Nasi Lemak 2.0

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!

To really appreciate this movie, there must be two conditions: you either are Malaysian, or at least know what is going on in our country as of late, in a political sense. I'm a Malaysian, and I'm glad I saw this movie.

The Malaysian film industry is in a sad state. I hate to admit it but it's true. Many of the local-made films are tailor-made mostly for certain races, and doesn't even try to integrate into others'. Many of the local movies rely on slapstick, frothy humor to entertain the audience where the ugly truth that it is just overused, lame and stupid that people don't want to see them. Our industry's "thriving" success mainly comes from English - quote "Hollywood" - films. With Yasmin Ahmad's unfortunate death, Malaysia is in dire need of another daring mainstream filmmaker who's not afraid to tread serious ground.

Enter controversial Taiwan-educated, Malaysian-born rapper Namewee who makes his feature film debut throwing a triple-punch (starring/directing/co-writing) here in this simple, light-hearted and frothy slapstick comedy (fantasy too, perhaps?) that touches some sensitive ground along the way - issues perhaps familiar only to Malaysians, involving racial tension, inequalities, and intolerance, yet these traits are all laid into the background as Namewee wants the audience to sit back, chill, and laugh. He succeeds.

The local actors and a variety of languages, races, and style of humor mostly blend in nicely, making this the closest thing to a true "Malaysian" movie since Yasmin Ahmad's great "Sepet" where people of all races integrate into a peaceful and (in this film's case) lively tale. The local celebrity cameos such as Afdlin Shauki, Adibah Noor, Reshmonu, Nadine Anne Thomas and Dato' David Arumugam don't detract the film either.

The story goes along the all-too familiar lines of a cooking competition between siblings in which the victor gets ownership of a restaurant, and Namewee plays an arrogant chef who participates against a pure Chinese chef. By using a simple and easily accessible plot-line, Namewee frames the country's social problems and commentary around it and deconstructs them one by one, it is refreshing to see Malaysians acting like real Malaysians and not playing the fool too much like in many, many Malaysian movies (that has jokes that simply fall flat because of this).

There are some flaws (let's face it, what movie doesn't?) The Malay, Nyonya and Indian segments were kind of short and I wish they had more/equal time to focus on those. There are a few characters that are too foolish to be funny. There's random musical moments and fantasy sequences, and some of the humor sort of falls flat, but Namewee manages to succeed for the most part, as he promotes peace and unity in our country in quite an honest manner.

You gotta understand, the Bersih 2.0 protests (regarding clean and fair elections, in which our government responded by shutting down parts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, and heavily enforcing police rule) which were months ago are still lingering in our memories, and the stereotypes of other races causes mistrust and misunderstanding us. Namewee is telling us to chill, relax and get along, as well as respecting and appreciating other people's cultures. This is what we need, to laugh our problems behind us. There's this other local campaign known as "1Malaysia" which was created to promote unity and tolerance among us Malaysians. This film, I guess, can be a small but important reminder for us to move towards that promise.

This film isn't as controversial and daring as "Sepet" but it is still a bold and noble effort for a first-time filmmaker who in his film presses issues that are considered taboo in conservative media. I've seen radical Malaysian bloggers threatening to boycott this movie. For what, I ask? It's a comedy with some slice-of-life. It's fun and it teaches some.

And what about Namewee? Well his performance was funny, and makes for a good local comic lead. He's also quite adept behind the camera, handling the other actors with a light-hearted touch. And he and co- writer Fred Chong manage to conjure up lots of funny lines in the script (one of the characters has a name which is almost exactly like a Mandarin swear word). In short, a good start. And the rap song at the end really speaks out for all of us Malaysians.

Recently Malaysia's PM had announced to abolish two security laws, an act which may pave the way for our country to be a more mature democratic one. This is good for freedom of speech here, and perhaps the movies here from then on will touch on more sensitive issues in a serious manner. "Sepet" was perhaps the first big push, and "Nasi Lemak 2.0" is the second. We now await the next one.

So in short, it's an above average local comedy, and definitely not bad at all - but it may be an important movie for Malaysia right now. Namewee has made a flawed but entertaining and somewhat daring comedy that isn't afraid to tackle issues, yet it teaches us as well to be tolerant and respectful of other races. I hope many Malaysians will watch and appreciate the movie for what it can offer them - laughs and some lessons to be learned. Already in it's second week in cinemas here and it's still selling out at the local box office. That's a good sign, and judging from the real-life events above, a promising start for Namewee's mainstream filmography, and here's hoping for the revitalization of the Malaysian film industry as well. This slice of modern Malaysian life is flawed, but worth seeing.

Overall rating: 65/100

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!!

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.

Well if you do not have any expectation. And if you do not have a brain....this is a good movie 😂😂😂