Last Tuesday (February 7, 2023), Prime Video held the world gala premiere of Ten Little Mistresses – their first Filipino Amazon Original movie on the platform, which is set to be available in over 240 countries and territories starting February 15. While the online community debates about whether or not Ten Little Mistresses will be another formulaic murder-mystery movie, here are my two cents as someone who was able to watch it in advance.

Locally entitled Sampung Mga Kerida, Ten Little Mistresses stars Eugene Domingo, Christian Bables, Pokwang, Arci Muñoz, Carmi Martin, Agot Isidro, Kris Bernal, Sharlene San Pedro, Adrianna So, Kate Alejandrino, Iana Bernardez, Donna Cariaga, and John Arcilla, with the special participation of Cherry Pie Picache. It tells a tale of Filipino billionaire Valentin Esposo (played by Arcilla) and his ten mistresses. They fight it out tooth and nail to become his legal wife, but when Valentin turns up dead, all ten women end up as prime suspects. Now they must race to prove their innocence and unmask the real killer before the police find out.

While the trailer and synopsis sounds like that of 7 Women and a Murder and Knives Out: Glass Onion, it’s way more than fan-favorite murder-mystery movies that we’ve seen. It’s a little bit of everything with comedic twists based on Pinoy pop culture, iconic lines from popular classics such as Bituing Walang Ningning and A Secret Affair, an homage to the LGBTQ+ community with snap-worthy lines pertaining to gender identity, a grand celebration of Filipino camp with extravagant outfits that took on a meaningful role towards the end of the movie, and catchy musical-like scenes that may give you LSS. I went home trying to sing “Sampung mga kerida, saan ang punta n’yo? Nakihati sa hindi inyo, nanggugulo kayo” in the tune of Sampung Mga Daliri.

It’s honestly entertaining and I did laugh way more than I expected. It’s funny but it does not follow the Pinoy humor that you’ll find in Vice Ganda movies. Ten Little Mistresses didn’t even need comedic sound effects to make their jokes land! A lot of lines were very relatable, especially those that reference Filipino pop culture. Women who got cheated on or are being cheated on may also find a quirky line or two to use when the moment of confrontation arrives.

As far as acting is concerned, everyone nailed their parts but this isn’t surprising as this Prime Video movie has a star-studded cast. Although line delivery may seem a bit too much at times, you’ll have to remember that this is a comedy so don’t take it too seriously.

Lilith (Domingo) carried the flow of the story with Chiclet (Cariaga) as her sidekick, while the mistresses create all the drama and comedic scenes that make it worth watching. The banters were mostly funny, but the characters that stood out the most for me were Magenta (Martin), Babet (Pokwang), Helga (Isidro), and Diva (Bernal). While Lady G’s (Bables) character may seem like the most unoriginal out of the bunch, looking like Sia while carrying a name like Lady Gaga, Lady G’s character also plays a special role in the multiple twists and turns of the story.

I’ll also have to commend the rest of the cast for stepping out of their comfort zones. Who would’ve thought that Sharlene San Pedro would star as a mistress? Or Arci Muñoz would step in the shoes of a scene-stealing manghuhula? Ten Little Mistresses is full of surprises.

I won’t be commenting much on the storyline as it would be a huge spoiler. The only thing I can say is that it’s not what I expected at all, thanks to misdirection.

My favorite part, however, is the fashion. Watching the mistresses in every scene feels like watching a runway from RuPaul’s Drag Race. Although there are a lot of characters involved, it’s easy to differentiate them based on the campy looks that they served. Here’s a closer look at each outfit that they wore in the first few minutes of the film:

Hands down to Jaylo Conanan and Jaydee Jasa for the amazing costume designs!

Overall, I’d recommend it for fans of drag fashion, for those who need burn-worthy quotes for a kabit, and those who want to see a different take on Filipino comedy. Idea First Company’s Director Jun Robles Lana and Producer Perci Intalan did a good job and we can also see how big their budget is for this! Can’t wait to see what’s next on Prime Video’s Pinoy originals.

Ten Little Mistresses will stream exclusively on Prime Video starting February 15, also known as “Araw ng mga Kerida” (Day of the Mistresses).

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