''Meant to Beh'' is a 2017

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Chris Martinez and starred by

Vic Sotto Marvic Valentin Castelo Sotto (; born April 28, 1954), professionally known as Vic Sotto, is a Filipino actor, singer and comedian known far and wide for his various television and film projects on the major Philippine television networks GMA ...

and

Dawn Zulueta Marie Rachel Salman Taleon-Lagdameo (born March 4, 1969), known professionally as Dawn Zulueta (), is a Filipino actress, host and commercial model. She was recognized as the only Filipino actor to win two different major accolades in acting cat ...

. It was distributed and produced by

OctoArts Films OctoArts Films (also known as OctoArts Films International for foreign films) is a Filipino film production and distribution company founded in 1989 by Orly R. Ilacad. A veteran record producer, Ilacad only decided to establish the film company ...

M-Zet Productions Marvic Valentin Castelo Sotto (; born April 28, 1954), professionally known as Vic Sotto, is a Filipino actor, singer and comedian known far and wide for his various television and film projects on the major Philippine television networks GMA ...

and

APT Entertainment APT Entertainment, Inc. is a television and film production company in the Philippines. History APT Entertainment, Inc. is a subsidiary of TAPE Inc., and the producer of the longest-running noontime variety show, ''Eat Bulaga!''. APT stands ...

and served as an official entry to the

2017 Metro Manila Film Festival The 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is the 43rd edition of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival held in Metro Manila and throughout the Philippines. It is organized by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Metropolitan Manila Devel ...

. The movie also marks the reunion of Zulueta and Sotto after 20 years of working together in the fantasy series ''

Okay Ka, Fairy Ko! ''Okay Ka, Fairy Ko!'' () is a Philippine television fantasy situational comedy series broadcast by Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation, ABS-CBN and GMA Network. Directed by Bert de Leon, it stars Vic Sotto, Charito Solis and Alice Dixson. ...

'' way back in 1995.

Cast

Main cast

as Ron Balatbat *

as Andrea Balatbat

Supporting cast

JC Santos John Carlo Abrugar Santos is a Filipino actor, best known for his role in the television series '' Till I Met You'' as Alejandro "Ali" Nicolas. Early life Santos was born on November 19, 1988 in Pampanga, Philippines. He is one of the two chil ...

as Christian Balatbat *

Daniel Matsunaga Daniel Kenji Silva Matsunaga (born November 28, 1988) is a Brazilian model, actor, professional footballer, host and businessman. He became known in the Philippines by appearing in ''Cosmopolitan Philippines''’ September 2009 "Cosmo Men" supp ...

as Benjo Marasigan *

Sue Ramirez Sue Anna Garina Dodd (born July 20, 1996), professionally known as Sue Ramirez (), is a Filipino-American actress, model and singer. Her first major role was as supporting cast member on the ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN remake of the TV drama M ...

as Rihanna Biglang-awa *

Gabbi Garcia Gabriella Louise Ortega Lopez (born December 2, 1998), known professionally as Gabbi Garcia (), is a Filipino actress, global endorser, singer, host and vlogger. Currently an artist of the GMA Network, her first acting role was as Nicole Perez ...

as Alexandra Balatbat *

Ruru Madrid Ruru may refer to: Places *Ruru, Nepal * Ruru, New Zealand People *Rouran, an ancient nomadic race from the Mongolian steppes, also called Juan Juan *Ruru Madrid, a Filipino teen actor Others *Māori name for the morepork owl *A Kanohi from the L ...

as Diego Bartolome *

Andrea Torres Andrea Elizabeth Eugenio Torres (born May 4, 1990) is a Filipina actress, host, dancer and commercial model. She is currently an exclusive contract artist of GMA Network. She is best known for her roles as Cindy Rodriguez in the WeTV Original s ...

as Agatha Bayona * Baby Baste as Riley Balatbat

Special participation

Alden Richards Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr. (born January 2, 1992), known professionally as Alden Richards, is an award-winning Filipino actor, singer, host, and entrepreneur. He is dubbed as "The Asia's Multimedia Star" after receiving the Asian Star Pri ...

as Cameo Role *

Maine Mendoza Nicomaine Dei Capili Mendoza (born March 3, 1995), better known as Maine Mendoza (), is a Filipino actress and television personality. She is best known for her viral Dubsmash videos and her role as Yaya Dub in the noontime reality show ''Eat ...

* Kristine Hermosa-Sotto as young Andrea *

Oyo Sotto Vittorio Mari Bonnevie Sotto (; born January 12, 1984), known professionally as Oyo Boy Sotto, is a Filipino actor. He is the son of Filipino actor-comedian-host Vic Sotto and Swiss-Filipino singer-actress Dina Bonnevie, nephew of Senator Tito ...

as young Ron *

Jose Manalo Ariel Pagtalonia Manalo (born February 12, 1966), known professionally as Jose Manalo, is a Filipino actor, director, and comedian best known for appearing regularly on the noon-time variety show ''Eat Bulaga!'' on GMA Network. He is also known ...

Wally Bayola Walter James Bayola (born May 3, 1972), popularly known as Wally Bayola, is a Filipino comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Lola Nidora (sometimes Duhrizz, Rihanna and Doktora the Explorer) in the ''Kalyeserye'' portion of the noo ...

Paolo Ballesteros Paolo Elito Macapagal Ballesteros IV (born November 29, 1982) is a Philippines, Filipino actor, comedian, TV host, model, drag queen, and impersonator. He has appeared in films and several TV shows, and has been one of the co-hosts of longtime ...

Kitkat Kit Kat (stylised as KitKat in various countries) is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree's of York, United Kingdom, and is now produced globally by Nestlé (which acquired Rowntree's in 1988), except in the United Stat ...

Roi Vinzon Mark Angelo David Vinzon (born September 20, 1953), professionally known as Roi Vinzon, is a Filipino action star, film and television actor, and a film director, better known for his villain roles and lead role films like ''Lucas Abelardo'', ''A ...

* Lharby Policarpio

Production

Development

On August 15, 2017, a story conference was held announcing the movie and Vic Sotto's return to the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) after skipping it for a year after his movie ''

Enteng Kabisote 10 and the Abangers ''Enteng Kabisote 10 and the Abangers'' is a 2016 Filipino superhero fantasy comedy film and the tenth film installment of the Filipino television sitcom ''Okay Ka, Fairy Ko!''. The film was announced in August 2016 with Marlon N. Rivera and Tony ...

'' didn’t make it to last year’s lineup. In the conference, Sotto said that he definitely missed doing the MMFF and he was glad that they were back. He also agrees with the rules of this year's festival to accommodate everyone regarding the line-up of combining mainstream movies and indie films in the magic 8 movies. For Sotto, the dichotomy is unnecessary because all of them are promoting the Filipino movie industry. It is also a first for him doing a family movie genre far from his past movies which is concentrated on fantasy and action. Several artists from two rival networks

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

and

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

agreed to be part of the movie. The film's former title was ''Love Traps: #FamilyGoals'' during the announcement of first four movies included in the MMFF 2017. On the day of story conference, it was revealed that the movie title was changed to ''Meant to Beh''. Also with the director from Tony Y. Reyes to be replaced by Chris Martinez.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

for the film began in August 2017.

Release

''Meant to Beh'' premiered in Philippine cinemas on December 25, 2017 as one of the eight official entries of the

Reception

Box office

''Meant to Beh'' had the fifth biggest box office gross garnered during the official run of the

grossing about . This is the first time that a

film didn't make it to the top 4 box office films.

Critical response

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics after its premiere. Matt Suzara of Lakwatsera Lovers commented that "''Meant To Beh'' is a good film to watch with your family this Christmas Day. Vic Sotto finally got lose from the Enteng series and came up with a decent family-friendly picture that is worthy of your hard-earned money." According to Ace Antipolo of ''Movies For Millennials'', compared to the past

movies that came before, the film was "an improvement over his past movies." Baby Baste's performance was also praised. He was "the biggest stand-out of the film... He is oozing with charm and confidence on screen and he definitely stole the show." The reviewer concluded that "''Meant To Beh'' is an entertaining, family-friendly comedy that is too good to miss."

References

External links

* {{MMFF 2017 films Films shot in the Philippines Filipino-language films Philippine comedy films OctoArts Films films Films directed by Chris Martinez