"Dead Kids": Gay Friendly Outsider Kids Plan a Caper

No kid actually dies in Dead Kids (2019): it's a Filipino slang term for outsiders, aliens, the kids who sit by themselves in the cafeteria and never get invited to parties.  The central character is Mark Sta Maria (Kelvin Miranda), a senior at a private high school in Manila, a shy, sensitive drama major whose every attempt at acquiring prestige is co-opted by the arrogant rich kid Chuck Santos (Markus Patterson, below).

He wanted the lead in the school play, but Chuck got it.  

He has a crush on it-girl Janine (Sue Ramirez), but Chuck is railroading her.  (The two actors are dating in real life.)

Plus Chuck has 50,000 Instagram followers,  fancy clothes, and a car.  

And he's an entitled, snobbish, bullying asshole.

Somebody has to take him down a few notches.

Enter three other dead kids:

1.Flamboyant schemer Blanco (Vance Larena)

Vance Larena starred in the gay film Bakwit Boys, and is apparently gay in real life.  According to the Filipino press, he has a boyfriend named Mark.

2-3. The bff gay-vague couple Paolo (Khalil Ramos, left) and Uy (Jan Silverio).  Khalil Ramos starred in the gay film 2 Cool 2 B Forgotten.  When asked about his "gender identity," he stated that he was "straight," but supported "gender equality."

Do they think gay is a gender in the Philippines?

Back to the story:  the four Dead Kids (along with Paolo's girlfriend sometimes) get the idea of kidnapping Chuck and holding him for ransom.  They'll make some money, and the arrogant asshole will get his comeuppance.  So they put on pig masks, burst into the brothel where Chuck is awaiting his 18th birthday blow job, put a bag over his head, tie him up, and sequester him in Mark's apartment.

You know what's going to happen next, right?  Complication, complication, dead guy (an adult), drug lord, arguments, harrowing something or other, the end.  We've seen it before 20,000 times.  Feel free to fast forward to the good parts.

Except there really aren't any good parts.  

Beefcake:  None.

Gay characters: Maybe Blanco, but he's underdeveloped.

Filipino culture:  No interesting shots of the Manila cityscape.  The characters speak mostly in English, with some Tagalog thrown in here and there.  I guess speaking English is cool for Pinoy youth.

Heterosexism:  Surprisingly little.  A couple of the boys have girlfriends, but there's no Girl of His Dreams rhetoric, no girl to be rescued, no fade-out boy-girl kiss.

Homophobia: None.  The characters have foul mouths, but never use homophobic slurs.  They all apparently support gay equality (or rather, gender equality).  Notice the LGBT hate-free zone sign on the wall behind them. 

My grade: D.  Watch some of the actors' gay movies instead.