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.

For Malaysians of all races, "Nasi Lemak 2.0" has a built-in lure. Its film-maker and rapper, Wee Chee Meng (better known as Namewee) has attained such notoriety on YouTube and in the news (for various offences which I don't care to mention here) that his name has become synonymous with rebelliousness and subversiveness.

If anything, the public would want to know what he's up to this time around with this movie called "Nasi Lemak 2.0". Is he going to make an ass of himself again? Or make asses out of his cast? But wait, the so-called '1-Malaysia comedy', reportedly made on a shoe-string RM1-million budget, has grossed RM7 million at the local box-office! That should raise a lot of eyebrows, especially of people like me who consider this production a low-brow comedy. Of course, the clamour by a group for the movie to be banned must have given a new boost to its takings.

Namewee plays Chef Huang, a young cook who sets out with his new-found friend Xiao K (Karen Kong) to find the ingredients and make the best nasi lemak in the country. In his quest, he meets up with various local celebs like Datuk David Arumugam, Afdlin Shauki, Reshmonu and Kenny and Chee, and learn what being in a multi-racial country like Malaysia is all about - besides how to make good sambal and curry, of course.

The movie, mostly in Mandarin and local Chinese dialects, looks like it has been rewritten from Stephen Chow Sing-chi's 'mo-lei-tau' (or nonsense) comedies, especially the 1996 "God Of Cookery". Having Karen Kong made up in such clownish-looking eyebrows and spectacles reminds us of the Smoking Landlady (Yuen Qiu) in Chow's Kungfu Hustle, except that Karen Kong's Xiao K just looks silly and not funny. Ditto that for most of the so-called comic sequences in the movie.

The narrative is illogical and messy but in the absurdist sequences can be found a few comic gems. The main plot about the quest for the best nasi lemak recipes is really the 'side dish'. The real garnishings are those little gestures, the song and dance numbers, and visuals that take a swipe at Malaysian culture, society and politics. Examples of these are a kris-wielding scene reminiscent of the exploits of an Umno personality; the famous "looks like me, sounds like me, but is not me" quote refuting a video-clip; and allusions to other Malaysian politicians.

I would like to think that Namewee had fun as the 'hero' in this movie, but his efforts are too self-indulgent and crude to be hilarious. Again, he opts to use obscenities, naming his characters Lan Qiao (colloquial for 'penis') and Gong See Fatt, and idiotic situations that make us cringe rather than laugh. However, his use of local celebs, like Adibah Noor, Afdlin Shauki, David Arumugam, Patrick Teoh and Kenny & Chee help to spark and sustain audience interest in the plot. As director, he seems to have allowed his 'guest stars' to run loose and do whatever they want with their cameos. Let's hope Namewee learns from his flaws and not wallow in its RM7-million gross.

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.