Forever Fever

This is a charming and touching Singaporean combo of STRICTLY BALLROOM and Saturday NIGHT FEVER with bits of ENTER THE DRAGON (!) thrown in for good musical kung fu measure and pleasure. I am sure you never thought in a million years that you would read that all in the one sentence. Well, all in the one film makes it a delightful mix. Lurching in and out of English Spinglish and various Asian dialects FOREVER FEVER has a wonderful sense of itself as both a urban musical and an Asian romantic drama. Like Bollywood films pinching plot and images from various western films, this low budget Malaysian production manages to lift whole plot ideas and reverse them, and then even chuck in some PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO cinematic off-the-screen advice and ideas from viewer to screen actor. Well made and with a terrific soundtrack FOREVER FEVER could easily be remade in 2006 as a regular Anglo/American/Aussie film and succeed all over again. FLOWER DRUM SONG it is not.

On it's own this film is as good as anything Hollywood puts out. But if you understand the dynamic that exists between Asian traditions and Western Cultural influence, like there is in Singapore, that pushes the story over the edge into the realm of great film. Most Americans (I am one, Irish and Norwegian, but aware of the situation there) won't appreciate the subtleties and the subtext, but it IS wonderful.

Forever Fever is the sort of film you don't expect to like, but do. It's basically a tongue-in-cheek remake of Saturday Night Fever, Singapore-style, including all the bad clothes, hairstyles and music we've tried to forget.

Add elements of practically all other youth-oriented genres, lovable supporting characters and a great reference to the career of John Travolta, and we have a film that's frequently hilarious; never less than charming.

An indie gem from Singapore. In the exuberant yet grounded tradition of Muriel's Wedding... "That's The Way I Like It" (aka Forever Fever) took me into 1977 Singapore, to follow the dream of a regular guy who is discovering his passions in life. Lots of disco music, polyesther, and family conflict doesn't spread thin this tightly and deftly told story. The budget seems meager, but the movie doesn't suffer from that at all. The had enough production quality to tell the story they wished to tell, and congratulations go to Glen Goei and his team for this wonderful tale.

"Forever Fever" which I saw under the title "That's the Way I Like It" is an entertaining, but somewhat amateurish film from Singapore.

The year is 1977. Ah Hock is a working stiff, who dreams of owning a motorcycle, but he can't afford one. So, he decides to enter a dance competition (disco of course) in order to win enough money to buy one. There are predictable twists and turns, and a couple of unusual side stories, but all in all it's a nice movie.