Starring: Shawn Lee, Joshua Ang, Ashley Leong, Jack Neo
Director: Jack Neo
Category: I (Putonghua and English)
The humour, satire, and warmth that allowed I Not Stupid to connect with audiences outside its native Singapore in 2002 are all but missing in this tedious sequel. Writer-director-actor Jack Neo, one of the city-state's premier comedians, seems to have misplaced his funny bone in this overly didactic tale of problem children and even more problematic adults.
Boasting similar cast members and narrative themes, the comedy-drama has a plot and characters only tangentially related to the original film. The focus is again on schoolchildren and their misguided parents but, unlike the first film, told in a manner so preachy and disjointed it is difficult to feel sympathy for either adolescents or adults. The most likable character is eight-year-old Jerry (Ashley Leong), a lad who yearns for the attention of his squabbling mum (Xiang Yun) and dad (Neo). He is the ostensible heart of the story, providing a commentary that is at times reminiscent, and nearly as accomplished, as the voice-over dialogue in Hong Kong's animated feature My Life as McDull (2001) and the wistful youth drama YesterYou, YesterMe, Yesterday (1993).
Instead of a lighthearted romp concentrating on Jerry and his efforts to negotiate the difficult emotional terrain of childhood, the scenario (co-scripted by Neo and Rebecca Leow) turns into a heavy-handed morality play.