''Pinoy Sunday'' (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

: 台北星期天 (traditional);

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: Táiběi Xīngqítiān; lit: "Taipei Sunday") is a 2009 Taiwanese

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by Ho Wi Ding about two

overseas Filipino An overseas Filipino ( fil, Pilipino sa ibayong-dagat) is a person of full or partial Filipino origin—i.e., people who trace back their ancestry to the Philippines but living or residing outside the country. This term generally applies to b ...

workers in Taiwan who get themselves in an adventure all over

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

when they discover an abandoned red couch.

Plot

Dado Tagalog and Manuel dela Cruz are two

Overseas Filipino An overseas Filipino ( fil, Pilipino sa ibayong-dagat) is a person of full or partial Filipino origin—i.e., people who trace back their ancestry to the Philippines but living or residing outside the country. This term generally applies to b ...

workers employed with

Giant Bicycles Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (commonly known as Giant) is a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer, recognized as the world's largest bicycle designer and manufacturer. Giant has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, the Netherlands, China, and Hungary. H ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. While Dado misses his wife and daughter back home, he has been dating a

Personal Care Assistant Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) are paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living (ADLs). UAPs also provide bedside care—includ ...

named Anna. Meanwhile, Manuel has hopelessly been in love with a club hostess named Cecilia. One Sunday after Church, a chain of events occurs between the two friends. Manuel tries to ask Cecilia out on a date when he spots her at a hair salon. He does her a favor by buying

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

ice drinks for Cecilia and her companions, only for them to flake out on him. Dado foolishly decides to break up with Anna on her birthday, which he had forgotten all along. As the duo talk about their heartbreaking experiences over lunch, they notice a Taiwanese couple arguing over a red couch that is delivered on their doorstep. When the couple and delivery workers abandon the couch, Manuel sees it as a sign from God and decides that he and Dado bring it back to their dormitory. After a friend overcharges them for offering to deliver it on his truck and the local bus refuses to accommodate it, Dado and Manuel have no choice but to carry the couch on foot. In the middle of their journey, they cross a street when a drunk motorcyclist collides with the couch. The motorcyclist argues heavily with the duo until all three men are sent to the police station when the motorcyclist accidentally hits a policewoman with his helmet. At the precinct, Manuel begins to fear of being

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

when an officer wonders if the duo stole the couch, but the policewoman lets the duo go after filing her report. After walking for a few kilometers, the duo rest on the couch when an Ilonggo woman in a taxicab meets them. She offers them a truck for them to borrow for free to deliver the couch the next day, but Manuel politely declines the offer because they would have to leave the couch at that spot overnight, much to Dado's dismay. Manuel offers to buy Dado a snack to calm him down, but when he returns, he sees Dado give the couch away to a junk collector; eventually, the duo chase after and hitch a ride on the junk collector's three-wheeler pickup. They fall asleep during the trip and wake up to discover that they are at a recycling plant. The duo get into an argument and Dado threatens to leave Manuel at the plant, but he changes his mind when he steals a shopping cart from a group of kids and they strap the couch on it. Later, Manuel and Dado argue over using the couch as a side business at the dormitory when a news reporter stops to interview them after they indirectly prevented a young man from jumping off an apartment building during their journey. After they run away from the reporter, she broadcasts a report on them, asking if they are thieves or heroes. As night falls, the duo ditch the shopping cart to cross the river in a shortcut, but get into yet another heated argument after they nearly drown. Manuel finally admits that they won't make it in time before the curfew, but Dado encourages him to relax. Dado calls Anna and asks for forgiveness. While the dormitory gate closes for curfew, Manuel and Dado spend the rest of the night singing on the couch floating on the river. The next morning, the duo wake up and take a bus home, abandoning the couch on the riverbanks. Manuel and Dado return to the Philippines, where they relax by the beach before going home by tricycle. They talk about what to eat for dinner before thinking about running a furniture business.

Cast

Bayani Agbayani Bayani Agbayani (born January 3, 1969) is a Filipino host, actor, singer, and comedian. After 15 years at ABS-CBN, he shuttled between his original home studio GMA Network and TV5 for the time being from 2008 to 2014 before moving back to ABS-CB ...

as Diosdado "Dado" Tagalog *

Epy Quizon Jeffrey Smith Quizon (born January 23, 1973), professionally known as Epy Quizon, is a Filipino actor, television host and the son of comedian Dolphy. He is known as the antagonist, role as Jepoy / Stryker in the 2003 film ''Lastikman''. Earl ...

as Manuel dela Cruz * Alessandra De Rossi as Cecilia *

Meryll Soriano Mary Rosalind Soriano Revillame (born December 9, 1982), known professionally as Meryll Soriano, is a multi-awarded actress in the Philippines. Career Meryll Soriano started acting as a child star during the early 90s appearing in "The Maricel ...

as Anna *Nor Domingo as Carros *Father Jean-Claude as Himself *Melenie Hung as Joy *Julia Chen as Grace *

Bowie Tsang Bowie Tsang Po Yee (; born 21 February 1973) is a Taiwanese television host, singer, actress, and writer. She is also known by her nickname Ah-Po (). Career She graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology from National Taiwan University ...

as House-moving wife

Reception

James Marsh of ''

Twitch Film Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

'' admired the film, calling it "a delight from start to finish. Like its characters, it is a film of simple tastes and manageable ambitions, and Ho, together with co-writer Ajay Balakrishnan, does a grand job of telling a very particular story in a way that speaks to us all, regardless of our nationality or background." Ho Yi of ''

Taipei Times The ''Taipei Times'' is the only printed daily English-language newspaper in Taiwan, and the third established there. Online competitors include the state-owned ''Focus Taiwan'' and ''Taiwan News''; ''The China Post'' was formerly a competit ...

'' described the film as "a lighthearted and humorous tone, opting to depict the sunnier side of the lives of migrant workers, who sing karaoke, laugh, relax and can be themselves on their days off."

Awards and nominations

Wins

Best New Director ''Best New Director'' was an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle from its first inception in 1989 until discontinuing in 1996. There was no award in 1993. 1980s 1989 *Kenneth Branagh – ''Henry V (1989 film), Henry V'' **Runners-up: St ...

- Ho Wi Ding (47th

Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...

) *Best Picture (2010 Comedy Cluj Festival,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

)

References

External links

Official website (archived)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinoy Sunday 2009 films 2009 romantic comedy-drama films Filipino diaspora Films set in the Philippines Films set in Taiwan Films shot in Taiwan 2000s Mandarin-language films 2000s Tagalog-language films Taiwanese romantic comedy-drama films Films shot in the Philippines 2000s buddy films Films directed by Ho Wi Ding 2009 comedy films 2009 drama films