By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
“Meet, Greet & Bye” is a heart-wrenching movie about a Filipino family dealing with cancer. The matriarch of the family, called “Baby” (Maricel Soriano), suffered from breast cancer in the past, and now the cancer has returned, spread, and worsened. Baby’s cancer is Stage IV. In “Meet, Greet & Bye,” Baby’s children, grandchild “Geri” (Belle Mariano), and old friends come together to figure out how to best get through this harrowing situation.
Director Cathy Garcia-Sampana directed the film, which is set in the Philippines. She is known for excelling at telling stories about family, and for having directed the first Filipino film to surpass one billion pesos at the global box office: “Hello, Love, Again.” The Northwest Asian Weekly spoke with Garcia-Sampana, who shared her hope that, through this film, Filipinos at home and abroad will reconnect, and remember what “family” and “love” mean in the Philippines.
The film begins with a montage of memories from the past. Meals shared. Trips to the beach. Baby’s eldest son, “Tupe” or “Chris” (Piolo Pascual), has a different father than his two brothers, Brad (Joshua Garcia) and Leo (Juan Karlos Labajo). Tupe and the father of Brad and Leo did not get along, and so Tupe left for the United States, supposedly for everyone’s benefit. Brad, the middle child, took over the role of oldest son, and mainly manages the family business, “Mama Baby’s Lechon,” which sells pig cooked underground in the traditional manner. The third son, Leo, is a bit of a goof, an aspiring musician. Everyone (except Tupe) lives at home with Baby, including Tupe’s daughter, Geri, who is graduating from college when the movie starts.
The exposition of “Meet, Greet & Bye” tells a lot right away. We see how Baby steels herself from her memories, pastes on a smile, and marches out to tackle the day and the family. This lets us know that Baby puts on a front, and hides some of her troubles from her family. We see everyone gathering for Geri’s graduation, and chattering about how Tupe is for sure going to be late—if he comes at all. This suggests immediately a troubled relationship between Tupe and his daughter, and Tupe and everyone. Tupe is in fact in the taxi from the airport, and arrives just in time. It’s then that the family learns of Baby’s recurring cancer, when she faints during Geri’s graduation ceremony. From there, it’s a fight primarily between Tupe and Brad about whether or not Baby should undergo chemotherapy (Baby doesn’t want to), or some alternative.
As the oldest, on paper, Tupe tries to be decisive right away, but Brad isn’t having it.
“Money is all you ever contribute,” Brad says to him. Tupe hasn’t been there. He hasn’t taken on the roles that Brad has, as the head of the household, and as Geri’s stand-in dad. While the family is getting the feel of each other in this new crisis, Tupe is receiving insistent calls and texts from the U.S., and we learn that Tupe’s business—a restaurant—is also in crisis. It’s not hidden from the audience at all that Tupe’s motivation in coming home was as much, if not more, to ask for help from Baby than to attend Geri’s graduation. As the movie progresses, though, and as blame flies in every direction possible—including at Baby herself—it’s hard in the end to blame anyone. Life has simply happened. Everyone had good intentions and no one meant to hurt anyone else.
“Meet, Greet & Bye” is a very frank and moving look at cancer and at familial relations. To someone who has dealt with cancer, it could be triggering, or it could be profoundly healing. The movie effortlessly incorporates aspects of everyday life in the Philippines, and for the Facundos. The family’s business and home life mix together. They have two staff who are also close friends. Geri goes to work, Brad delivers lechon, Leo…I’m not sure what Leo does lol.
There’s one more thing. Plastered all over the house, and featuring prominently on every moveable surface, such as on hand fans and pillows, are the faces of Baby’s celebrity crushes. She and her girlfriends especially love South Korean star Park Seo-Joon. (If you didn’t know, our moms, grandmoms, and aunties discovered Korean television dramas long before the rest of us.) It is Baby’s greatest wish to meet Park, or PSJ (yes, Baby knows all the lingo). When the family discovers that PSJ is coming to the Philippines for a “Meet & Greet,” Tupe gets Baby to make a deal: If they can get her tickets, then she will resume chemotherapy.
Tupe’s approach is straightforward and not disinclined to bribery, whereas Brad protests that’s not what Baby wants, she doesn’t want to endure the side effects, and they should try herbs or another approach. Nevertheless, the pursuit of the tickets begins, and it’s not easy. First, you have to get into an online queue and hope for even a chance to buy a ticket. If that doesn’t work, you have to show up in person to wait overnight in a long line. “Happiness is the best medicine,” says Baby. And perhaps that is part of Tupe’s motivation. If this “Meet & Greet” will make Mom happy, what’s the problem? The ticket chase provides some giggles, a deliberate move on Garcia-Sampana’s part. As one of the co-script writers, she wanted to create balance, she told us.
Every morning, Baby makes breakfast for the whole family—with each plate tailored to each child. It’s hard to get Baby to sit down, to even admit she doesn’t feel well, so that when she does experience a severe symptom, it’s hugely shocking to everyone.
“It’s been a while since my last family story,” said Garcia-Sampana. There are giggles, and there are also tears. “Maybe we all need a good cry now, with all that’s happening in this world,” Garcia-Sampana said.
“To the hands that held us/And the hands we now hold” is the final dedication of the movie.
The movie taught Garcia, who plays Brad, the importance of giving attention to family.
“After doing this film, I realized that I should spend more time with my family,” Garcia told the Northwest Asian Weekly, in an interview alongside the director. As an actor, Garcia is very busy and hasn’t had a lot of time to spend with his loved ones, he said. “Meet, Greet & Bye” convinced him to prioritize family time from now on.
“This is a love letter to my children, and to my parents,” Garcia-Sampana said. “I want the new generation, who have lived or were born outside the Philippines, to go back to their roots and find out how we Filipinos love our families.”
“Meet, Greet & Bye” comes to theaters nationwide on Nov. 14.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.
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