Writer: Ezekiel Lee Zhiang Yang

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Watch this if you liked: "Diva"

Oh my goodness, I've been cheated left and right by Sharad Sharan.

That's right. If you've heard about what a disaster the last Tarantella project was (2007 teen fluff "Diva"), then you'd already be wary of this name. Still, who would not forgive you if you went to a movie because Titi Kamal was starring in it?

The Indonesian star is a marvel to watch, if you've ever seen "Mendadak Dangdut". Here, she is given a simple role to play (one of a pop star vixen) and does it ever so well. She's ridiculously cute and infectiously happy. She's bleeding happiness all over the Ciliwung River. O the joy of seeing her prance about almost makes up for the poor script.

Almost. As it stands, "Tipu Kanan Tipu Kiri" is a colourful misadventure in unevenness and hollowness. The customary cheerful soundtrack is more than welcome but the story is the sort that is always heading nowhere, with a lot of superfluous characters that do not contribute to anything. There are three supposedly hot office girls in Hans Isaac's office but their roles are instantly forgettable. Azwan Ali's Mr Fix character doesn't quite cut it either, although he does command that screen persona. The worst performance here is definitely Indon pretty boy Christian Sugiono's, who can't pull off any sort of endearment from any audience that doesn't comprise Indonesian teenage girls. He's stiff, he's mediocre and most of all I'm not sure he's very good looking in the first place. It is the most shocking fact that he is indeed Titi Kamal's real life off-screen lover.

Good thing old hand Hans Isaac put in some solid work then as the queen-controlled big executive. He should have taken the place of Sugiono, who is horribly miscast in the name of commercialism. The less is seen of him, the better. Maybe the director could have hidden him behind Sazzy Falak's skirt or something.

As it stands, "Tipu Kanan Tipu Kiri" gets one star for Titi Kamal's prancing about, another star for Hans Isaac's effective turn and one more star for the banging soundtrack.

Cinema Online, 29 September 2008