if this was written by Richard Curtis ( four weddings and a funeral. Notting Hill ), it might made a better film. Although most of the conversations were made round the table, they might have been eating fish and chips. If your a Filipino watching the film, you have an idea what food would be served, but what about us non Filipino?.The film does not show the Filipino in a good light. The single man treats women like dirt ( is that why most Filipino women leave their country to become domestic helpers ) The good looking woman chooses a man, who is not in the same league as her. The married man works and his children are dreadful and his wife is a cow (reminds us that somethings don't change ). The gay and the virgin are the only normal people??? Is that representative of the Filipino abroad? Anyway the acting was good, and with a little more thought to the script, the film could have been more than average.

As a Filipino American filmmaker, I was excited to sit and watch a film about Filipinos. What I got was. a film about Filipinos from filmmakers who seem to think that 'we' are not intelligent human beings. Who was this film made for? Americans? Filipinos? Everyone? I'm not saying the characters were non-intelligent, but the way the story was told seemed like it was told to those who wouldn't get it.Subtext? Where was it?If this was a film made for American's then I'm embarrassed at the representation. Not the representation as far as character and story, but the representation as far as Filipino filmmakers and their work.If this was a film made for Filipinos, then I'd have to ask. are we this dumb that you have to over explain things?As user, `mhark villaruz' states, `the film tends to over explain things'. That was a huge complaint of mine which I posed to another Filipino director. He argued that maybe that is how Filipinos really are. They wear their emotion on their sleeve and nothing is left to subtext. Okay, I can buy that, but that is not what filmmaking and solid story telling is all about. Is it? My argument was that the non-subtextual style of characters was an insult to us as intellectual viewers. Again, why over explain things?The performers could only do so much based on a script and a director directing them. So here are a few things that stand out.-Was it kinda `stagey'? Cheating to the camera is one thing, but playing to the camera as Marissa (Bonnevie) did in the break up scene was just so. well, `stagey'! (that was just one of many)-Who knew Gerry (Davao) was gonna kiss Mike (De Leon)? Was that just so fricken' obvious? That didn't come out of nowhere but it could have. And if it did, it would have been a very dramatic moment. And what does it say about Davao's character, who we rooted for, when he was so in love with a man dying of AIDS? He just cheated on his life long partner at the END of the movie!!!If the film was structurally sound, the archs would have been more convincing.The 'kiss' and Tere's (Picache) breakdown, for example, could have all been structured as a midpoint sequence. It would have been interesting to watch their lives play out for the whole second act after that. Then we could see rewards for what they went through at the VERY end: Gerry possibly coming to terms with his mother and Mike, or Tere finding the love of her dreams, etc. etc. etc.Overall, the film was able to portray life here (America) as Filipino Americans and some of the cultures: The party where people were dancing in the b.g. (where was the pig on the table?), the American/Filipino language, the rich bitch, the political angst, the hardships, and the results of labor.But it lacked in direction, story and style.What got it made? Here's your answer: PASSION.PASSION - the number one lesson from this film for future or current filmmakers!

SPOILER AHEAD----------SPOILER AHEAD-------SPOILER AHEAD-I have classified this into 3 categories: BAD, BAD, acting by the ensemble cast, flat dialogue by Vincent R. Nebrida or the godawful direction by Laurice Guillen. This movie is a very poor copycat of their Asian counterpart, Man-Woman-Eat-Drink, but this one stinks-BIG TIME! Starts with a woman who cooks (adobo - a Filipino dish) and looks out the window, while she narrates the opening spiel of the movie -- all to the tune of some funny yet wanting to sound mystifying music that continues throughout the movie-it was irritating!"American Adobo" is a story about five Filipino best friends as they look for love in New York City. One character is gay (Davao), another is a soon to be old-mail (Picache-the only saving grace of this movie), the third one is a good-looking but shallow womanizer (Montalban), the fourth is an overacting socialite who doesn't know what the meaning of self worth (Bonnevie-too shallow acting, more shrills, shouts, very bad acting), the 5th one is an unhappily married guy (DeLeon). To top the already boring & too much hyped characterization, however dense, don't be surprised when the gay character tearfully reveals that he's been in love with the unhappily married guy for the longest time. Near the end of the film, the cook accidentally sets her apartment on fire and then falls in love with the firemen who saves her, the gay man accidentally mixes up letters to his lover and mother, thus he has to fly back to the Philippines to retrieve the letter containing sexy pics of him and his lover and before his mother finds out - WHEW!!! That is just to name the many senseless scenes in this movie. And why was the movie named American Adobo? If it is a metaphor of sorts, then it failed miserably to put forth the message it wants to convey.Watching this movie makes you want to drink a whole bottle of Maalox for your upset stomach after tasting that concoction named adobo.

I have heard so many good reviews about this film, for me basically the movie is about, how do Filipinos adapt to a very different place. The film entails a lot of challenges in life one has to face especially if not in his homeland. The story is light, sad moments were not so sad, and funny moments were not so funny.One thing though, the film tends to over explain things, this would have done better. It is one of those movies that equates food into the story, this time i have hardly seen the connection, it did not show up to the mainstream of the movie.The characters did perform well, though some parts wherein they were acting unnaturally. The script is very light.Ricky Davao,I should say did very well in the movie, he deserves to be in the list of best actors in the Philippines.American Adobo tastes good,but it's overcooked. 5/10