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LELIO POPO (Malaysia/Singapore)

 ABOUT THE MOVIE

Genre: Comedy
Starring: Loke Beng Chew, Wong Kok Keong (KK), Henry Thia, Mindee Ong, Benjamin Heng, Alaric Tay
Director: Adrian Teh
Rating: PG
Year Made: 2010

 


 SPECIAL FEATURES

- Music Video
- The Making of

 


 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Languages: Mandarin/Cantonese
Subtitles: English/Chinese/Malay
Aspect Ratio: -
Sound: Dolby Digital
Running Time: 1 hr 29 mins
Region Code: 3
Distributor: Clover Films
/TS Digital Laser

 

 

SYNOPSIS:

Jiang Man Da (KK) and Lu Ye Chang (Luke) are the most famous and popular radio deejays. However, they have a bad attitude and ego to deal with. One day, they are being fired by their superior and ended up being shunned off by all the other major radio stations as well. Out of job and down-and-out for several months, they decided to attend a public audition for radio deejays at a new radio station. Jiang Man Da and Lu Ye Chang are surprised to see many old ladies applying for the job. It turned out that the radio station is actually looking for 2 “Ah Po” (old lady) deejays for a new show. They then disguise themselves as old ladies and got the job. Their momentum as the “PoPo” deejays builds up and that is when the fun begins.

MOVIE REVIEW:  

Maybe there’s too much grouchiness in this reviewer, or maybe it’s just his unfunny personality, that he doesn’t find cross dressing (specifically, men in drag) particularly amusing. He wasn’t very entertained by Liang Po Po or Liang Si Mei (local celebrity Jack Neo’s alter egos on TV), nor was he tickled silly by Karen Neo (Neo in drag again) in this year’s Lunar New Year offering Homecoming. So when he read about the premise of this Singapore Malaysian movie, he was expecting the worst.

The movie’s protagonists are two prima donna radio deejays who have all the fame and money one could ask for. Their bad attitudes soon leave them jobless after a heated argument, and they are forced to attend a public audition meant for old folks. Forced by circumstances, they transform themselves into grandmothers and get employed by the station. What happens next is a series of gender jokes, and surprise, surprise – a story of love and friendship.

But come on, grown men in grandmother outfits, hoping to get a job – how much lower can things get?

To be fair, things aren’t as bad as this reviewer thought. He actually found himself more engaged than he thought he would. Throughout the movie’s 89 minute runtime, he found himself following the digestible but very predictable storyline. There aren’t too many surprises here, and the gags are not particularly hilarious, but there is something rather likeable about the characters.

The credit probably goes to Malaysia's Chinese radio deejay duo KK and Ah Luke, better known as "K6". They play the fast talking deejays who are forced to put on grandmother suits to get their lives going. Hearing the cross talk between the pair is like listening to an engaging radio show. And if you can get past the idea that deejays are to be heard and not seen, then you’d enjoy the wittiness of their on air hosting. To attract audiences from both sides of the Causeway, Singapore’s Mindee Ong (playing the love interest, of course), Alaric Tay (a jealous boyfriend), Benjamin Heng (a fashionista) and Henry Thia (an inconsequential father figure) are roped in to fill other roles.

Malaysian director Adrian Teh, who previously produced popular Malaysian singer songwriter A Niu's Ice Kacang Puppy Love (2010) knows how to please his viewers, infusing humour, fun and love in a serviceable commercial movie that will have the mass audience chuckling in good nature. Too bad then, that this reviewer isn’t too much of a fan when it comes to cross dressing, or this DVD may just have gotten a kinder rating.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

This Code 3 DVD contains a five minute Music Video of the movie theme song, and a 14 minute The Making Of behind the scenes clip.

AUDIO/VISUAL:


The visual transfer of the movie looks fine on the TV screen. Although both Cantonese and Mandarin tracks are available, watch it in its original Cantonese dialogue for best effects.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING:



Review by John Li

Posted on 17 April 2011


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This review is made possible with the kind support from Clover Films


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