Serbis is directed by gay Filipino helmer Brillante Mendoza, who is fast becoming a darling in the film festival circuit. Mendoza's latest is sleazy, scandalous, in-your-face, thoroughly rude and weirdly compassionate. To mention him in the same league as crazy gay director John Waters (Hairspray, Pink Flamingos) would not be far from the truth!
Serbis - which translates to "Service" - takes place in a porn cinema where gay boys, drag queens and hookers sit in the back row, offering sexual favors to male patrons. The focus of the story, however, is not on these queer sex workers.
The story is about a family comprising Mama (Filipina screen legend Gina Pareno), her husband Lando, their daughters Nayda and Jewel, and their nephews Ronald and Alan, who runs this old and filthy cinema. Each has to deal with his/her own personal issues - from teenage pregnancy to bigamy suits to unrequited love - while trying to keep the business afloat.
Messy, plotless, filthy, yet warm and sympathetic towards its characters, Serbis is the sort of film that'd have most moviegoers going eeck,urgh and yuck. Serbis, a winner of several festival prizes, can be a mind opening cinematic experience for the film connoisseur.
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