Tweaking “The Working Girls!”
by: Richard Roxas | STIR Contributor
12 Mar 2010 | 09:45 AM

GMA Films and Viva Films are ensuring that “Working Girls 2010” will live up to the tradition of its 25-year-old, critically acclaimed predecessor that many laud as iconic sexy comedy film way ahead of its time.

The sequel to the 1984 Ishmael Bernal-classic not only cast four of the original lead actresses in “Working Girls,” namely Maria Isabel Lopez, Gina Pareno, Carmi Martin and Rio Locsin; but it also gathers today’s hottest stars including Ruffa Gutierrez, Eugene Domingo, Iza Calzado, Jennylyn Mercado and Cristine Reyes.

More, “Working Girls” 2010 is being helmed by award-winning director Jose Javier Reyes (“May Minamahal,” “Batang PX,” “Kutob”). “Although some of the lead stars of the first ‘Working Girls’ are in the new movie, the focus of the story is not on them but on the younger working girls. We will be telling the stories of the new characters whose lives happen to intertwine with those from the original batch,” said Joey.

There are many tweaks on the central elements of the new film. For one, the lead characters from the first “Working Girls” were assistants (receptionist, secretary) who all worked in Ayala, Makati City while most of the new film’s working girls command huge salaries and hold top posts in such diverse industries as media, health and call center.

Joey said that huge big time gap between the two films made it necessary to opt for a sequel rather than a remake. “So much has changed since 1984 that some of the things that were shown in the original film are no longer applicable such as confettis in Ayala, etc. And we’ve had two woman presidents since. Obviously, the status of women in our society has evolved, and along with it, their stories,” said Joey.

While the two film giants that have joined hands in producing “Working Girls 2010” are eager to release their film, Joey said they are careful that every detail is worked out perfectly. 

“‘Working Girls’ is a comedy, which, to some people, is a genre of lightweight caliber. But make no mistake about it: Hindi pipitsugin yung pelikulang yon at maging ang pelikula namin. Coming up with a high-quality sequel is the least we can do to honor the legacy of Ishmael Bernal. He, after all, is a National Artist of the Philippines and ‘Working Girls’ is one of his classic films. To say that expectations are high on the update is an understatement,” said Joey.

Even the actors in support roles in “Working Girls 2010” were handpicked to fit their roles perfectly. Among these are Cherie Gil, Eula Valdez and Mylene Dizon.
As with the original, “Working Girls 2010” tells the story of women who will do anything and use everything to get what they want. The cast and crew are currently wrapping up work on the highly anticipated movie that’s tentatively set for release on April 21.