Produced by TropicFrills Film Productions, in cooperation with Wildsound Studios, and distributed by Quantum Films, it was released on August 16, 2017, as one of the official entries for the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino.
Plot
A quartet of friends consisting of legal management graduates Christian, Erik Visencio, Joshua, and Toran Garcia, play League of Legends in an internet café and later check the results of their law school entrance examination. Of the four, only Erik, Christian, and Toran manage to pass. Joshua, however, was not on the list and revealed that he never truly wanted to be a lawyer. Instead, he claimed that he aspired to be a model and only pursued legal management due to his parents' wishes.
The families of the three law school passers celebrated their children's success. Toran, from a middle-class family of seven, had his parents invite neighbors to join in the celebration and show support for his education, aiming to make a name for the family. Erik comes from a working-class family. His father, an aging retired cop now working as a security guard, hopes the law degree will lift them out of poverty, while his mother worries about the expensive law school tuition. Christian comes from a wealthy family and could attend an Ivy League university in the U.S., but chooses to study law in the Philippines to be closer to his girlfriend, a decision his Filipino-American father is unaware of.
The trio begins their law school journey, facing various challenges. In their first class, they meet Atty. Victor Cruz, a young gay lawyer who taught them the importance of specificity. Toran begins a relationship with a popular, intelligent girl in his class and is invited to join an elite law school fraternity after an altercation with a rival member. However, he faces a moral dilemma when he witnesses fraternity abuse and struggles with whether to report it or protect his status. Meanwhile, Erik's father suffers a stroke, forcing Erik to balance his studies, work, and caregiving duties.
After years of overcoming challenges, the trio reaches their senior year. One of their most challenging classes is taught by the strict Deputy Dean, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Hernandez, who demands precise answers. In one class, she emphasizes the seriousness of studying law and shares a pro bono case she's handling involving land titles and the generational oppression of farmers.
Months before graduation, Hernandez revealed that the dean had asked her to choose between a curve and a cut-off for grading. Hernandez revealed to the class that she chose the curve, and announced that Christian earned a perfect 1.0. When the class applauded, Hernandez warned them that the curve meant more students would be at risk of failing. She gave Christian the choice to keep his grade or lower it to help classmates, including Erik, who risked not graduating if he failed the class. This leads to an argument among the trio, as Christian risks losing his honors title if he lowers his grade for Erik. Toran and Christian, believing in Erik, each resolved in their own way to convince Hernandez to help him. Touched by their persistence, Hernandez relented, choosing a cut-off over the curve, allowing Erik to pass and qualify for graduation.
During the bar exams, Christian found the test easy, while Toran struggled with labor law. Erik, grieving his father’s recent death, was uncertain of his answers. When the results were released, Toran pranked his family into thinking he failed, only to reveal he passed, bringing them joy. It was then revealed that Erik had failed, while Christian emerged as a bar topnotcher.
Josh reunites with the trio when they find Erik playfully teasing Toran. Christian offers a portion of Josh's income as an actor to Erik, but he declines. Josh insists Erik keep the money as a condolence. Later, Erik meets with Hernandez, who expresses her condolences. As Erik revealed that he's considering not retaking the bar and pursuing business or a call-center job instead, Hernandez supports his decision but encourages him to try again, revealing Christian and Toran's efforts to convince her to believe in him.
Years later, Joshua has become a successful celebrity, while it was revealed that Erik ranked ninth in his second take of the bar exam. Christian calls up Joshua, who is preparing for a TV series, before heading to the courthouse library, where he reunites with Toran and Erik. Toran and Christian reveal that they coached Erik for his bar exam retake. The trio then heads to the courtroom, ready for their session as Erik and Toran represent two opposing parties.
Odette Khan as Justice Hernandez, a retired court Justice known for her strict demeanor who would not accept anything other than a specific and precise answer.
Rener Concepcion as Renato Vicencio, the father of Erik.
Vance Larena as Lord Master
Irene Celebre as Linda Vicencio, mother of Torran.
Pontri Bernardo as Atty. Maurice Carlson, the father of Christian
Hazel Faith Dela Cruz as Alice
Production
Bar Boys was produced under TropicFrills Film Productions in cooperation with Wildsound Studios. It was directed and written by Kip Oebanda.[1] The concept for the film was created when Oebanda was watching a local horror film with a lawyer friend who described to him that law school is the "ultimate horror film". Oebanda presented the idea for the film at the 2014 Film Financing Forum.[2] This led to Oebanda researching on law schools and its culture, law students and instructors and even the concept of friendship.[1]
The role of Justice Hernandez was originally offered to Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, who initially accepted only to drop out due to her 2016 presidential campaign conflicting with the production schedule.[citation needed] Khan, who ultimately landed the role, cited Santiago as her inspiration after Oebanda informed her that she would be portraying the late senator.[3][4]
He describes the film as a "love story" saying that friendship is a "form of love". He says that the characters in the film went through conflicts that made them make tough decisions and was asked to pick between friendship or personal success.[1] The film was produced by Vanessa Ulgado.[5]
The film received support from the SM Foundation. Principal photography for Bar Boys was made in 2015 and additional shots were made the following year.[1] Most of the school scenes, including the library and classrooms, were filmed in San Beda College (now San Beda University), while scenes depicting the bar operations of different law schools were actual footage of the 2015 bar examinations at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). However, as filming inside UST, the venue for the bar examinations, was prohibited for security reasons, scenes of law graduates taking the bar examinations were instead filmed in another portion of San Beda College.[citation needed]
Release
The film, distributed by Quantum Films, made its theatrical debut on August 16, 2017, as one of the twelve official entries at the 2017 Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino.[1]
The Cinema Evaluation Board gave Bar Boys an "A" rating. Writer-director Erik Matti described the film as "nostalgic and sentimental", saying that Bar Boys reminded him of Maryo J. de los Reyes's Bagets and Jake Tordesillas's High School Circa '65. He also praised the performance of the lead actors as well as the "nuanced detail on the inner workings of making it to law school" as depicted in the film.[5]
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