Moondogs

November 15, 2010
Yates's flamboyantly overstuffed debut brings a colorful panoply of characters to the Philippines, where corruption, hedonism, culture clashes, and a touch of magic lead to massive misadventure. Reeling from the death of his mom, Benicio ditches a burgeoning romance to head to Manila, where his long-estranged dad, Howard, is ostensibly living the high life. But when Benicio arrives, Howard is nowhere to be found, and Benicio eventually learns that Howard has been kidnapped by a gang that hopes to exploit the war on terror to make bank with their American hostage. Meanwhile, American embassy worker Monique is carrying on an affair and letting her family life deteriorate until the Howard situation upends her life. Rounding out the cast of those involved, in one way or another, with the kidnapping are an elite group of soldiers with rough manners and superpowers; Howard's local associates; a vengeful prostitute; Reynato Ocampo, a badass cop who's inspired a series of hit films; and the star of the Ocampo movies, who sees politics in his future. The explosive array of personalities and coincidences moves at a breakneck pace, but the massive cast and jumble of (sometimes brutally violent) plots threaten to smother the heart of this unruly adventure: a surprisingly touching story of a son and his parents.