Forever Fever

I checked this out from the library - I figured, what the heck, it's free, and I'll get a campy laugh from it. But the movie is in fact sweet & affectionate. OK so the guy playing Travolta who walks off the screen looks nothing like him & is actually doing a slightly Southern accent. The lead actor (playing Hock) looks a lot like Bruce Lee and turns out to be a good dancer as well as great at kung fu. Nobody has yet mentioned a minor subplot, of the idolized older brother - a med student who needs money for a sex-change operation. The father disavows the med student son in anger. The 70s costumes are good fun and I like the kid sister character who's hooked on romance novels. It reminded me in a way of "Strictly Ballroom" (a much better Baz Lehrman film than "Moulin Rouge" BTW!) And everybody's speaking quite good English - no terrible dubbing! So check this one out & enjoy.

When's the last time you saw a movie shot in Singapore? And in English, yet? THAT'S THE WAY is just such an animal, and tells the story of a grown man (Adrien Pang) living home with his parents and siblings who wishes for nothing more than to have a motorcycle. To do so, he enters a disco dance contest, and begins taking dance lessons. The plot is derived directly from Saturday NIGHT FEVER. In fact, our blue-collar hero even sees John Travolta done up as Tony Manero whenever he daydreams hard enough. The music is mostly horrible re-creations of the SAATURDAY NIGHT FEVER soundtrack, but the dancing is terrific. And the Bruce Lee-looking Pang is a nifty kung-fu fighter to boot. It all comes to a predictable ending, but one we wanted it to get to.

This movie definitely exceeded my expectations...especially since I knew the main theme of the film was disco. This movie parallels the classic of the disco genre, Saturday Night Fever, in many ways, but also is a delightful look at life in the late seventies in Singapore.

The soundtrack is full of great 70's hits, and the cinematography takes full advantage of the exotic locale. The actors and actresses breathe real life into what normally would have been one-dimensional characters, making this film very enjoyable.

"That's the Way I Like It" is a flick which would never work on paper but manages to be thoroughly enjoyable on the silver screen. It's all about Hock (Pang), a Singapore store clerk who wants no more than to kick butt like Bruce Lee and own a motorcycle but meets a disco dancing hottie who convinces him there are better things to get into than motorbikes. Always fun, upbeat, and good natured, this little English language flick out of Singapore is a kind of "Enter the Dragon" meets "Saturday Night Fever" meets "All in the Family" colorful comedy drenched in nostalgic hit disco tunes. Fun stuff especially for anyone who has ever done the Hustle. (B)

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.