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The Mall, the Merrier!

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The Mall, the Merrier! is a 2019 Filipino musical fantasy 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.[2]

The Mall, the Merrier!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Gonzalez
Written by
  • Enrico C. Santos
  • Alpha Habon
  • Jonathan Albano
  • Daisy Cayanan[1]
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNoel Teehankee
Edited byNoah Tonga
Music byEmerzon Texon
Production
companies
Distributed byStar Cinema
Release date
  • December 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
Running time
123 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguagesFilipino
English
Budget₱23 million
Box office₱322 million

The film premiered in Philippine cinemas on December 25, 2019, as one of the official entries to the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival.[3]

The Mall, The Merrier marks the first on-screen collaboration between Anne Curtis and Vice Ganda, both of whom are regular hosts on the noontime variety show It's Showtime.[4][5][6]

Plot

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Tanacio and Mola Molina, a couple who owned Tamol Mall, have two children, Moises/Moira and Morisette. After their separation, Morisette moved in with her mother, Mola, while Moira stayed with their father, Tanacio. Years later, Moira manages the mall, while Morisette works as the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine in Australia, alongside Mola.

Tanacio and Mola are preparing to fly to Dubai, but their siblings discourage them from going. Moira is devastated to learn that both of her parents died in a plane crash. Meanwhile, Morisette returns home and gets into a conflict with her brother. During the reading of Tanacio's will, it is discovered that the final page is missing, having been left at his home in Zamboanga.

Morissette attempts a hostile takeover of the mall, but Moira claims her right to ownership as the eldest sibling. The two engage in a sales competition, with the winner gaining control of the mall. Ultimately, they compete fiercely but end up in a tie, leaving the ownership unresolved.

In the final reading of Tanacio's will, it is revealed that his only legitimate child, Morisette, is the sole heir to the mall. Moira disputes this, claiming both she and Morisette are legitimate children. The lawyer clarifies that Moira was pregnant with Moira at the time of Tanacio's marriage to her. Ultimately, Moira concedes defeat and prepares to leave. Meanwhile, Morisette gets a call from her magazine, requesting her to return to Australia.

Moira discovers a hidden vault behind his parents' wedding photo and finds a spellbook called "Siquijoraciones." Ignoring a microphone linked to a public announcement system, he reads a spell that animates mannequins, toys, and pictures in the mall. When Moira and Morisette witness the chaos, they join forces to put an end to the magical mayhem.

Moira and Morisette need to read a spell to restore the pictures, statues, and mannequins to normal, but their spell book is stolen by a golden cat that has come to life. They are confronted by Moody, a mall janitor who is actually Mola's older sister and has been on a long quest to find the book.

Moira and Morisette manage to escape from Moody's wrath and come across their old hut, which surprisingly remains intact despite the construction of the mall. Inside, they encounter their parents, Tanacio and Mola, who appear from a wedding photo. Tanacio asks Moira for forgiveness and expresses gratitude for her unwavering support despite his earlier coldness. Moody later joins them for a hug, but when she attempts to take the Siquijoraciones book, the pages scatter, prompting Moira and Morisette to search for the specific page containing the spell.

Morissette discovers the spell and recites it, causing the statues, pictures, and mannequins to revert to their original forms. Meanwhile, Moody is captured by mall security. Before disappearing, Mola advises Moira and Morisette to love each other. Morissette then vanishes completely. When Moira returns to the office, he realizes that Morisette's standee has been with him all along, while the real Morisette is found tied up.

Morisette sks for forgiveness from Moira and shares that she witnessed everything that happened. Morissette, who is preparing to leave for Australia after witnessing the positive reception of Moira at the mall, returns to retrieve her forgotten passport. While there, she learns about the Siquijoraciones but ends up being tied up by a standee of herself that has come to life. Ultimately, both siblings take on the challenge of renovating and managing the mall together.

Cast

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Main cast

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Supporting cast

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Guest cast

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Production

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The development for The Mall, The Merrier was first confirmed in April 2019, when lead actor Vice Ganda announced that he would star together with Anne Curtis in a then-yet-to-be-named comedy film which is intended to be entered for the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival.[5][7][8] The film was shot in Harrison Plaza in Malate, Manila,[9] before it ceased operations on December 31, 2019. The finale scenes were filmed at Marquee Mall in Angeles City.

Release

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The Mall, The Merrier premiered in the Philippines on December 25, 2019 as one of the official entries of the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Critical reception

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The film received mixed 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 A. 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 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

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Pay-per-view

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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.

Cable television

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The film premiered on Cinema One on August 2, 2020,[14] PBO on October 10, 2020[15] and on Kapamilya Channel on November 2, 2020.

Free-to-air

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The film premiered on A2Z Channel 11 on December 25, 2020, a year after its theatrical release.[16] There were plans to be put on GMA 7 (as part of GMA Blockbusters or GTV's Afternoon Movie Break, as they planned to put Star Cinema-produced films) or TV5 (due to Viva Films' contract given to TV5), but the date isn't announced yet.

References

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  1. ^ "Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Official". Facebook.com. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  2. ^ "MMFF 2019: These 4 scripts made the cut". ABS-CBN News.
  3. ^ Hallare, Katrina (July 10, 2019). "First 4 official entries to MMFF 2019 bared". Entertainment.inquirer.net. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  4. ^ "'Finally!' Vice Ganda, Anne Curtis team up for first movie together". ABS-CBN News.
  5. ^ a b "Anne Curtis, Vice Ganda team up for a movie". Rappler. May 4, 2019. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "MMFF announces first 4 official entries for 2019". Rappler. July 10, 2019. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  7. ^ "Vice Ganda, Anne Curtis finally teaming up for movie". ABS-CBN News (in English and Filipino). April 25, 2019. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  8. ^ Llanera, Melba R. "Anne Curtis confirms MMFF 2019 movie with Vice Ganda". PEP.ph (in Filipino). Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "Harrison Plaza, tuluyan nang magsasara sa katapusan ng 2019" [Harrison Plaza, will close for good at the end of 2019]. PEP.ph (in Filipino). Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  10. ^ Delos Reyes, Amy (December 29, 2019). "Despite criticism, 'The Mall, The Merrier' claims MMFF No.1 spot". MSN News. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  11. ^ Cruz, Oggs. "'The Mall, the Merrier' review: More of the same, but messier". Rappler. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  12. ^ Valle, Jocelyn. "Network war, ginawang punchline sa MMFF 2019 entry na The Mall, The Merrier" [Network war, made a punchline in MMFF 2019 entry The Mall, The Merrier]. PEP.ph (in Filipino). Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  13. ^ ""The Mall, The Merrier," "Never Not Love You," "One Great Love," and "Open" hit KBO this labor weekend". ABS-CBN. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  14. ^ "The Mall The Merrier - August 2, 7PM on Cinema One". Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "THE MALL THE MERRIER VICE GANDA & ANNE CURTIS OCT 10 at 9:30PM on PBO". Facebook. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  16. ^ "Merrier ang araw ng Pasko sa aguinaldo naming libreng sine for the whole family!". Facebook. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
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