christiannyc2 well i went not knowing what this movie was about, or even 'what' Colma was! wow was i surprised, this movie was very well done for low budget. the writing witty and funny, also moving at times. The acting great, the music was real good too had me tapping my feet ;o) the musical numbers were well choreographed with some great touches. I think that Mendoza did a great job and i am looking forward to more from him. i loved L.A Renigan! she rocks. Please go and support this movie it really deserves it! I gave this movie 10 out of 10.. not because it was one of the best .. but because so much effort must have gone into the making of it, on such a low budget.

David OK, as a Bay Area resident (albeit a transplant) and indie film maven, I couldn't stay away from seeing this film. I'm considerably older than the characters and I didn't grow up in the Bay Area so I didn't relate to the story (or maybe it was just the mediocre acting, which was overshadowed by the excellent singing). Still, I thought this movie was a guilty pleasure, kinda like your favorite Mexican restaurant or greasy spoon--you know you shouldn't, but you're glad you did.Part of what makes this film fun is its foray into camp. Some of the musical numbers were just too over the top. Billy's musical declaration of love for "Tara" would have been sweet were it not for the two guys in the background scaling the facades of the buildings and each other. The real topper is where Tara releases the band holding her hair back so the breeze'll catch it--except she's got short hair and it hardly works. It's hard to take this seriously, particularly when you realize that Billy and Tara first met at a party where Tara's operatic "Is someone in the bathroom?" is responded to by Billy's "I'm taking a sh!!!!!!!t." The camp factor is equally present in the songs we see during the performance of "Friend Joseph" (some sorta spin-off of "Pal Joey"?), a show in which Billy performs. It's just "quirky quirky quirky, so damn quirky, quirky quirky...." I guess it's a bit of a cinematic love letter to the area--there's even a shot of Maribel reading a book nearly every San Franciscan will recognize. I was at a screening that was followed by a Q&A with the director and one of the cast--there's a sequel in the offing if this is well-received. For some reason, I can't wait to see it. :-)

IamGel821 Colma is a suburb of San Francisco where the dead outnumber the living. That's the running joke anyway. Known for its grave sites and "Daly City fog", Colma is the foundation for director Richard Wong's feature film debut, aptly titled "Colma: The Musical." Written by the talented H.M. Mendoza (who also supplies his talents to the songs, score and lead character), "Colma: The Musical" is a refreshing, funny and poignant independent musical ("independent musical" - is this the first?). It's amazing how Colma's entertainment value equals that of classic Hollywood musicals seeing as how it's missing all the elements that made those classics great. Production design, lavish costumes, an epic story and intricate choreographed dance numbers are nowhere to be found. What it lacks from the classics, it makes up in creating a new type of musical. A musical of simplicity, where the story is relatable, the characters real, the direction artistic without being artsy and, most importantly to a musical, the songs memorable.The story of "Colma: The Musical" focuses on three friends trying to figure out life after high school. Billy, a "thezpian", is torn between two things: his new, going-nowhere job that he "really needs for something big" and his aspiring acting career; and new possibilities with "girl's name that's always on his mind" and his ex who he can't quite get over. Rodel is a poet trying to find "his happy place" after a break up with his boyfriend and a turbulent change in his already strained relationship with his father. His thoughts he writes on scraps of paper and his friends are the only things that keep him going. Maribel is the centered one of the three; the glue, really, that is holding the friendship. She's just trying to find ways to live out her youth – to party, drink and get laid – as herself.As in real life, reality takes its aim on these three friends and challenges the staying power of their friendship. As not in real life (and sadly why not), it all happens while they sing, sometimes in the most unlikely places and with the most unlikely of people. *SPOILER* (On top of alarming cars or in a bar with Hulk Hogan?) In essence, what Richard Wong and H.P. Mendoza has given us is a remarkable piece of film art. Film art's intention is to reflect back to us, like a mirror, things that we may not be able to see because we're to busy in our lives to see them. Colma represents "nothing and everything" in our past that is comfortable, secure and what made us happy at one point. We all have a Colma in our lives. Whether it is Somerset, NJ or Mikey, or high school memories, we've all been in a state of Colma: a state where we don't know what is anymore, yet we can't let go. And it's only us that can choose whether to stay in Colma or come out of Colma and into the unknown forward...closer towards "our happy place."

Glenn "Colma: The Musical" is now my all-time favorite film. It is about 3 friends fresh out of high school who have to figure out what to do next now that the structure of school is gone. The characters all ring true and the music is completely catchy. You will be humming along to the songs and have them stuck in your head for days after you hear them. On top of that the photography is fantastic. For a film made on a shoestring budget it is a huge achievement to have a film that looks this good and is so technically sound. I have seen plenty of low budget films over the years and you can tell that those films had to cut corners, but Colma looks and sounds like a much more expensive production. The performances of the leads are all fantastic. As the other review said the characters all have their flaws which is what makes them so three dimensional and gives the film its realism. See this film if you can, you will love it!