Desperate wives compete in Ako Legal Wife
From: RegalFilms website   [October 2005]


    In Chinoy (Chinese-Filipino) culture, it�s not unusual for a man to have more than one wife. This pervasive situation was even explored in Regal Films� acclaimed drama, Mano Po 2: My Home.

    Now, Regal Entertainment proudly announces its humorous exploration of the question, "How does a Chinoy wife react when she finds out her husband is having an affair with women who are sexier and younger than she is?".

    In the new comedy drama Ako Legal Wife, Regal brings together for the first time a topnotch cast & staff of award-winners and proven box-office draws.

    In the title role is the divine Zsa Zsa Padilla, who uttered Mano Po 2�s most memorable exclamation, Ako legal wife, which is now the title of her newest movie for Regal. The lovely Zsa Zsa plays Chona Chong, an insecure woman who begins to suspect that her husband Elton is having an affair with a younger woman.

    Elton Chong is played by the versatile Jay Manalo, fresh from his win as the Film Academy of the Philippines� (FAP) Best Supporting Actor of 2004 for his sympathetic portrayal of a Japanese military leader in FAP Best Picture winner Aishite Imasu 1941. Playing business wiz Patty, the second, "lucky wife" of Elton, is film and TV favorite Cherry Pie Picache.

    Elton�s buxom, third "latest wife" Gloria is played by local filmdom�s sexiest and funniest comedienne, Rufa Mae Quinto.

    Playing against type for the first time in his colorful career is the boyishly handsome John Prats as Hamilton, Chona�s closeted gay son. Canadian-born Chinese Julianne Lee of TV�s Joyride plays his sharp-as-tacks sister Hibiscus.

    Metro Manila Film Festival Best Child Performer winner Ella Guevarra (Sigaw) is Anthurium, Chona�s youngest daughter.

    Rounding out the cast are Bianca King as Trixia, as a pretty girl assigned to bring out the man in Hamilton and matinee idol JC De Vera as Nixon, the rebellious punk-obsessed son of Elton and second wife Patty.

    Comedienne Nova Villa, who made countless viewers weep with laughter without uttering a single intelligible word in So Happy Together plays Elton�s mother Emily, who tries to straighten out the mess her son created by loving three women at the same time.

    Ako Legal Wife is directed by Joel Lamangan, who was voted Best Director of 2004 by the FAP for his brilliant, sensitive work on Aishite Imasu 1941.

    Ako Legal Wife�s observant screenplay is by award-winning scriptwriter Roy Iglesias. The comedy drama of botox injections, breast enhancement, expensive jewelry and cat fights is an official entry to this December's Metro Manila Film Festival.