4 scripts made the cut". ABS-CBN News.
  4. "Anne Curtis, Vice Ganda team up for a movie". Rappler.com.
  5. "MMFF announces first 4 official entries for 2019". Rappler.com.
  6. Llanera, Melba R. "Anne Curtis confirms MMFF 2019 movie with Vice Ganda" Check |url= value (help). Pep.ph.
  7. Hallare, Katrina. "First 4 official entries to MMFF 2019 bared". Entertainment.inquirer.net.
  8. "'Finally!' Vice Ganda, Anne Curtis team up for first movie together". ABS-CBN News.
  9. "Harrison Plaza, tuluyan nang magsasara sa katapusan ng 2019". PEP.ph.
  10. Delos Reyes, Amy (2019-12-29). "Despite criticism, 'The Mall, The Merrier' claims MMFF No.1 spot". MSN News. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  11. Cruz, Oggs. "'The Mall, the Merrier' review: More of the same, but messier". Rappler. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  12. Valle, Jocelyn. "Network war, ginawang punchline sa MMFF 2019 entry na The Mall, The Merrier". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  13. ""The Mall, The Merrier," "Never Not Love You," "One Great Love," and "Open" hit KBO this labor weekend". ABS-CBN.
  14. "The Mall The Merrier - August 2, 7PM on Cinema One".
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