One word describes this movie. Nostalgia. “I Not Stupid” is one of the greatest cinematic feats I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. This movie brought me back to my early years when I was about 8-12 years old. I’ll get back to that in a second. This movie touches upon three similar, yet very different boys in EM3 (A grade level for below satisfactory students). Their names are Boon Hok, Kok Pin, and Terry. They are the laziest of the lazy, yet they have such potential that they don’t even realize it. But what does a young boy this age think of? School work? Not the average kid I tell you. Kids just want to have fun, goof around and study at their own pace. But it’s the parents who are the driving forces behind kids devoting their time towards studying and achieving good grades. What happens when parents push their children too hard? What’s going on with the parents, and why are they pushing their children so hard? This movie tackles those very questions and pitches those answers right back at you and asks why you’re so damn obedient! Yeah, it really does.

This movie is the “Friend” of Singapore, touching on the subject of what makes a good friend, and friends testing each other’s loyalty to each other. Only this movie’s about the friendships between children and their relationship with their parents. I Not Stupid was the second biggest film of all time in Singapore, holding the #1 spot at the box office for 4 consecutive weeks since it’s release date. Students and adults flocked to see the movie that everyone was talking about.

Jack Neo uses the simple story of Boon Hok, Kok Pin, and Terry, and their families to create a fantastic blend of comedy and drama about education, the importance of being able to speak Chinese and the demand for academic excellence. This movie will make you laugh so hard throughout most of the movie and will even get you a little teary-eyed in some of the more dramatic moments. I honestly felt that the humorous parts were some of the greatest I’d ever seen. I haven’t really laughed like that in a while and the dramatic moments, I just felt like reaching out for them. To make the long story short, the movie focuses on the rich kid: Terry’s father Mr. Khoo, whose company sells “Ba Gua.” Apparently, it’s a delicious delicacy in Singapore. Kok Pin’s father (who is also the director) works for the company but gets ousted for promotion due to a new Caucasian that was hired to advertise the product. Tensions rise as a rival Ba Gua company from Taiwan enters the picture and snatches up Terry’s father’s business. To compete against the foreign interference outside and inside the company, Kok Pin’s father must utilize every skill he has in order to survive the pressures of modern society and convince Mr. Khoo that he can devise a new marketing campaign that will win the customers back to their company. Well, that’s part of the adult’s story arc.

Now the kids are the real stars of this movie. Huang Po Ju (Terry Khoo), Shawn Lee (Kok Pin), Joshua Ang (Boon Hock), and Cheryl Chan (Selena Khoo) are excellent as the children in this film. I love hearing them talk in English, or Singlish as they’d like to call it. It’s not ear-deafening broken English heard in most HK movies. Granted, it’s not perfect English, but I found it very tolerable and I’m usually very critical of such broken English like Shu Qi’s. Cheryl doesn’t have that big of a part in the movie, but she is very excellent as the rebellious spoiled brat sister of Terry Khoo. When Huang Po Ju is upset, you can really tell that he’s upset… either from someone jacking his drumsticks, or spilling noodles onto some girl’s head. He just starts bawling like a big fat baby, and it’s really believable too. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that he really is like that in person! Next we have Shawn Lee as Kok Pin, who is just dazzling to watch. As his mom beats him into getting better grades, seeing him really fret about passing a test, and when the waterworks start coming on… reach for a tissue! It is very heartbreaking seeing this kid go through all this because of his mom’s desire to see him succeed. Shawn is an excellent actor, and I hope to be see him successful in the years to come. On the other hand, Joshua Ang who plays Boon Hock (the big kid who sticks up for his friends and the smartest of the three) isn’t really all that much of a treat to watch. He’s just really quiet and moody, but then again, maybe that’s just his character. However, Boon Hock is a very loyal friend though, and I’d have him watch my back any day if I were still a kid that is.

Okay, remember how I told you I’d get back to the subject of Nostalgia way back when this review first started? Here it is. I remember being a kid in primary to middle school. I remember having to put up with my parent’s pressures on my schoolwork “Get A’s! B’s at the lowest!” Making sure I did the work right, handing in homework on-time, making sure I went to class regularly. Every little aspect of my schooling career was handled by them. But anyway, I had a group of friends back then too. We were inseparable, like soldiers on a battlefield. We had each others backs! When one of us did something, at least one of us would take the blame. Or so we tried… It didn’t work all the time. My parents didn’t really like one of my friends. Kind of like how Terry’s parent’s didn’t approve of Boon Hok and Kok Pin. I guess you could say that I’m the fat boy Terry. But the point is, this movie brought me back to my early years, stirring up memories I’d long forgotten about my parent’s involvement in my schoolwork…the measures they’d go to in order ensure my success, and finally my group of friends I had back then. Those were the early days when everything was simple and practically spoon-fed to me. But I learned that the challenges and constant involvement from my parent’s were for my sake and all a part of growing up. I think that Terry, Boon Hok, and Kok Pin learned this as well by the end of the movie.

This movie knows when to take itself seriously and when to make jokes. It is this equal balance of comedy and drama that make this movie so successful. By the way, you won’t believe some of the supposed HK actors and actresses cameos at the end. I thought they were the real thing! I Not Stupid is a genuinely great comedy and drama with a great message: “Don’t be so obedient”, and “Even though we do not always agree with our mothers, but in our hearts we know it is all For Our Own Good!”

Excuse me while I go find myself some Ba Gua and watch this movie over again.