WHILE ‘ANG BABAE SA Septic Tank 2: Forever is not Enough’ is a good follow-up to the 2011 original, ‘Ang Babae sa Septic Tank,’ it falls short of viewers’ expectations.

It’s funny, yes. Eugene Domingo delivers well, yes. But that’s about all we expected going in, and the film doesn’t quite have the extra kick, the gimmick, the blast we were hoping for.

We can’t fault its producers or Marlon Rivera‘s direction, though — they did well, and the film is above average. The first film, being the Philippines’ official entry to the 2011 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film, on top of its strong local box office run, was always going to be a tough act to follow.

Don’t get us wrong, though — the MMFF 2016 entry is hilarious. As the title suggests, it marks Domingo’s return, and she gives us exactly what we came for. Chris Martinez‘ writing is superb. The only real issue is with anyone expecting the second installment to top the first, and missing what’s genuinely good about it here.

Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2 stars Eugene Domingo, Joel Torre, and Jericho Rosales. Also part of the cast (not in the photo) are Kean Cipriano, Cai Cortes, and Kahlil Ramos.

The best takeaway for moviegoers, beyond the film poking fun at how a romantic comedy is actually made, is a string of scenes people will still be talking about long after the credits roll — and there are plenty of them.

We loved how it satirizes the mainstream industry this time around, using every element at its disposal to get a genuine laugh out of the audience. Using Jericho Rosales and Joel Torre as alternating leading men was easily the highlight.

The film may be built around Domingo, but watching her perform ‘Forever is not Enough’ while playing a ukulele, opposite Fil-Spanish actor Gui Adorno, was simply beautiful.

Like the first one, ‘Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2’ has its own kind of greatness. It doesn’t need to top the first film’s success — earning a spot on this year’s MMFF roster is enough on its own. Would we recommend it? Yes. Go watch it.

Rating: 7/10

Note: ‘Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2: Forever is not Enough’ is one of the eight film entries in the Metro Manila Film Festival 2016. We’ll do our best to watch and review all the films on this blog within the week. Read the rest of our reviews by clicking this link.