MANILA, Philippines?We went out of our way last week to watch ?Disaster Movie,? because it stars Fil-Am actress and former TV co-host Vanessa Minnillo. The good news is that Vanessa comes through engagingly in the comedy flick. On the other hand, the production?s grab-bag approach in terms of the comedic notions it pursues causes the movie to end up as one big mess.

At first, we find its leads bemusing enough as they impersonate characters from such hit movies as ?Juno? and ?Batman.?

We?re even more impressed when some of them demonstrate their versatility by playing other characters, as the film tells its wacky story about all sorts of disaster-flick villains wreaking havoc on planet Earth.

When a similarly zany bunch of superheroes zooms in to oppose them, however, things go from bad to worse, and the movie fully ?earns? its title.

Trouble is, it goes from ?disaster? to ?disastrous.? Sometimes, its far-out comic gambits do work, as in the musical number that features the movie?s copy of the pregnant teen in ?Juno? in an alarming hip-hop and breakdancing frenzy. But those moments come too few and far between to enable the film to avert comedic failure.

?Make It Happen?

Things go better for Mary Elizabeth Whitehead, the star of the dance drama, ?Make It Happen.? In the inspiring movie, she plays an unheralded young dancer from a small town in Indiana who ?dares? to audition for a plum scholarship at the prestigious Chicago School of Music and Dance. Expectedly, she fails to make it, and finds work as a bookkeeper (of all things) in a Chicago dance club.

In time, she is able to convince the club manager that she can do more than just balance her books, and she?s finally given a chance to strut her terpsichorean stuff onstage.

She turns out to be a hit, but her success ticks the club?s resident dance diva off. In time, however, the young dancer is able to overcome this and other obstacles ? and get herself a hunky boyfriend, besides. Trouble is, her supportive brother discovers her ?sexy? occupation and feels bad about it, so she has to take time off to support him, for a change.

This is when the film comes full circle, because Whitehead?s character then decided to audition for a scholarship once again. This time around, however, she?s become her own person and has learned to express herself genuinely through dance, so she scores a hit with the school?s faculty, as well.

Happy ending? Right ? but this time, it?s well-deserved, the product of the young dancer?s efforts to rise above her limitations and finally ?find? her true, artistic self.

On the debit side, the movie?s romantic interludes are a predictable distraction, the rivalry in the club is similarly trite, and some upbeat plot developments are too pat for comfort. But the film?s virtues overweigh its lapses, and its sparkling dance numbers steal the show.

?Timeless?

Claire dela Fuente is marking her more than three decades in the biz with ?Timeless,? her concert at Music Museum on Oct. 17. The special show also features Rico J. Puno, Eva Eugenio, Hayden Kho, Bayani Fernando and Angelo Reyes.

Claire?s son, Rafael dela Fuente will be introduced in ?Timeless,? and he is also the show?s associate director, along with Alain Peñaflor and Alexis Abelardo. Musical direction is by Jun Latonio. Call 891-9999, 721-5726 or 687-6181. (Viva Records has just released ?Claire dela Fuente, The Christmas Album.?)

?Body of Lies?

David Ignatius? best-selling novel, ?Body of Lies,? has been adapted for the big screen by ace filmmaker Ridley Scott, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe playing the lead roles. Ignatius? tale is a post-911 thriller about the CIA?s effort to bring down a terrorist group carrying out car bombings in western capitals.