'Lisa Frankenstein' REVIEW: No amount of Pinoy pride is enough to celebrate this great performance by Liza Soberano
‘Lisa Frankenstein’ REVIEW: No amount of Pinoy pride is enough to celebrate this great performance by Liza Soberano
Liza Soberano in Lisa Frankenstein. Taken from INQUIRER (@inquirerdotnet) via X
Lisa Frankenstein is a fun break from the cathartic stories in theaters recently. While it's nothing special compared to other works of camp, the film stands out for the unique themes it explores about family — the different ways of mourning after the death of a loved one, the unbreakable bond of sisterhood, battling the cancer of the family, and last but not the least, facing the challenges of high school. The film’s Western setting might have made certain events seem unrealistic or unreliable at times, but its discussion on sisterhood and parental conflict made it feel so familiar to us regardless.
Pinoy pride is strong leading up to the premiere of this film, especially knowing that the Hollywood spotlight would be on the Philippines’ very own Liza Soberano. What makes her role so applaudable is how different her character ‘Taffy’ is compared to the usual roles we have seen her in. Taffy barely causes drama for most of the story and holds a resemblance to those side characters everyone roots for more than the main protagonist in TV shows. This isn’t our usual Liza Soberano but she still makes it look so natural nonetheless — and that’s how you know it's great acting.
It would be an understatement to commend her for matching the performance levels of her co-stars. Even Cole Sprouse as the undead creature with significantly more screen time isn’t as entertaining despite him being no stranger to camp. Yet again, we have another film to show the world that Hollywood is merely a title, as we get this standout performance from Soberano and can undoubtedly get it from other Filipino actors too.
However, this isn’t just Soberano’s Hollywood debut. This is also the first full-length directing we’ve seen from Zelda Williams. Williams takes a brave step in introducing herself to us through a very unserious fashion but makes it very clear that she knows what she is doing. It's like she sat down with her writer (2008 Academy Award Winner for Best Original Screenplay, Diablo Cody) and said: “We can’t do camp and NOT insert a random Cole Sprouse voiceover.” She’s definitely someone to keep an eye on if you enjoy camp, satire, or coming-of-age stories in general.
Lisa Frankenstein is now showing in theaters worldwide.
