MANILA, Philippines - Some weeks ago, slapstick comedienne Pokwang surprised televiewers by “going dramatic” on Channel 2’s “Maalaala Mo Kaya.” The move was unexpected, but not all that difficult to explain: Like many comics, Pokwang must have felt the need to prove that she could do more than just shallow and shrill slapstick acting — and that, in fact, she could cry a dramatic river along with the best of them. Thus, Pokwang’s recent “tragedienne” turn reminds us again that the dramatic arts are represented by the twin contrasting masks of laughter and tears.

To get herself ready for her “MMK” challenge, Pokwang wiped off (thank goodness) most of her outlandish makeup. She was cast as a hardworking mother whose efforts were unappreciated by her children, so the new, “ordinary” look was decidedly called for.

Soggy performance

However, the actress overlooked one facial detail — her “signature” plucked eyebrows, which remained as “fly-away” as ever, and thus gave her mother character a perpetually startled look! Alas, this distracted from the drama of her crying scenes in a big way.

Speaking of crying scenes, Pokwang had many of them in her “MMK” episode, and she did justice to them by keeping her tears flowing — like waterworks! Less judiciously, however, there were too many of them, so her performance ended up as more soggy than truly touching. Pokwang and her handlers should really learn the basic acting lesson: Less is more, and more is...too much!

All told, Pokwang’s foray into “serious acting” territory was not as successful as it obviously intended to be. Nice try, but you really can’t make up for years of slapstick with one intense performance.

In fact, Pokwang would do better if she concentrated on improving her comic performances. For starters, she can go beyond silly slapstick and opt for more situation- and character-driven comedy. That’s a major shift right there — and a worthy challenge for comedians who want to do better work, like Pokwang.

More pleasantly, viewers are looking forward to seeing Regine Velasquez hilariously deglamorized in her new TV series, “Ako si Kim Soon,” starting on June 30. Regine wears a fat suit as she essays the funny-pathetic story of a pastry chef recovering from an unhappy romance in GMA 7’s localized rendition of a popular Korean telenovela telecast here a couple of years ago.

It should be fun watching Regine creating her latest screen character, which is radically different from her usual rom-com persona.

Even better, the singer-actress is surrounded by some topnotch talents, led by Eugene Domingo, Carmi Martin and Tessie Tomas. Adding greater interest value to the show’s stellar mix is the presence of doctor-turned-actor Hayden Kho.

Eugene plays the restaurant’s head chef, Tessie is Sam Soon’s mom, and Carmi is the mother of Mark Anthony Fernandez, who’s cast as Cyrus, the restaurant’s owner.

It should be great, bitchy fun seeing Eugene, Tessie and Carmi comedically whaling away at each other, and Regine should have her hands full keeping the show’s focus on her character, despite the “big mamas” shaking their comic booties around her.

Back to action mode

It’s been years since her “Tomb Raider” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” days, and Angelina Jolie has firmed up her reputation as one of Hollywood’s most serious and committed luminaries. What, then, prompted her to go back to action mode in her latest starrer, “Wanted”?

Jolie explains: “I was itching to do something that was physical, because I had done some very emotional films and I had been at home with the kids. I didn’t know that there was anything original out there—until I came across this script. It has a great story! A lot of action movies are lacking in that.”

Jolie’s co-star in “Wanted” is young actor, James McAvoy, who’s doing an action film for the first time.