Disc Details
Special Features:	Commentary by Gene Cajayon and writer John Manal Castro Digitally remastered soundtrack Two in-depth documentaries: The Making of "the Debut" and The Little Film that Could: Touring the Country Three Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes covering the artists and music of the Debut, including an intimate profile of the Basco Brothers! Original Debut short film directed by Gene Cajayon Diary of a Gangsta Sucka short film directed by John Manal Castro Six Deleted Scenes Blooper Reel Three TV Spots and the Theatrical Trailer A special video dedication to all our Debut volunteers and supporters
Video Format:	Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) [SS-DL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles:	English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Portuguese, Tagalog
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	1-Disc Keep Case

At first glance, “The Debut” sounds like your run-of-the-mill teen dramedy about a young kid who is trying to decide whether to pursue his own dreams or follow the wish of his father. Ben (Dante Basco, who played Rufio in 1991’s “Hook”) wants to enter art school to become an illustrator against his father’s wishes rather than enter UCLA on full scholarship to become a doctor. It all comes to a head on his sister’s eighteenth birthday “Debut” party, where a confrontation with an old friend and an introduction to a beautiful filipina brings him closer to his Filipino heritage. I know that sounds a little corny, but don’t let it dissuade you. “The Debut” is at its core a much deeper film that is able to rise above its generic plot points to deliver a genuinely authentic story about being “brown” and living in America.

A cast of young and charismatic Filipino-American actors anchors the film and gives the script’s more serious elements a sense of weight and purpose. The soundtrack is fresh and hip, and there are memorable scenes throughout including a spectacular traditional Filipino bamboo dance performance and an equally entertaining hip-hop dance battle number.

Cajayon deliberately sneaks little bits of Filipino culture into most scenes, but in the process paints a rather stereotypical picture of the same white people he purports stereotype Filipinos. It’s the only major flaw in “The Debut,” and one that will surely be overlooked by a core audience that will no doubt find much of the film’s humor both Filipino friendly and quite funny.

Cajayon occasionally hits you over the head with his message, but it's a good one and you can’t help but smile in the process. In a year when Asian American filmmakers are making waves across the US, a debut like this is a great sign for Filipino filmmakers of the future.

Picture Quality: 8/10
Presented in a 1.85:1 and 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer, The Debut should please its viewers. The film is bursting with primary colors, and they come across bright and clear in the transfer. Grain and artifacting are not noticeable. Overall an above average job.

Sound Quality: 7/10
A hip-hop, beat oriented soundtrack, The Debut actually sounds fairly good for a 2.0-channel Dolby Surround track. Despite being dispersed over just two channels, the audio quality is quite strong, with decent range. Dialogue is crisp and audible. Not much ambient sound utilized.

Easter Eggs:
No Easter Eggs found during review.

Extra Features: 8/10
This special edition of The Debut is an impressive collection of notable extra features that complement the picture perfectly (funny, a special edition that actually lives up to its billing!). Writer/director Gene Cajayon and co-writer John Manal Castro are hilarious (if not a little distracted at times) in their feature-length commentary. You can tell it's their first time doing this sort of thing, but it actually works to their benefit. From constantly pointing out the guy who kept staring into the camera, to revealing that star Joy Bisco "has some serious digits...much love Joy, much love" (ie-big hands), they tend to ramble but keep the mood fun and entertaining. Both speakers also offer insights into the Filipino culture and describe the difficulties involved in shooting.

There are also six deleted scenes, which include an alternate opening and some more in depth scenes. Like many deleted scenes, their transfers haven't been cleaned up and look fairly muddy.

Several fine documentaries elaborate on the difficulty in getting "The Debut," off the ground and into production, then from finished product to distributed theatrical release (they released the film in theaters completely independent from any distributors). The Making of The Debut runs for 20 minutes and contains in-depth conversations with co-writers Cajayon and Castro. The Little Film That Could: Touring the Country showcases their nationwide journey to get the film shown in theaters. It's probably the most interesting of the features, explaining how a team largely composed of volunteers were able to market the film with no money or resources. This feature runs for eight minutes.

This disc also contains two short films that showcase the story origins and Castro's early work. 1992's Debut is the short film Cajayon used to sell the idea for his feature film. The image and sound quality is pretty poor, but it's a great little piece to include. Directed by Castro, Diary of a Gangsta Sucka is a black-and-white student film that depicts the family life and background of a wannabe Filipino gangster.

"The Mercado Files" provides three more featurettes that each cover a specific aspect of the film. Art of the Debut speaks to the actual people who created Ben's artwork. The next segment interviews the music supervisors and discusses the movie's diverse songs. Several talented singers and DJs appeared in the film and briefly describe their background. The Basco Brothers interviews the Filipino family who contributed the most major acting roles. Each feature runs for a few minutes and is introduced by the super hot Vicky Mercado (no relation to the film other than the fact that she shares the same last name as the main character).

The remaining supplements include advertisements, a gag reel, DVD-ROM features, and previews for two other films—Can't Hardly Wait and Hollywood Homicide (strange combo). The "Ad Campaign" section includes the original theatrical trailer and three television spots. The gag reel runs for about three minutes and offers an ok selection of silly moments and bloopers.

The Final Word:
The Debut is a film that deserves a wider audience, and might finally get it with this DVD release. Though released in 2001 theatrically, it has taken over two years for this first-ever Filipino-American feature film to make it onto DVD. Fans of the film will rejoice, as Columbia-Tristar has done a fantastic job with this Special Edition release. There are loads of extra features, most notably a funny commentary track by Director Gene Cajayon and co-writer John Manal Castro, three excellent behind-the-scenes featurettes and six deleted scenes (the extra features are discussed in detail below). Throw in sexy Vicky Mercado introducing three other featurettes, and you've got one hot DVD!

Stephen Wong