''Meant to Beh'' is a 2017

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Chris Martinez and starring

Vic Sotto Marvic Valentin "Vic" Castelo Sotto (born April 28, 1954), popularly known as Bossing, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and television personality. Prolific in film and television in the Philippines since the 1970s, he is known for playing comed ...

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 ca ...

. 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 compa ...

M-Zet Productions Marvic Valentin "Vic" Castelo Sotto (born April 28, 1954), popularly known as Bossing, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and television personality. Prolific in film and television in the Philippines since the 1970s, he is known for playing comed ...

and

APT Entertainment APT Entertainment, Inc. is a Philippine television and film production company based in Pasig. It was founded by TAPE's co-founder Antonio Tuviera in 1994. The company was best known for producing ''Eat Bulaga!'', the country's longest-running ...

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 (MMDA). During the festi ...

. The movie also marks the reunion of Zulueta and Sotto, 22 years after working together in the fantasy series ''

Okay Ka, Fairy Ko! ''Okay Ka, Fairy Ko!'' () is a Philippine television fantasy sitcom 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. It premi ...

'' way back in 1995.

Cast

Main cast

as Ron Balatbat *

as Andrea Balatbat

Supporting cast

JC Santos John Carlo Abrugar Santos (born November 19, 1988) is a Filipino actor, best known for his role in the television series '' Till I Met You'' as Alejandro "Ali" Nicolas. He is also well known for his roles in the television series such as '' FPJ ...

as Christian Balatbat *

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

as Benjo Marasigan *

Sue Ramirez Sue Anna Ramirez Garina Dodd (born July 20, 1996) is a Filipino actress. Her first major role was as supporting cast member on the ABS-CBN remake of the TV drama '' Mula sa Puso'' (2011). She appeared in the television dramas '' Angelito: Bata ...

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. She is currently an exclusive talent of GMA Network, Sparkle GMA Artist Center, ...

as Alexandra Balatbat *

Ruru Madrid José Ezekiel Misa Madrid (born December 4, 1997), professionally known as Ruru Madrid (), is a Filipino actor, singer, model, and host who rose to fame in ''Protégé''. He is known for portraying the role of Ybarro / Ybrahim in the 2016 v ...

as Diego Bartolome *

Andrea Torres Andrea Elizabeth Eugenio Torres (born May 4, 1990) is a Filipinos, Filipino actress. She is currently an exclusive contract artist of GMA Network. Her acting breakthrough came in the 2012 television series ''Sana ay Ikaw na Nga (2012 TV series ...

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 a Filipino actor, entrepreneur television personality, and singer. Known for his leading man roles in romantic and historical drama in television an ...

as Gruber passenger in a Cameo Role *

Maine Mendoza Nicomaine Dei Capili Mendoza-Atayde (born March 3, 1995) is a Filipino television host and actress. She is best known for her viral video, viral Dubsmash videos and her role as Yaya Dub in the noontime reality show ''Eat Bulaga!'' segment "Kal ...

* 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 former Senat ...

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 and now on T ...

Wally Bayola Walter James "Wally" Bayola (born May 3, 1972) (), is a Filipino comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Lola Nidora and other characters in the '' Kalyeserye'' portion of the noontime television variety show ''Eat Bulaga!''. He appe ...

Paolo Ballesteros Paolo Elito Macapagal Ballesteros IV (born November 29, 1982) is a Filipino actor, comedian and drag queen. He has appeared in films and several TV shows, he is one of the co-hosts of longtime noontime show ''Eat Bulaga!'' since 2001, and he i ...

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

Roi Vinzon Mark Angelo David Vinzon (born September 20, 1953), known professionally as Roi Vinzon, is a Filipino actor and film director. He is best known for his role of Retired General Armando Soriano in the controversial drama '' My Husband's Lover''. ...

*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 and comedy film, as the tenth and last film installment of the film adaptation of the Filipino television sitcom '' Okay Ka, Fairy Ko!''. The film was announced in August ...

'' 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 is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

and

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

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 the ...

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 Films produced by Orly R. Ilacad