Dante Basco

Looking past the frequently rudimentary filmmaking and the rather stale plot of Americanized kids struggling against the old world values of their immigrant parents, "The Debut" has at its heart a strong cast of actors giving their all to earn a resounding ring of truth with the movie's target audience.

The story of a Filipino-American teenager determined to go to art school despite his father's insistence that he become a doctor, the movie touches on many of the conflicts such minorities face in sometimes hermetic ethnic social circles.

Ben Mercado (Danté Basco) clashes constantly with his hard-headed father (Tirso Cruz III), who demands, accusingly, "What the hell are you going to do with a degree in cartoons?" Dad has never stopped to consider his son's talent -- which the movie implies Ben has a lot of, although it's not until the last scene in the movie that we see any of his work.

Continue reading: The Debut Review