Writer: Wong Wei Ling

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Watch this if you liked: “Tiger Woohoo”, “Bliss”

The film highlighted the importance of togetherness in a family and how lifestyle nowadays has neglect the bonds between family members. It also talks about the younger generation that leaves their aged parents in old folks home. "Great Day" follows the story of two elderly uncles at the welfare home who comes to the point of comparison which forces both of them to run away in search of their own children at the city just so they can compare whose children are more successful. Odd circumstances ensue that will tickle the audience's funny bones till the end of the rolling credits.

One of the attractive things to note in "Great Day" will definitely be the colours used in the film. The audience will see the greenish wheat field under the blue sky; strongly contrasting with the kampong-style houses in funky colours. Besides that, the scenes they choose are filled with immense cultural influences; for example, Batu Caves in Selangor and Cheng Ho Temple in Malacca. The audience might even be able to identify some of the famous spots in Kuala Lumpur area such as the likes of Sunway Pyramid shopping mall in the movie.

Despite targeting the Chinese audience seeing as Hokkien and Cantonese tongue are the primary languages in the movie (where most Chinese would understand the inside jokes), "Great Day" also applies the usage of Malay and Tamil language in some scenes. The audience will also be able to warm up to the Malaysian 'mamak' culture, the infamous daily traffic congestion in the city as well as the lottery scene in the movie.

The settings and architectures are as real as it can get - the old folks home in the movie is so similar to the ones existing in real life. From the chairs, the old metal beds, wooden cupboard and fabric of the curtains in the house; it is all well constructed and placed in the sets. No one will be able to miss the all-familiar low-cost flat buildings and small apartments located somewhere in the city as well.
The emotional scenes in this movie are by far more successful compared to the tear-jerking moments in "Woohoo". One might notice a handful of fellow audience secretly shedding tears in the cinema upon some scenes in the movie. Therefore, for those who plan to catch this movie, it is advisable to carry along a few tissues or a trusty handkerchief before walking into the theatre.

The small twist towards the ending of the movie is implied really well although the climax and ending could be done in a much more meaningful way that will capture the very strong affections supposedly involved in the most important scene of all. Despite all that, this is still a great movie to watch during family outings as it will help to bring the family members closer and leave behind some lessons one will grow to appreciate.

Cinema Online, 21 January 2011