I just watched "We Not Naughty"". I enjoyed "I Not Stupid", not so much of "I Not Stupid Too", and "I Not Stupid Too TV Series" so I had high hopes for the latest "sequel". I was disappointed with the trailer a few days ago. It seems that Jack Neo has run out of good ideas and resorted to recycled ideas such as kidnapping/action in the woods (used in I Not Stupid), gangsters, rebellious teens, and family violence (used in I Not Stupid Too), teacher turning bad students into good ones (used in I Not Stupid Too), effects of media on education (used in I Not Stupid) and many more. In addition, it was only given 1.5 stars by one newspaper. The movie poster also shows a huge resemblance with I Not Stupid Too: the 2 guys and 1 small boy. Only this time, the small boy is not at the centre of the story although he is exactly the same role as Jerry (naughty, curious boy) in I Not Stupid Too. But since I had a free movie ticket, I might as well use it to watch this.
To be honest, I was bored for most parts of the movies. The movie tries to address too many issues (based on real life issues in Singapore) such as gambling, loansharks, dysfunctional families, cyber bullying, school girls behaving badly, student-teacher relationship, etc. The story is not well linked and the scenes feel "jumpy". Every scene change left me with a 'wtf' feeling as there seemed to be no head and no tail for each scene. Perhaps 2/3 of the movie feels like a collection of short clips rather than a well-written movie. The action parts near the end are too over the top. The ending, as expected, is the typical "miraculous everyone happily ever after" ending like the previous I Not Stupid series.
Ironically, overall I enjoyed the movie as I had pretty good laugh. In fact, I think it is a good comedy. I love how the seriousness and desperation of the action scenes and the giving birth scenes, there were lots of LOL moments for the audience. And the LOL moments were delivered with the actors maintaining the seriousness of the circumstances. For example, when the 2 guys were freaking out to help Mrs Liew to give birth, Mrs Liew asked them to take of her bottoms. That was hilarious. I mean any guys would find such situation akward and the audience had a good laugh. After several pushes, Mrs Liew asked them to look "underneath" to see how much the baby had been pushed out. She asked what they saw. And they replied "hair". Lol ok, that's an adult joke! Haha.. It was followed by "oh it's the baby's hair".
Personally, I feel that the giving birth scene is the only scene which makes the movie worth watching. It was powerful, especially when Mrs Liew asked the boys to cut open her vagina with a pair of scissor (yes without anasthesia! and think about possible risk of infection! gosh) because her opening was too small for the baby to come out. At that point, she only cared about the baby. And yes, that is very powerful to tell us how much our mothers have suffered to bring us into this world. I am sure it made everyone in the cinema had the "I love you, Mum" moment.
Jack Neo's films are known to be somewhat preachy but I think in here, some issues are addressed in a well-balanced manner. For example, it highlights that being a mother is not the same as being able to bring up children well. To kids, it emphasizes the point to love our parents for their sacrifice. To parents, it emphasizes the need to reflect whether they are being good parents, or they are just being parents.
Anyway, some Take Home Messages from the film:
1. Does it really portray polytechnic students?
Now now.. it scares me a bit as my future dream is to work as polytechnic lecturers. But if the students are like what being presented in the movie, it's gonna be.. hard.. terribly hard..
2. I am sorry, Mum. I love you T_T
You know.. being mother is the most difficult job in the world! I complain daily about being scolded and complained by patients a.k.a strangers. Imagine how painful it is for my mum (and other mothers) when the children argue, talk back, scold, and complain about their own mothers, despite the sacrifices and pain that mothers suffer right from conceiving to bringing up their children.
3. Think positive
In the movie, everytime Damien's mother says something about thinking positive, it became a LOL moment. Yes, she repeated that many times even when she is almost being killed and after she is wounded badly. It may seem cliche but it's true, positive thinking does make a difference. In the most dire circumstances, positive thinking can be a source of hope.
4. You can't change the past but you have the choice for your future. Do not blame people, environment, circumstances for the state you are currently in. You can't change what has happened. Blaming them is not gonna help. Or as what being said in the movie: When you go jail or get caned, your family, your relatives, your friends, your enviroment will not replace you to go jail or get caned. Even if they are the ones causing you to go jail or get caned in the first place. This is a big lesson for me. I admit that I blame my parents for their decision many years ago. But oh well, I can't change the past. I am now in Singapore. Being happy or not, blaming my parents won't help or change anything. I need to make up my mind to make the best out of my condition right now. And seriously, I think this is something difficult for all of us human beings. It is human nature to always blame other people or other beings (God, lady luck) for things which come and happen.
I guess, the original I Not Stupid is still the best :)
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