At The Movies

I just got back from watching Ice Kacang Puppy Love and felt like writing something about it. So in this post, I won't blog about traveling, but talk about the movie I just watched. When I read about Ah Niu (Tan Kheng Seong) making this movie, I already told myself I'll support the movie. The guy is very talented he deserves our encouragement and support. What more, with so many of our Malaysia Boleh stars who have made it big overseas lending their support in the movie, we Malaysians must give this guys some encouragement.
My review may not be fair and to be honest I think I'm going to be biased because I'm very proud of our Malaysian artistes who have made a name for themselves. But then after watching the movie, I'm sure many would agree with me, biased or not, that Ah Niu did a good job despite this being his first attempt. It's a very simple movie, not the type which will move you to tears. If you want to see heavy stuff maybe you should watch "Echoes of the Rainbow" . To be fair we shouldn't compare. Many viewers tend to compare this with WooHoo. But this two movies are different even though there are many similarities. Like Woo Hoo, Ice Kacang has its humorous parts but basically its not a slapstick comedy. And for laughs, do you know that "Its Complicated" is such an enjoyable movie that makes you laugh throughout the show?
Some viewers were disappointed because they expected more songs and singing, with all those singers in the movie. But then this is not meant to be a musical, the actors just happened to be singers. So, without the heavy drama, without the laughs, without the songs, why do you think we would enjoy this movie?
Well, besides showing our support for these guys, the movie actually lets us see ourselves in the movie. Just like WooHoo, most of the laughs were related to our Malaysian way of life, the way we speak and the things we do. And this is a movie by Malaysians for Malaysians !
There are of course some flaws in the movie. It's odd that Fish Leong's role doesn't require her to speak despite seeing her in so many scenes except exclaiming a sound at times. She's not supposed to be dumb, So the script ought to let her speak or chit chat with her fatty friend. Gary Chaw Ke acted his role well. Pin Kuan was also ok. Lee Sinje was of course very good.The younger generation might not connect very well with the scenes in the movie but for older folks like us, the scenes are exactly like what it was when we were young. The Bakuli (marbles, as what we Penangnites called them) we played during childhood days, the Roti man, the coffee shop scenes all remind us our childhood, not forgetting the Ice Kacang! The coffee cups and saucers are exactly what all coffee shops used, those days. The way people drink their coffee (pouring it on the saucer to cool) the half boil eggs (haha) and also the number betting is exactly how people behave those days. This movie enables the older viewers to reminisce their past and allows the younger generation to see how life was during their parents or grandparents time. These days nobody plays marbles any more. No more mamasak ( play cooking). No more fighting fish. No more keeping fighting spiders as pets , too.
Besides these, the movie also tells us about the exodus from small towns to big cities, the dreams of small town folk and how the small town people lack the guts to venture out including Botak who is a classic example of someone who misses out on something (or rather someone he loves) just because he is not bold enough to speak out or express himself. The generation nowadays might not understand why he simply wouldn't just express himself to get the girl he loves. But then we older viewers can identify better because we were also like him during those days. People were not so bold those days, there were so many things we could have done or said but we didn't. There were many decisions to make, choices to make, steps to take but we tend to hesitate. Society is different now. People think differently now. But this movie does tell us that if we keep hesitating and are not bold enough to do want we want and follow our heart, opportunities won't wait for us. It'll just come and go. For those of you who haven't watched the movie, go watch it. After reading this you might view it in a different light rather than expecting songs or loads of laughter. It definitely won't be boring, there is still a fair share of laughs.