Ricky Davao Movies

Five Filipino-American friends living in New York City deal with love, sex, friendship, careers, and cultural identity in this romantic comedy-drama directed by veteran Philippine actress Laurice Guillen. Tere Sanchez (Cherry Pie Picache) is an accountant who is in her early forties, single, and not especially happy about it. Tere is an excellent cook, and often throws dinner parties for her friends, and the arrival of her old friend Lorna (Sol Oca) from Manila is all the reason she needs to invite her friends over for a feast. Mike (Christopher De Leon) is a former political journalist who is now enjoying the fruits of a lucrative career as a newspaper editor, but he wonders if he left his principles behind along the way; he's also feeling unfulfilled in his marriage to Gigi (Susan Valdez-LeGoff). Gerry (Ricky Davao) is a advertising copywriter who is afraid to tell his friends and family that he's gay, though circumstances may well drive him out of the closet. Raul (Paolo Montalban) is a good-looking ladies' man who prefers to date Caucasians, and lacks a certain amount of emotional maturity. And Marissa (Dina Bonnevie) is on the surface a well-to-do social butterfly; however, deep inside she's woefully insecure, and is afraid to confront her boyfriend Sam (Randy Becker) about his constant infidelity. Meanwhile, Lorna confesses that while she's married to a wealthy man in Manila, she's terribly unhappy, and is considering staying in America as an illegal alien. American Adobo was the first American-Philippine co-production to open in three major American cities at once (New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco); incidentally, adobo is a spicy chicken or pork dish popular in the Philippines. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A schoolgirl whose mother died several years earlier, Lily (Alessandra de Rossi) counts her aging dog, Bagwis, as her best friend. Unfortunately, Bagwis' advanced years have brought with them a number of maladies, all of which add to the already considerable tension between Lily and her seemingly evil stepmother, Sonia (Glydel Mercado). One day Lily comes home to discover that her beloved dog is missing, and is subsequently informed by her callous father, Tomas (Ricky Davao), that Bagwis has been sold to the local dog-meat butcher; even worse, Bagwis will be the entree on Tomas' birthday menu. An outraged Lily confronts the butcher, Mr. Teban (Dante Rivero), and the kindly old man returns Bagwis the next day. Lily soon develops a friendship with Mr. Teban, who provides moral support when the girl eventually decides to put her ailing dog to sleep. Unfortunately, Bagwis is the least of Lily's problems: her cretinous father has taken to molesting her, and also enjoys slapping around the pregnant Sonia. When Mr. Teban catches wind of Tomas' loathsome behavior, he bands together with Lily and Sonia to ensure that the putrid patriarch gets his just desserts. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Selya (Rosanna Roces), schoolteacher in a small Philippine town, has an affair with the reluctant Bobby (Gardo Versoza), who leaves town one day. To follow him, Selya quits her job but fails to find him. Relocating at a village he visits, she moves into a boarding house of gay Ramon (Ricky Davao), lover of a married man with two children. Selya doesn't know Ramon's background, so when he asks her to become his wife, she agrees. The wedding night is a disaster, as Ramon fails to perform. Meanwhile, Bobby turns up, and Selya, discovering the truth about Ramon, is soon back in Bobby's arms. Explicit sex scenes resulted in problems with Philippine censors. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi