Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? No.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Yes.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 122 minutes (~2 hours)
“Unlucky Plaza” is a Singaporean comedy-drama film that revolves around the woes of a disgraced Filipino restaurant owner in Lucky Plaza as he stumbles into the turbulent domestic life of a wealthy family. It stars Epy Quizon (Onassis Hernandez), Adrian Pang (Sky/Terence Chia), Judee Tan (Michelle Chan), Shane Mardjuki (Tong Wen), Guo Liang (Baby Bear), Janice Koh (Cindy), Pamela Oei (Mrs Heng), Christian Wong (Popoy), Osman Sulaiman (Inspector Azman), and Anita Kapoor as herself.
“Unlucky Plaza” hooks you with its title, and sets the tone for a quirky and very stylised movie. It addresses fairly recent issues rather than the run-of-the-mill problems that you normally see in more commercial movies, and sets itself apart with its own unique flavour. Its odd quirks don’t always work, but at least it’s consistent throughout the movie.
Highlights
Interesting plot
Starting in media res helps to build a more interesting plot, since you spend half of the movie anticipating the events that occur in the climax. It also pushes the edge of the usual OB markers with its less politically correct characters and situations. Ultimately, despite a fairly unusual (for Singapore) climax, the film manages to handle the finale both believably and with tension, and closes the film in a rather unexpected, if strange way.
Osman Sulaiman plays a funny yet capable Inspector Azman
One of the gems to be found in the movie comes in the unlikely form of Inspector Azman, who only appears in the final Act. You can feel his off-camera eye rolls at the entire situation as he deals with an incredibly ludicrous protagonist, yet you know that he genuinely wants to resolve the situation without loss of life. Despite the comic element to his reactions and performance, Osman Sulaiman still pulls off a confident and experienced policeman without losing credibility. This balance between comedy and seriousness is what makes Inspector Azman so much fun to watch on screen.
A positive resolution to the film
While Onassis’ situation looks dire, the film actually ties it up well and gives a pleasant ending to most of the protagonists. You leave with a feel good vibe, considering the main character has been in hopeless straits for the majority of the film, and it also translates into a similar message for us – that in the end, Singapore’s still a pretty good place after all.
Letdowns
Slow pacing
Despite the fact that the events are pretty interesting, the plot proceeds at a snail’s pace, especially during the first Act. Too many lingering, artistic shots hamper the energy level of the film, and while you might be interested to know the whys and the hows of the individual characters and how they came to be, there’s only so long you can wait before you drift off.
Not as many Singaporean elements as expected
While the film’s title is, to use a tired cliche, “uniquely Singaporean,” the movie as a whole doesn’t feel Singaporean. Perhaps it’s because the plot, while handled well, would still require a great stretch to believably occur in Singapore. Lucky Plaza doesn’t get featured all that much, and the finale takes place in a location that would be inaccessible to most Singaporeans. There are Singaporean elements within the film, but it doesn’t come together as a unified whole.
Feels like a disgruntled diatribe
The dialogue is far from subtle, and the commentaries frequently feel crudely inserted into the dialogue. It’s not a political film by any stretch, and the contentions raised during the film are also given counterpoints by the end of the film, just that it’s hastily done within the last few minutes. About half of the commentaries, or rather, rants, could have been removed for better pacing and brevity.
Strange stylisation
The show-within-a-show style doesn’t quite work in this context, hampering your understanding of what’s happening at times and adding an unnecessarily weird style to the whole movie. The story, by itself, is strong enough to stand on its own without any external accoutrements like the documentary style bookends that the film so enjoys using.
“Unlucky Plaza” might not be as Singaporean as you expect, but it does present an evocative story that keeps you invested in the characters. It’s definitely different from the run-of-the-mill Singaporean movies that are either the incredibly serious dramas or the cringeworthy lowbrow comedies, and it’s a refreshing change to see such Singaporean fare.
“Unlucky Plaza” opens in cinemas 16 April, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was also published in Yahoo Singapore.
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