Monday, March 17, 2008

Ah Long Pte Ltd

Ah Long Pte Ltd

Fann Wong is hot... and I mean she's just HOT. Make that really H-O-T! And boy does she sizzle and kick some serious ass in this movie. She plays Wang Li Hua, the much-feared leader of the Shao He Ah Long triad in Kuala Lumpur. In fact, she plays her character with such attitude, charisma and style that one wonders why she has been doing goody-two-shoes roles up to now (check out whenever she whips her jacket in the air). chanel handbags This role was made for Fann Wong. And who would've thought Mark Lee could play such a convincing ah-kua, Mr.Fang, a kind dance instructor who drives a pink Beetle. Splendid, simply splendid... well, on to the review~

When the much-respected Shao He triad's boss Chen Jun (played well by Richard Low) decides to step down and retire from the Ah Long business, he elects 2nd-in-command Wang Li Hua to take his place. Li Hua is one tough lady. Brutal and merciless, she has earned her way to the top and is much respected by the triad despite being a woman. But upon taking the role as leader, she feels that the current ways of the Ah Long needs to undergo a reformation. She puts the triad's success as a primary goal, but starts suggesting that methods other than violence should be used instead. They even come up with a theme song!

At the same time, Li Hua's nagging mother keeps pressuring on her to get married, as she longs for grandchildren. Frustrated, fate has it that she frequently bumps into Mr.Fang, a light-hearted (and slightly sissy) dance instructor. She asks him to marry her, and he accepts in order to prove his masculinity, while not knowing about marrying into the triad family. He soon accepts his fate though, and comes up with imaginative ways to change the triad's image, which includes new methods of writing warning messages, splatting red paint and threatening non-payers. And having a triad-leader as a wife can be useful, as later proven when Mr. Fang gets himself into trouble.

What follows is a wild and insane array of laughs and drama, with tons of parangs, durians and streetfights. The triads are portrayed in true Ah Long fashion, with all the usual stereotypes, I'm sure everyone is familiar with. There are some gems too, like the triad reformation, triads at war kena sound by the security guard, Mr.Fang shooting through his pants, doing a dance at Central Market and triad face-offs done in gangster fashion. Personally, my favourite scene in the whole movie (other than Fang & Li Hua's bedroom scene) was her phone conversation asking him to marry her... "Eng tau eh, marry me... Ya, kahwin sama SAYA!" repeating the same thing in many languages. Hilarious! Just bear in mind that not all that goes on in the movie is what it seems, as you will find out in the end.

Overall it was a good comedy-action movie, that will make you feel happy (especially for Fann Wong fans like me). She sure shocked me when she stripped in one part of the movie, revealing a huge tiger tattoo on her back. Some cartoons + CGi spice things up, and Mr.Fang narrating the movie makes it even funnier. The Ah Long and triad portrayals were excellent, but I have to admit it gets quite violent in some parts of the movie. Filmed almost entirely in Kuala Lumpur, you'll have fun spotting the locations (some are just near the office) and landmarks. Top-notch acting and action make for a fun watch with the family (okay, 18 and above), and I really hope someday our local comedies can be this entertaining.

PS: For goodness sake, dun leave the cinema early... so many people left early after the screen went blank at the end and missed the ending.

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