EUGENE Domingo and Pokwang have been paired before in “D’ Lucky Ones” in 2006, a comedy directed by the late Wenn Deramas, where they played the moms of Sandara Park and Joseph Bitangcol who are both ardent fans of Vilma Santos.

Now, they’re together again in “Becky and Badette” which again pays homage to Ate Vi. In a key scene, they re-enact Ate Vi’s famous sequence in the 1982 Ishmael Bernal drama, “Relasyon”, where she is shown panicking while Christopher de Leon is having a stroke.

“The movie is really a love letter to Philippine cinema,” says writer-director Jun Lana. “It pays tribute not only to Ate Vi and her movies, but also to Sharon Cuneta, Maricel Soriano and Tito Dolphy.”

“Our wish is sana manood si Ate Vi ng premiere night namin on December 21 kasi we honored so many of her films in our movie,” says Eugene. “And we promise, kami naman, manonood ng entry niyang ‘When I Met You in Tokyo’.”

Eugene says she saw Pokwang’s rise in the industry.

“I was a judge and she was a contestant in Clown in a Million searching for new comedians in 2004,” she recalls. “She was a stand out in that contest. Nakakatuwa siya and ang akala ko, bakla siya.

Babae pala. So she won. Then nagkasama kami sa show ni Charlene Gonzales na ‘At Home Ka Rito’. Wala pa siyang sasakyan noon and after the taping, sumasabay siya sa akin sa pag-uwi. Nakita ko pag-angat niya hanggang nagkaroon na siya ng sasakyan at naging sila ni Lee at kinuha niya akong ninang ng anak niyang si Malia.”

They have something else in common other than being both good comedians. They have an “afam” for a partner. Eugene is married to Italian film critic, Danilo Bottoni, and they’ve been together for seven years now, while Pokwang was in a relationship for a while with American actor Lee O’Brian that ended in a bitter breakup.

They now co-star in the zany comedy “Becky and Badette”, written and directed by Jun Lana and an official entry in the coming Metro Manila Filmfest. They play the best of friends from grade school to whom life has not been kind.

The big powerhouse cast includes Romnick Sarmenta, Agot Isidro, Adrian Lindayag, Angie Castrence, Peewee O’Hara plus special guests Iza Calzado, Sunshine Dizon, Karylle, Empoy, Moira dela Torre, Christian Bables, Ice Seguerra, Janice de Belen, Gladys Reyes, Sheryn Regis, Sharlene San Pedro, Timothy Castillo, Joross Gamboa, Sigrid Bernardo and Via Antonio.

Pokwang is very open in declaring that she now wants to avoid men for a while. “Tama na muna ‘yang love,” she says. “I want to focus muna on my career at sa dalawang anak ko. Also magnenegosyo muna ako at magpapayaman.”

What can Eugene say about this? “Ang payo ko sa kanya, wag siya basta sumuko sa love,” she says. “Yung sinasabing kaya kong ako lang mag-isa, hindi naman totoo ‘yan. Kasi the time will come that your two daughters will have their own families, so it’s important na may kasama ka rin sa iyong pagtanda. Yung merong totoong magmamahal sa iyo at kasama mong mae-enjoy sa buhay ang lahat ng pinagsikapan at pinaghirapan mo.”

Eugene remains busy with films, like “Big Night” for which she got supporting actress nominations, “Ten Little Mistresses” that was shown on Prime Video and “Here Comes the Groom”, an entry in the Summer Metro Filmfest last April where she got more acting nominations. We won’t be surprised if she’d get another nomination for her rollicking performance in “Becky and Badette” that opens in theaters on Christmas Day.