Nasi Lemak 2.0

Namewee gained notoriety when his song Negara-kuku rapped about the true state of affairs in his homeland as faced by himself and many others about the lack of opportunities and intolerance, which of course was found to be politically unacceptable by the powers that be. Fast forward to today, the adage of any publicity is better than no publicity cannot be more true, since then he had a lot of doors opened, and now Namewee, whose real name is Huang Ming Zhi, has now ventured from music to film, putting on multiple hats to write, direct and star in his debut feature film that earned a respectable amount at the Malaysian box office.

Written, directed and produced by Namewee, he too stars in his debut feature as the protagonist Chef Huang, a folk hero of his district where scores of Chinese come knocking at his door to seek the justice the country's police never seem to provide for. Having studied the culinary art of Chinese cooking in China under the tutelage of a Pai Mei knockoff (Ho Yuhang hiding behind long brows and beard), Huang gets enlisted by Xiao K (Karen Kong) to help in her family feud where the victor between her father's camp and her aunt's would mean control over the Gong Xi Restoran, erm, Restaurant. But little does he know that his competitor will be none other than the chef who had beaten him in school, and thus begins a road trip quest around Malaysia to seek out new truths and inspiration for a rice dish.

That's about summing the entire plot up, with the direct reference being that of Stephen Chow's God of Cookery, right down to the cook off in the finale. And in many ways this Malaysian film mimics the good old heydays of Hong Kong's mo-lei-tau (nonsensical) comedy era, that Namewee seems to get the knack of in keeping true to the spirit of things. While Chow doesn't keep to being political correct all of the time in this films, you can bet your dollar on all things topical across the Causeway to be given some air time here, utilizing humour to show just how silly sometimes things can get especially when they are stranger than fiction.

It's none too surprising that the narrative contains just about the same themes that Namewee raps about, from social inequality right down to the threat posed by foreign talent, which will resonate with audiences here. After all, his main rival is a Chinese national, and everywhere Huang goes in search of a job, he's being compared to foreign workers who can afford to demand a lot less wages since currency conversion would mean a king's ransom by the time they return home, whereas the locals would need something a lot more substantial to combat the rising cost of living. Chef Huang begins the story in very prejudicial ways, such as his treatment of the Nasi Lemak hawker stalled makcik (played by Adibah Noor) and that of the Nepalese security guard who becomes the inevitable cannon fodder in this comedy, before his eye-opening trip starts to chip at that racist in him, as he gets exposed to a melting pot of cultures from the Peranakan, the Malay and the Indian community, seeking out the essence of sambal and curry.

It's a funny film that doesn't take itself too seriously, complete with subtle and none too subtle jibes at the establishment, and at the caricatures themselves each representing the respective segments of society whose eccentricities gets made the mickey out of. Just like how his songs so accurately pin pricks where it hurts, so does this social commentary of a film that's hidden behind the veneer of comedy, and Namewee had employed a broad range from sight jokes to language to elicit laughter from any audience. What I particularly enjoyed is the ridiculous use of Manglish (Malaysian English) that has to be seen and heard to be believed (and enjoyed, and you think Singlish was bad), and some bawdy cheeky jokes such as the orgasmic "Walaueh" sounds Chef Huang lapses into when he's in the tantric zone of whipping up a dish.

Nasi Lemak 2.0 covers a lot of ground in its story and has a multi-ethnic cast to boast of. And true to the musician core within him, Namewee provides plenty of songs for the soundtrack, with every opportunity for a music video inserted somewhere along the narrative never passed up. Fellow filmmakers and artistes in the entertainment industry also lent a hand in appearing in the film as caricatures, from the likes of Ho Yuhang, Liew Seng Tat as a street peddler hawking pin hole cameras, Pete Teo as a gangster and many others, even Miss Malaysia Nadine Ann Thomas playing a role whose character aspires to be erm, Miss Malaysia.

Sure this is unpolished at different junctures and can never pass with any artistic merit, but the film never made any qualms of wanting to do so in the first place. It entertains as well as comments on the state of affairs of any multi-racial, multi-cultural society in the modern age of global competition, and for Namewee an outlet to vent as well as to remind himself just how the differences in society makes it truly unique, social injustices aside to fight another day. Walaueh, indeed.

Long before the movie has its opening in theater I watched the trailer of this movie from youtube, which was uploaded by the director Namewee, or more familiar by the local Chinese community with his real name Wong Meng Chee.

Right after the video time slider reached its end, I started to doubt: "Wow, is this really going to be a good movie?!" Though the trailer itself could tell the major plot of this movie, the scenes selected just lack of attractiveness. This bring up so much of worries.

Well, my worry was not from the perspective of a fans, but a loyal viewer of the videos created by him. Having seen through so much of his videos, I definitely love the ways he conveys the messages, though most of it were filled with some f-word, but come on, this is what we called "the way of youth"

With this doubtful feeling, I walked into the theater and waits for the movie playing. After the opening credits was shown, I started to get some relieve. As the movie playing along, there were quite some moments that let me have a good laugh. Some scenes were just too cute that you can't help loving it, seriously! Just like the comment from 4 Malay wives on HuangDaXia: "So cute~~~"

What I admired the most from this movie? Well, it definitely goes to the insert song of this movie - "Curry Neh" I totally have no idea how Namewee wrote the lyric that sounds so similar to the Tamil language. The effect of this song is indefinable. All these just show a fact that a trailer is not really reliable, like the trailer of a horror film that bring your hope high but eventually turned out to be a awfully scripted film.

From a youtuber to a big screen director, I think even Namewee himself would think how intriguing it is by looking back all the way he'd gone through.

All the best in your film career, Namewee! and... By the way, I watched this film in theater twice and planned to add this title to my DVD collection, WALAO EH!

A lot of things did not make sense because Namewee motive only to make a joking movie. His acting skills was poor too and in fact almost all of the actors and actress too lack of that skill and experience. This movie is watchable when you are not concentrating much on the screen and only want to listen to something instead of scary silent in the room or house.

This movie is slightly better than his new one. But omg. Its still so poor. Especially the plot.

When I came to know about the release of this movie, I flew back to Malaysia, making sure all my important work was completed. When I was a teenager, I used to watch Namewee's vids on You Tube. I looked at them in a different perspective and found them positive in a way. Nasi Lemak 2.0 is way more positive compared to his You Tube vids. This movie encourages Malaysians to be united in a harsh, but funny way. Our hero Namewee travels to 3 places, meeting 3 people of different races and cultures. Although this movie is simple, it carries a very deep meaning about unity. I find this movie awesome because Namewee has proved himself worthy in Malaysia through this never-before-made film. In conclusion, this movie is a must-watch for all audiences. Don't miss it!!