Review: The House Arrest of Us (Pilot)

 

Photo: Star Cinema

DON'T CONTINUE READING IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED. THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

The Gist: It's pamamanhikan day for Korics (Daniel Padilla) and Q (Kathryn Bernardo), probably around the middle of March 2020 because ECQ was announced around that time. It's the first time for the two families to meet. It should be an exciting time for the couple and their clans but when the personalities involved are so different, there's bound to be trouble. 

Q is an only child of  a well-to-do couple played by Herbert Bautista and Ruffa Gutierrez. They seem to be "new rich" eager to show off their wealth with Ruffa going all out on preparing for the pamamanhikan, taking out her most expensive plates. Herbert is shining, shimmering--literally, Kathryn and Ruffa had to shield their eyes from the brightness of his gold jewelry. Q seems to be more grounded than her parents. The show starts with her desperately looking for her misplaced engagement ring which is just soda can pull tab (Pepsi, of course, since Kathniel endorses Pepsi; a pull tab is the thing you pull out to open a soda can), but because it has special meaning to her, it might as well have been a diamond ring.

Korics, on the other hand, comes from a blended family. His mom (Arlene Muhlach) and Papa 2 (Dennis Padilla) arrive first, before Papa 1 (Gardo Verzosa) does. They all get along and are like a barkada, something Q's mom (Ruffa) cannot fathom. Koriks also has siblings--his sister (Riva Quenery) who fits the Gen Z Tiktoker profile and his brother (Anthony Jennings) who is the whole time playing ML (Mobile Legends).

The pamamanhikan lunch turns into a disaster quickly with Ruffa and Herbert wanting a grand wedding or nothing at all, and the family of Koriks getting insulted because they were feeling looked down upon. 

As they were about to leave, barangay officials come and announce that absolutely no is allowed out of the premises. Which means the two families need to live in one house for goodness knows how long; hence the title "The House Arrest of Us," a play on one of Kathniel's best movies, "The Hows of Us." 

The Trailer: 

 

What I thought about The House Arrest of Us:

I've been looking forward to this digi-movie series since I first read about it. I immediately searched on iWant for how I could buy the season pass but couldn't find it there. I ended up buying on KTX.ph. I bought it for P449 (discounted price for early birds) but it now retails at P499. It started today, October 24, 2020, and will end January 16.

Anyway, back to the review. I found the pilot to be refreshing. I have to be honest, I don't have cable at home and no antenna so I really just stream everything now. So to have this "TV" experience was nice. I really set an alarm so I wouldn't miss the 2pm pilot.

The show felt like a Star Creatives show, very Star Cinema-like. The lines, I felt, were tight. Every scene was thought out. Parang sinusulit talaga the time, like in a movie.

I loved the cast! DJ and Kath were all in as always. Even if most of the scenes were light, they played the roles with integrity, walang bitaw (if you know what I mean.) And when there were scenes that were a bit heavier, I found myself tearing up. Maybe it's just me and my hormonal self who missed watching a new Filipino movie/show.

The support cast members were a riot! I love that the parents are all stars from the late 80s to 90s. I loved the comedy and the banter. The funny quips were really funny (to me) and I found myself laughing out loud at "pre-nup," "Sylvester Salon," and other hirits. 

I was surprised that it ended so quickly, though! When the credits came out, I was excited because I thought I would have another half hour or hour of it and the start was just a long (but fun, interesting) intro. But turns out, the show was really just half an hour. 

I'm not sure if after the pilot airs, you can go back and replay it. As I type this, there is still a "fan con" happening on the streaming page, where the cast is taking questions from people. I do hope it can be replayed (I missed the first 2-3 minutes of the show, actually.) and so that people who will be buying tickets can still catch the pilot. 

Overall, I would rate the pilot 9/10. Definitely watching the rest of the season because the pilot was a lot of fun and I miss getting kilig over Kathniel. I just wish the show could run longer than half an hour, kasi medyo bitin, especially for something you will only be watching weekly. 

I would love to know what you thought of the pilot of The House Arrest of Us! Please share in the comments section below. 

 

Also, you might want to read my reviews of other Kathniel movies:

The Hows of Us

Can't Help Falling In Love