Crying Ladies definitely has its moments. The beautifully-shot scenes of a traditional Chinese funeral lend a cultural richness and international appeal to the film. The comedy is raw and unpretentious; a very Filipino sense of humor shines through. There are poignant, delicately human scenes when the characters get drawn by the real tears shed by the bereaved family so that it is difficult to tell whether they were still crying for pay or just being participants of a shared broken humanity. And there is a very endearing, sincere quality about the characters of Crying Ladies, owing a lot to the first-rate portrayal of the lead actors led by Sharon Cuneta. Her conflicted Stella is thoroughly real; with just the right amount of goofball doses to make her likable. Tough critics from the New York Times and Village Voice gave her the "two thumbs up," even when they point out the film's flaws.
And flaws there are, one of which is the film's uneven editing languishing unnecessarily in some sequences and sloppily breaking narrative continuity here and there.
Nonetheless, Crying Ladies succeeds in presenting a whimsical glimpse of how adept Pinoys are at turning tears into laughter... so seamlessly, and without bitterness.
