Writer: Elaine Ewe

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Watch this if you liked: "Sepah The Movie"

"O.M.K (Oh Mak Kau!)" feels like a classier version of "Sepah The Movie", with girls kicking butt in addition to the comedy, thus removing the sexism present in the latter.

An underdog among the film industry's big players, not only does "O.M.K (Oh Mak Kau!)" mark the directorial debut of Nurul Ain Nordin, it also stars many older comedians such as Didie Alias, Yassin Elias ("Senario") and Abon. The film centres on two brothers, played by Jep dan Shuib Sepahtu, who also starred in the aforementioned "Sepah The Movie". The two brothers have a penchant for robbing the villagers' houses, but on the principle that they clean up during their robbery, which leads to much hilarity. Throw in a chance meeting with Que (Nurul Ain Nordin), their tough childhood friend and her beef with the local gangs due to her devil-may-care attitude and we get some action amid the comedy.

The film is saved from being a banal mess by Jep and Shuib's interactions as brothers. Their exchanges and shenanigans resemble those of the yellow Minions in "Despicable Me", which makes you want to laugh and bang your head on the desk at the same time. There are some genuinely hilarious moments in the film such as when Shuib tells Jep to close the door after they leave so that robbers cannot get in and when Jep and Shuib giggle at juvenile jokes like determining a fish's gender by seeing how it takes a dump.

Nurul Ain Nordin may not be much of an actress, but she certainly knows her stuff when it comes to directing. Every action shot tastefully cuts into the next so that the audience do not get to see the flaws in the stunts, which is infinitely preferable to other films of the same genre who tries to show off their 'so-called' action scenes only to have it backfire on them.

In addition, she creatively juxtaposes some scenes side-by-side, which gives the film an added comic effect. There is a lot of creativity to be found here, such as the overdramatic poetry exchange between Abon and Wan Maimunah's characters and the sudden flashback scenes as a form of character exposition. The only characterization that turned out jarring was that every time Abon's character coughed, everyone would freeze except for him. Uh, okay.

Music is also employed very well throughout the film. Although some scenes tend to be overdramatic, the fault lies in the actors themselves (Wan Maimunah hitting Jep and Shuib in slow-motion), who tackle it with a sledgehammer subtlety, not the soundtrack.

For newbies to our local comedies, you may want to test the waters with other comedies first as the dialogue and humour in "O.M.K (Oh Mak Kau!)" tend to fall into the 'hit or miss' or 'either you get it or you don't' categories. There is a lot to like in the movie especially if the audience can get over the cast's thick accents and the occasional dry patches of storytelling.

Cinema Online, 08 May 2013