(From left) Vice Ganda, Anthony Jennings and Maris Racal. Images: Courtesy of Star Cinema and Netflix Philippines

For Vice Ganda, the charm of Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings’ partnership in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2024 entry “And the Breadwinner Is…” is undeniable, as he pointed out how well they work together as a love team.

The actor-comedian spoke about Racal and Jennings’ acting abilities during the MMFF 2024 entry’s press conference, when asked about their onscreen pairing in the Jun Robles Lana-helmed film.

“Charming naman talaga sila. Nag-work ‘yung kanilang partnership sa kanilang unang mga serye, tsaka magaling talaga (They’re very charming. Their partnership worked in their past projects and they’re really good),” he said.

In the film, Racal plays Vice Ganda’s sister, while details on Jennings’ role are yet to be revealed. However, they were absent during the press conference amid their raging controversy.

Touching on their respective strengths, Vice said Racal is “very talented,” while Jennings has a unique charm that radiates onscreen.

“Maris is very talented, diba? Hindi natin ‘yun pwedeng i-discount or i-disregard. Si Anthony Jennings din naman, hindi rin naman natin pwedeng i-deny na may kakaibang brilyo kapag pinapanood mo sa screen,” he said.

(Maris is very talented, right? We can’t discount or disregard that. As for Anthony Jennings, we can’t deny that he has a certain spark that you can see onscreen.)

This explains why for Vice it was a no-brainer for both of them to be part of the MMFF entry, with the “It’s Showtime” host saying he had worked with the “Ate Sandali” singer in several projects in the past.

“Kaya noong sinabi ng management and Star [Cinema] na isama [sila sa film], sabi ko, ‘Let’s go. Isama natin sila.’ Go agad ako. Si Maris, lagi ko siyang kasama sa movie pero hindi natutuloy,” he said.

(This is why when the management and Star Cinema said they would be part of the film, I said, “Let’s go. Let’s include them.” I was all in. I worked with Maris in a movie but it didn’t push through.)

“And the Breadwinner Is…” tells the story of Bambi Salvador (Vice Ganda), an overseas Filipino worker who comes home from Taiwan, and is tasked with being the family breadwinner. Hoping his family home had been repaired, he was heartbroken upon finding out that his wishes weren’t fulfilled.

After an unexpected accident where he is presumed dead, Bambi is faced with the option of pretending to be dead for his family to receive his insurance, which is enough to provide for their needs.

Also part of the cast are Eugene Domingo, Gladys Reyes, Jhong Hilario, Kokoy de Santos, MC, Lassy, Argus, Malou de Guzman and Joel Torre.