Another Guilty Pleasure: Two Themes to Think Over With in "I Do? I Die! (D'yos Ko 'Day!)"

The 1997 comedy film I Do? I Die! (D'yos Ko 'Day!) gained its place in the Pinoy pop culture because of hilarious scenes that went viral on the Internet in the latter part of the 2010s.

Bernardo "Bernie" Mendiola (Edu Manzano) owns an antique shop with Domeng (Babalu) and Mokong (Redford White) being his employees. One morning, Bernie fired Domeng and Mokong. He did not know that the two had just come from an overnight job ordered by the manager (Joji Isla).

Mokong and Domeng on their way to try their luck in a construction site.

Screen Capture: Star Cinema

The trouble is that Bernie owns the site

Screen Capture: Star Cinema

Instead of receiving a bonus and vacation, Domeng and Mokong were forced to look for new work. Their job hunt led to a series of hilarious situations. Many of us already know what happened. For now, we will just focus on two themes:

Theme Number One is the different kinds of diligence.  Bernie showed diligence with direction. He worked hard for his family and became successful. It also affected his relationship with his wife and children, but that’s another story.

Domeng and Mokong, on the other hand, showed diligence without rest. They were motivated by the promise of a bonus and vacation. But they got tired and slept at the wrong time and place. Bernie then saw this as negligence.

Theme Number Two is monopoly capitalism, presented through comedy.  Bernie can be seen as a monopolist. He recurringly appears as the owner or boss of different business enterprises. 

For Domeng and Mokong, one man can control their fate and opportunities. In the bigger picture, this seems like the "illusion of choice" in capitalism.

Domeng and Mokong decided to just beg instead, saying there is no boss, the income is good, and there are no taxes. (For most minimum wage earners, taxes are a burden—especially if they are not properly allocated to public services.)

So Domeng and Mokong started begging. The twist? Bernie was still the one inside the car they knocked on. 🤣

Anyway, this post is getting nowhere. If there is a need to escape the heaviness of the world's pressing issues, we can just go to YouTube and watch these scenes.

Full Movie: Star Cinema / YouTube