Writer: Lai Swee Wei

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Watch this if you liked: “Ah Long Pte Ltd”, “Just Follow Law”

Who would've thought that Phua Chu Kang (Gurmit Singh), best in Singapore, JB and some say Batam, would return to make his big screen debut within the clever setting of Kuala Lumpur (pronounced 'Kuara Rumpur' in PCK's Ah Beng slang) instead of Singapore. Thus, an excuse to set aside PCK's nerdy brother Chu Beng, his vegetarian wife Margaret and their son Aloysius.

Directed by Boris Boo, who last collaborated with Jack Neo in the horror comedy "Where Got Ghost?", "Phua Chu Kang The Movie" puts focus onto Chu Kang and his slimmed-down wife Rosie (Irene Ang), both of whom have not lost touch with their alter ego, together with Ah Ma (Neo Swee Lin) and Chu Kang's archenemy Frankie Foo (Lim Kay Siu). In addition to the show, we see Henry Thia as Lim Lau Pek, the despicable CEO of Siao Soon old folks home, who oddly enough has the hots for Rosie. Be sure to watch out for a daring smooch between those two!

As PCK Pte Ltd has found a new lease of life in Kuala Lumpur, Chu Kang and Rosie sets of to fetch Ah Ma upon her arrival in KL, but soon goes missing in a mall and later discovered at a retirement home run by Lim Lau Pek. Unexpectedly, Chu Kang lands himself renovation work for the home, wanting to find out the reason for Ah Ma's behaviour, while competing against Frankie Foo, who also has the job deal. Inevitably, the Phuas discover something sinister and corrupt behind the friendly-faced Lau Pek.

"Phua Chu Kang The Movie" definitely brings back good reminiscence of the TV series, seeing as the characters hadn't changed one bit and we are reminded of popular catchphrases like "Don't play play", "Abuden", "Use your brain!" and Chu Kang's laughable mole twitch movement. Some gags served to be quite amusing, while others fell flat with weak wordplay and slapstick which seemed aimed at younger audiences. Moreover, the lengthy storyline could've been better without unnecessary supporting character subplots like King Kong's (Charlie Tan) 'tauhey break' romance with Lau Pek's assistant Angel (Angie Seow) and overly stretched chase sequences between the good guys and the baddies. The ending also didn't quite make "Phua Chu Kang The Movie" memorable enough pertaining to an obvious fraud unveiling and a supposedly "touching" scene involving Chu Kang's elderly relative.

Clearly, feature films would have a tough time looking better than the original TV series, but director Boris Boo should be praised for efforts in trying to bring back the Ah Beng contractor back into our lives. Don't pay much attention to the plot, but watch it for the lovable characters you fell in love with in the first place that made the sitcom last through eight seasons!

Cinema Online, 19 August 2010