Kangkong is the story of a young man who undergoes conflict and confusion in discerning if his call to the priesthood is coming from God or only from his grandmother Nyora Isyang (Odette Khan). An obedient "lola's boy" from birth who is set on entering the seminary, Carlos (Rodel Velayo) displays extraordinary resistance to advances from aggressive and attractive girls. But in the heat of a determined girl's pursuit-aggravated by his ignorance in matters of the flesh-his defenses collapse and he bites into the apple, so to speak. In love with the shameless balikbayan Pamela (Brigette de Joya), he escapes his pushy grandmother just as when she is about to leave him in the seminary. That's where the story really begins.
Many parts of the movie can make the viewer wonder whether it's a drama or a comedy he's watching. Blame it on the lousy script made even lousier by poor delivery and amateurish acting. The inconsistent characterization, overacting to appear funny, and the ill-timed use of slapstick and side remarks also tend to trivialize the otherwise worthy subject. The editing is really bad, and the cinematography even worse-just imagine heads cropped out of the screen, body parts entering the scene when they shouldn't be ("Whose feet are those?"), etc. Outside of the evidently well-thought out and shot seduction scenes, the movie could easily be mistaken for a first attempt at film making by cinema students.