This is quite possibly the first time that we have a pair of Jack Neo directed films making their way to the big screens - both in the same year, entirely shattering his modus operandi of only releasing a film during the first day of the Lunar New Year festival for the past few years. There could be 4 reasons for this:
1) Money No Enough 2 serves as a compensation for movie-goers like me who wasted their money on the utter nonsense that is Ah Long Pte Ltd released on the first day of this year's Lunar New Year festival.
2) Jack Neo wasn't able to contain his passion in movie-making till 2009.
3) With food, petrol and ERP rates rising, Jack Neo felt that he needed more money, so what better way to gain more by making another movie and using it to bring in more income?
4) Money No Enough 2 serves as a replacement for next year's film - which means that wouldn't be a Jack Neo directed movie next Lunar New Year.
Whatever the reason was and is, I must say that Money No Enough 2 is quite a good watch. While it isn't as good as its predecessor, Money No Enough 2 is certainly better than Ah Long Pte Ltd - the entire movie is generally more logical and engaging, the plot and acting sequences, more realistic, and the humour, less dumb.
Alright, let's get the facts right first: Money No Enough 2 isn't a comedy - though it has some humour scattered throughout, this film is essentially a little-less-than-typical Channel 8 drama - all compressed into 2 hours of cinema experience. That isn't necessarily a bad choice, as Jack Neo seems to be running out of creative and inspiring ideas for jokes if his comedy films in recent years are anything to go by - and making another comedy film would just serve to exacerbate matters. Instead, what Jack Neo has here is a plot revolving around the much-discussed Singaporean topic of filial piety - and that plot is so solid that it ends up rather impressive. There are several unpredictable (and unfortunate) twists and turns in the plot towards the end and it all makes for a very interesting and nail-biting watch. Plot-wise, this film beats Ah Long Pte Ltd hands down.
And the second fact: Money No Enough 2 isn't so much about money, as everyone would expect it to be, but more on filial piety (as mentioned in the preceeding paragraph). The movie also touches on the sense of responsibility that everyone should have. All in all, I'd prefer the film to stay this way than to venture into the full-featured subject of money and end up falling short - because there is only so much that can be discussed about money.
With these facts out of the way, you should have a more coherent idea of what Money No Enough 2 is. Well, if you are still expecting this to be a comedy film about money, move on - this film's NOT for you. But for everyone else, let's dive deeper together into the film.
I feared for this film the moment it started as the first few minutes are mere fillers that DO NOT tie in at all to the overall storyline. They are more like a horrible reminder of what Ah Long Pte Ltd is like - lame jokes, dumb humour, ridiculous events and ultimately, outright rubbish. I won't reveal to you what the first few minutes of the film are like (no spoilers!) - but I can say this: They are terrible, boring, and stupid, but hold on there, and you will be rewarded with the official start of the story progression after those few agonising minutes.
Even after the official start of the story, there's nothing interesting - it's just your normal Channel 8 drama trash talk. Jack Neo makes use of this first few 30 minutes of the film to crack up some of his signature Hokkien jokes, so it's still bearable. But what Jack Neo is attempting to drive across here becomes more apparent after those 30 minutes - the story begins to accelerate rapidly and the jokes are gradually extinguished in favour of more serious dialogue and acting.
There ARE several instances of Hokkien usage in this film and you MUST understand Hokkien to be really able to capture the essence and feel of this movie. Most, if not all, of the jokes are in hokkien, the musical portions and 40% of the dialogue here is in Hokkien, so go figure it out already. BUT before I proceed, I must stress that the 3 musical portions here are not musicals for the sake of musicals (UNLIKE 881 and Ah Long Pte Ltd) - these Hokkien musical portions are in fact, very moving and meaningful - so strategically placed that they are perfectly in sync with the overall theme, feel and aim of the film.
The film ramps up in intensity towards the end and YOU MUST keep your eyes and ears wide-opened during the last 30 minutes or else your ticket would be wasted. The ending gets my vote for being one of the best in a Jack Neo film and after the sign 'THE END' shows up, the film returns to some good humour to conclude the whole movie.
Overall, this is one of the better Neo movies and one that is worth your time and money. Yes, the original Money No Enough is better, but the predecessor was in a different film genre altogether. So there you go - get your tickets for Money No Enough 2.
(YAY! My first attempt at a movie review!)
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