Do the fumbling thugs, cheeky melodrama, a song number, and action scenes near the end make a case of a satiric look at Filipino comedy? Or do the idea of big-name actors relegated to cameos playfully allegorize the irony that perpetual sidekick-slash-scene-stealer Eugene Domingo now headlines her own movie? Whatever the case, Joyce Bernal's hilariously animated "Kimmy Dora" -- a spruced-up slapstick touted as the actor's launching pad to lead stardom -- dashes along with the comedic precision that benefits from Domingo's impeccable charm as much as from Bernal's (incidentally a former film editor) comedic rhythm.

Epitomizing the kind of contagious bubbliness that utilizes her talent to the hilt, Domingo plays the double role of twins Kimmy and Dora, which are polar opposites of each other. Kimmy is the cruel genius who runs the family business, while Dora is the tenderhearted dimwit who brought home a stray dog she nearly run over. Events lead to Kimmy being kidnapped and stranded in a remote province, and Dora to impersonating her sister as the head of the company.

Domingo is comically transfixing as the lead of actor Piolo Pascual's second venture in film production, and even if her characters' motivations are frustratingly rudimentary, the film's delirious horseplay whisks much of the screenplay's trivial shortcomings. The running length diffuses some of the humor thin, but it nonetheless provides a smart proof of Domingo's versatility as an actress. Perhaps it's why she easily upstages her co-stars; she can carry a movie by herself. Or make it two of her selves.