point and counterpoint

Promo poster for My Fake American Accent

My Fake American Accent (2008)
Dirty Kitchen Productions
Director: Ned Trespeces
Writer: Ned Trespeces, Onnah Valera
Starring: Mailes Kanapi, Jonathan Neri, Martin de la Paz, Cherry Mae Canton, Miro Valera and Tracy Abad
Screening at Robinsons Galeria (IndieCine Cinema until June 23, 2009

When a movie about call center agents made by ex-call center agents gets screened, what’s an ex-call center agent got to do? Naturally, watch it, if only for old times’ sake. Having long retired from the trenches, I got interested after spotting My Fake American Accent on the movie listings. You don’t often get to see movies set in call centers, and this one promised to be unique.

True to its promise, Accent does begin with a newbie agent’s first day at work, memorizing his spiels while doing push-ups and between tooth brushes. The rest of the movie then details the stories of the other members of his team mates, including his team leader (Miss Seva), whose is motivated by her desire to become the next operations manager. This motivation, pit against each team member’s situation, drives the impetus for most of the story’s conflict; each character has to contend with both his/her own personal dilemma and their team leader’s micromanagement (for example, two characters had to endure a 20-hour shift).

According to its own blog, Accent was written partly by former call center agents. Actual agents and team leaders also assisted in creating the script, and on this point the script got every detail correct, although at the point of sometimes being superfluous. For example, the newbie agents were trained on how to use their Avaya units on their first day; in fact, agents are supposed to have received the same training days before they hit the floor. Other than these minor details, Accent perhaps portrays the call center scene more accurately than any other local film ever did (or at least, as far as I can remember). When we watched the film, most of the laughters came at the scenes “on the floor” (i.e. set at the call center desks), which would be intelligible only to real call center agents.

The film, however, struggles to weave the character’s different stories together. Each story, on its own, would make for a compelling story, but it appears as if each one was vying for the viewer’s attention, to the point of sidetracking the main premise of the movie (i.e. Ms. Seva’s quest for the OM position). Because of this, the entire movie comes across as an anthology of six related stories, each of which might have received better treatment in a shorter form such as a television episode.

On a more positive note, Accent highlights the struggles of call center agents. Not often do you see movies where life in the call center is anything but glamorous (and, let me emphasize, accurately).  I think that there is plenty of room for improving the movie technically (cinematography and sound, among others), but despite its imperfections Accent provides a good primer for those who are considering a call center job. Seriously, I’d love to see the look at the President’s face while she watches Accent,what with her obsession in making the Philippines the BPO capital of the world

RATING: 3 out of 10.