MMFF 2021: Review of BIG NIGHT!: Urgent Undertaking

December 17, 2021

Dharna (Baby Christian) is the beauty of a friendly environment. A once-declassified document revealed that his real name, Panfilo Macaspac Jr., was among the suspected drug addicts on his barangay watch list. I knew this list would be given to Phil. The police the next day. So, for the rest of the day and night, Dharna goes to the heads of various districts, trying to remove his name from the list of the feared.

Her barangay president, Cynthia (Eugene Domingo), sends Dharna to the school principal, Mr. Roja (Soliman Cruz), the president of Site 2, where she now lives. Her father, Lando (Ricky Davao), advises Dharna to seek out midwife Melba (Janice de Belle), who is the president of Area 5 where she grew up. He is also told to seek out action star Donato Rapido (John Clay), president of Site 8, the only site where charges can be dropped via Dropbox.

Understandably, Dharna's situation is very desperate. He only had one night to change the sad events that marked his life forever. There are so many people to see and so little time. All these local politicians asked him to help them in their small personal business. Also, Dharna has problems with her boyfriend Zeus (Nico Antonio), a 30-year-old male dancer who wants to win the contest that very night.

Dharna, the central character, is supposed to be an openly gay boy who has two gay brothers, Vholta (VJ Mendoza) and Galema (Aura Briguela), who speak Tagalog with a strong Visayan accent. These elements provide a healthy dose of humor to keep things light, but they don't necessarily take the seriousness out of a major political commentary. 

Christian Bibles has a cheerful personality that is almost second to none, and his dramatic cuts in his serious scenes are still notable. All the popular supporting actors boldly played their wacky characters, with Janice de Belen, John Clay, and Gina Alahar (as holy mother Dharna) playing the most memorable roles. Writer/director Jun Lana has hit it big once again, even if the tohang theme may be strange. 8/10.