Members of the Santos family have fought in almost every conflict and war in the Philippines such as the Battle of Mactan, the Philippine Revolution and the Second World War. In the present day, Benjamin "Benjie" Santos VIII is a dance instructor who lives with his parents and sisters Jesamine and Anjamin. His grandfather, Benjamin VI, unaware that he is gay, expects him to enlist in the Army like his ancestors. Benjie's father, Benjamin VII, gave up being a soldier to become a scientist and an inventor. Because this went against his grandfather's wishes, Benjie's family left his grandfather's house and moved to a cramped house. Benjie's father invents gadgets and unique deadly weapons, including the Utot-gun (lit.'Fart gun'), a fan that shoots bullets, and a tiara which acts as a multiple rocket launcher. One day, relatives invite Benjie's family to his grandfather's 75th birthday. At the party, his grandfather finds out Benjie is gay. The relatives tell Benjie's family to leave and never show themselves again. Grandfather declares them a disgrace to the family and disowns them.
A terrorist organization, Bandidos International, starts coordinated attacks and a civil war and kidnaps Benjie's grandfather and other high-ranking officials. The terrorist's leader, Abe Sayyep, claims they have taken over the whole country. In response, the government reintroduces conscription. Benjie enlists in place of his ailing father. In the training camp, Benjie meets his platoon members and their commander Brandon Estolas, to whom Benjie becomes secretly infatuated.
Benjie's platoon initially performs poorly in training and is in danger of being dissolved. The men train at night and show improvement in the morning. A rival group is incensed with losing to Benjie's platoon during training. They get Benjie drunk and film him dancing lewdly and effeminately. The following morning, the Commanding General sees the video and makes Benjie leave the army. As Benjie is about to leave, his friends show solidarity and also leave the army.
While traveling through a wooded area, Benjie and his friends accidentally stumble upon Bandidos International's base. They return to the army training camp to inform the Commanding General, but the official refuses to believe them. Based on the army's intelligence, the entire training camp believes the enemy base is in Tanay. However, when the soldiers arrive, they are ambushed by hundreds of terrorists. Among the dead is Benjie's rival platoon.
Meanwhile, Benjie's group returns to the enemy's base. They see the captured officials, including Benjie's grandfather and Brandon. They gain entry into the terrorist camp by dressing as women to trick the guards. Once inside, the group kills many terrorists using the inventions of Benjie's father. Benjie rescues his grandfather, Brandon, and the other generals. Benjie's grandfather thanks him and asks for forgiveness. They reunite with Benjie's group, but Abe Sayyep appears and attempts to shoot Benjie's grandfather. Benjie takes the bullet to save his grandfather. Benjie's friends kill Abe Sayyep.
In the afterlife, Benjie meets his ancestors, who are proud of him and say it is not yet time for him to die. Benjie revives, and the group returns home. They celebrate their victory with a party. Benjie lets Brandon know how he feels. Brandon rejects Benjie, saying he already has a fiancé, a woman who looks exactly like him but is voiced by Angelica Panganiban (Derek Ramsay's then-girlfriend).
The closing credits are interrupted by Captain Tenille telling General Santos that the president of the Philippines is summoning the country's bravest soldiers. Benjie and his team happily accept the president's call, saying there will be a part two to the movie.
Cast and characters
Main cast
Vice Ganda as Private Benjamin "Benjie" Santos VIII
Supporting cast
Eddie Garcia as Minister Marshal Benjamin "Bino" Santos VI
Praybeyt Benjamin was filmed in the last half of 2010 and wrapped up in January 2011. The filmmakers used retro movie cameras and Fujifilm instead of modern movie cameras. It was the last movie to be made in 35mm film. The movie underwent restoration for Blu-Ray/4K release.[citation needed]
Reception
Release
The television trailer for Praybeyt Benjamin premiered during the talk show Gandang Gabi, Vice!, announcing its release on October 12, 2011. However, during the premiere of No Other Woman, the Praybeyt Benjamin trailer indicated a delayed premiere of October 26, 2011. A home video release was made on December 16, 2011 on DVD and VCD by Viva Video and Star Home Video worldwide.[5][6]
Praybeyt Benjamin opened with PHP 23.6 million in ticket sales on its first day. It broke Philippine box-office records after grossing PHP 109 million on its fourth day.[8] After its seventh day on air, it reached the PHP 200 million mark.[9] It broke the records set also by the previous Star Cinema-Viva Films produced film, No Other Woman.
Critical reaction
Although Praybeyt Benjamin is one of the highest-grossing of all time in the Philippines, its reviews ranged from mixed to negative. Most critics criticized the movie's overly simplistic story and outdated slapstick humor. However, many reviewers noted that the film's saving grace was the sharp comedic timing of Vice Ganda and the brilliant comic performance of Nikki Valdez.
A third film was announced as part of the 46th Metro Manila Film Festival, based on its script.[11]Vice Ganda was expected to reprise his role. However, filming for the sequel was delayed due the COVID-19 pandemic as well as uncertainties caused by the non-renewal of ABS-CBN's broadcast franchise.[12][13] The film failed to meet the festival's November 30, 2020, production deadline and as not among the final ten official entries of the 46th Metro Manila Film Festival.[13] As of 2023, there are no further updates for the film.
