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Robin Padilla plays Tenyente Dario, a young, principled and good-natured cop caught in a
frame-up by his own superior. He is accused of insubordination and neglect of duty—an outright lie—and the resulting trial judges him unworthy of his job.
Dishonorably discharged from the service, and feeling victimized by unscrupulous elements in the police force, he dumps his badge and his uniform to face an uncertain future
as a civilian. He floats jobless and makes himself useful to his community by putting neighborhood bullies in place. Then he meets Marian (Claudine Barretto), a religious
novice seeking the expertise of an investigator to shed light on kidnapping of her sister. After much resistance he accepts job, and here begins a new chapter in his life.
Ooops, Teka Lang… Diskarte Ko 'To is a movie for people who don't like to think about the movies they're watching. All they probably care about when they go
to the movies is to watch the screen, be bombarded by the sounds, be amused by their film idols, and munch popcorn as they slouch in their chairs for two hours in
airconditioned comfort. Truth to tell, there could be numerous such moviegoers in our midst, judging from the audience's cheering over the Ooops, Teka Lang… actors'
antics, and its marketers' guts in showing the movie simultaneously in 100 theaters. The film has practically nothing to offer as an art form. It does follow a storyline but
greatly lacks technical polish. If a movie could experience an identity crisis, Ooooops,teka lang… is it. It doesn't know what to make of itself. It is too violent to be a
comedy, too spoofy to be a drama, too stagey to represent reality, too gimmicky to be taken seriously, and too contrived to succeed as art.
Would anyone in the family want to see it? Perhaps if they're fans of Padilla or Barretto. But
while CINEMA acknowledges the movie's attempt to make sense by underscoring the value of prayer, CINEMA also cautions viewers against taking as gospel truth the (mis)
information Ooops, Teka Lang… conveys. For example, religious vocation is trivialized. In an effort to make the movie entertaining, the novice is made to dance at a
disco, sleep between two men in a room, do silly things while wearing religious habit, and blatantly flirt (within hearing distance of nuns) to imply that she has no intention
of following her call. The harm such shallowness can do to impressionable minds would need an awful lot of explaining to undo. That, ples the needlessly long scenes depicting
violence, limits the Ooops, Teka Lang…'s acceptability according to the CINEMA scale, so that while it may be rated A-14 CINEMA would nonetheless add that there are
more worthwhile movies to watch.
(Date reviewed: March 23, 2001)
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