Bar Boys: After School enters the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) with a promise larger than the world it depicts. More than the arduous reality of the legal world, the sequel focuses on friendship, purpose, and how far kindness can carry people through.

The original Bar Boys (2017), written and directed by Kip Oebanda, first premiered in August 2017 as part of the inaugural Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino. A comedy-drama at heart, the film follows a group of legal management graduates — Erik (Carlo Aquino), Christian (Enzo Pineda), Torran (Rocco Nacino), and Joshua (Kean Cipriano) — as they dive headfirst into the grueling law school life. 

Centered on friendship and ambition alongside the pressures of legal education, the story ultimately leads the characters to make different choices following the law school entrance examinations — and eventually, the most-anticipated bar exam — with three friends finally becoming lawyers, and one pursuing an entirely different turn toward acting.

Bar Boys was later adapted into a stage musical by Barefoot Theatre Collaborative and, staying true to the original storyline, premiered in 2024 with a 20-song score that brings audiences closer to the boys’ journey. The production made its comeback from October to November 2025 with an updated staging, amassing glowing reviews for its direction, music, and overall performances.

Now the universe expands once more with Bar Boys: After School —and its tall task is to push this touching story and world forward. 

Set a decade after the events of the first film, the sequel picks up the threads left by Erik, Christian, Torran, and Joshua, and asks what happens after dreams have been reached, or lost, or rewritten. And rather than the high-pressure halls of law school, the story now shifts into the real-world consequences of the choices made in their youth. 

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While the first film captured the uncertainty of our young dreamers, After School turns its gaze toward the lives these characters have built, or are trying to rebuild, as though offering today’s new adults a glimpse of what growing older might look like: that growing up doesn’t necessarily mean life gets easier. The sequel suggests, however, that kindness, community, and purpose can keep people moving forward even when the system feels unforgiving. 

After School isn’t merely a continuation — rather, it is an expansion, laying bare what it means to step out of the classroom and confront a world unyielding. 

A film born out of anger, truth, and the times

Director Kip Oebanda said the film’s core came not from a desire to continue a franchise, but from a story they felt compelled to tell. And when asked how he chooses the stories he creates, he answered that he bases them on what makes him angry.

“Sorry, minsan masyado tayong mabait as a society (Sometimes, we’re too nice as a society),” he said during the Bar Boys: After School media conference on Wednesday, December 3.

“Rally tayo nang rally pero hindi natin pinapangalanan ‘yung mga magnanakaw (We keep on rallying but we don’t name the thieves). We organize but then we stay complacent… we should stay angry — hindi ito time para mag pa-sweet, eh (this is not the time to act sweet).”

Bar Boys: After School, which picks up a decade after the events of the first film, explores the lives of the original friends as they navigate the harsh realities of life and the legal profession. 

It also explores the sacrifices and consequences that come with pursuing one’s dreams, as seen in the added storyline of Trisha Perez (Sassa Gurl), a hardworking student who becomes the first LGBTQ+ valedictorian of a prestigious law school.

“Bumabangga na sila ngayon sa mga institusyon, sa mga social structures (They are now clashing with institutions and social structures),” said Oebanda, adding that the film is really about life and justice in the Philippines more than just the practice of law.

Actor Benedix Ramos, who plays Bok in the sequel — and also stars in the stage adaptation of Bar Boys — said it’s also timely to create movies like this: stories that teach us not to bow down to a system that expects us to endure and put up with a difficult life, especially when efficient systems could ease this burden.

For him, the film is a call to recognize that ordinary people deserve better, and that we shouldn’t be conditioned to accept unnecessary suffering.

“It’s about time na mag-kuwento tayo ng ganitong klaseng mga pelikula — tuturuan tayong magtanong.” (It’s about time we start telling stories like this — they will teach us to ask questions.)

First MMFF, first full-length, first big leap

The film stands as a milestone for many of the people involved. For several cast members, Bar Boys: After School marks their first time joining the MMFF, while 901 Studios said this is their first full-length project.

Aquino, who returns to the franchise as Erik Vicencio, recalled reading the original script back in 2015. At that point, he admitted he had been thinking of stepping away from acting before Bar Boys brought back his “fire.”

When asked what OG fans can look forward to, Oebanda kept it simple: “I think they’re excited to enjoy.” 

The first film, after all, reached far beyond law students and practicing lawyers. Its story resonated with a wide audience because people from all walks of life could see parts of themselves reflected in the characters — in their struggles, ambitions, friendships — universal experiences that are not unique to any one profession or background.

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While the film is set mostly in the world of law, it’s not about lecturing audiences on the Revised Penal Code or the thick textbooks that haunt law students’ dreams. Rather, it’s an entertaining film that engages in discourse on Philippine justice, tackles themes of family and community and friendships, and shows how far small acts of kindness can carry people through life’s difficulties.

“It’s a slice of life, a slice of truth,” said Enzo Pineda, who plays Atty. Chris Carlson. You don’t need to know the Constitution by heart to understand the exhaustion of chasing dreams, or the relief of having a friend beside you when things fall apart.

“We don’t have to be a lawyer to need and want a support system,” they emphasized. The movie leans into this truth, showing that even though life in the Philippines is hard, a life lived with people — family and friends, people who show up for you even in small ways — can be a life worth fighting for.

When asked how the sequel truly began, Oebanda shared a story of a young viewer who watched the first Bar Boys, who eventually became a lawyer and dedicated his career to serving communities. He said that if the first movie hadn’t existed — and did not inspire that one viewer who became a lawyer to serve the people — After School wouldn’t be here now.

And if there’s one thing the cast hopes for, it’s that the film sends audiences back into the world with even a sliver of courage. They hope people leave the theater motivated to take on life again, to hope for a better country, and to have the courage to question and to fight.

“Lumaban ka at kumwestyon ka para sa mga batang tumatakbo diyan sa kalsada (Fight and question the system for the kids running out there on the streets), ” said Aquino, when asked what he wanted to tell eager audiences. “Para sa kanila lahat ito (This is for all of them).”

It’s a story for working students, breadwinners, board exam takers, nurses, doctors, and anyone who’s ever felt at a disadvantage in society.

“This isn’t just about one person,” Oebanda added. “It’s about creating communities. Ang hirap mabuhay sa Pilipinas… but hopefully people leave the theater feeling seen, understood, validated. Na next year, kaya pa. May bagong pag-asa. May lakas.”

(It’s about creating communities. Life in the Philippines is tough… but hopefully people leave the theater feeling seen, understood, and validated. That next year, we can still make it. There is rekindled hope. There is strength.)

Ramos summed it up with a question: “Paano ba maging mabuting tao, rather than maging isang mabuting lawyer?” (How do we become good people, rather than good lawyers?)

The film, he believes, offers an answer. – Angel Baleña/Rappler.com

Bar Boys: After School opens on December 25 in cinemas nationwide as part of the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Angel Baleña is a Rappler intern studying Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines Diliman.