Automatic

Friday, August 02, 2013 @ 8:38 PM

That Girl in Pinafore

What Pinafore?!

'A pinafore /ˈpɪnəfɔər/ (colloquially a pinny /ˈpɪni/ in British English) is a sleeveless garment similar to an apron, worn especially by small girls as a dress or an overdress. Having been in a boy’s school for 10 years of my life, the only Pinafore I’ve ever seen was perhaps our neighbours from across the bridge, over at Nanyang Girls High.

Originally titled ‘A Singapore Love Story’, the movie revolves around Jiaming (played by Daren Tan), a Chinese boy from a typical Singaporean family who hates studying and May (played by Julie Tan), the rich, pretty campus belle who has lived her entire life under her over-protective mum. The two seemingly different kinds of people from extreme spectrum of the society meet and yes… sparks fly. As cliché as it may sound, the development of the plot very much depicts a typical Singapore love story, and that is the reason why most of the audience (including myself) could relate to so easily.

The plot (expectedly) becomes dramatic, when it is found out that May, our female antagonist, has a weak heart and her tiger mum starts to interfere with their relationship dealings.

Been there, done that.

The coming-of-age film brings back plenty of fond memories. The 80s kids would definitely remember using huge, wired telephones to call their zhabor’s (girlfriend) home, the pagers and pak tor (date) on a weekend at East Coast Park. Back then, guys didn’t have the opportunity to take their BTT after their exams, and all they could afford was to ride a bike with their girl. There’s also scenes for the 90s kids (me!) to reminisce – reading Lao Fu Zi, watching Liang Po Po, calling in to radio stations to dedicate songs to their classmates, saving up using actual piggy banks, ponning (skipping) lessons and many more. But one thing that never change is the process of jioing (approach) that eye-candy of yours and getting their name and number; been there, done that!

每个故事里的胖子- 小胖 (Kelvin Mun)

Xin Yao.

旧歌新唱

The local chinese music movement which originated in the mid 80s, had its heydays in the early 90s when it got popularized within many schools. This is the core of the movie that makes it so attractive and different from any other productions. Xin Yao is truly Singaporean; the songs are all composed and performed by Singaporeans, singing about life in this tiny red dot. The casts/ production team made a very commendable effort to repackage and cover the original tracks; striking a brilliant balance between adding a new twist to an old song while not losing its essence at the same time. What makes Xin Yao so unique is its simple, sing-along tune and the meaningful lyrics. I find myself finger/ feet tapping too often during the movie. OSTs are important to all movies, and this is the perfect example of a successful one.

Woo? Who?

Director Chai Yee-wei takes a huge risk by casting a host of newbies in this film. But I must admit his gamble paid off. The injection of new faces is a huge sigh of relief as most local films conform to the casting of the same-old-artistes (cue Jack Neo, Mark Lee, ABTM…). Apart from the fact that lead actor Daren Tan looks a tad too buff and old to be in a Catholic High/ Hwa Chong uniform, I thought he did reasonably well for his first on-screen performance. Julie Tan was equally impressive as well; the whole school-girl/ fringe/ pony-tail look definitely strikes an uncanny resemblance to most of the male audiences watching.

Hayley Woo

Jayley Woo

Twins Jayley and Hayley Woo fit into their respectively roles perfectly as two bitchy, yet so lovable school girls. Their love interests, acted by Seah Jiaqing and Kenny Khoo are a down-to-earth resemblance of every other guy you would see in class (the geek and the flirt). And of course, there must be a fatty in every single story- none other than Kelvin Mun, who develops an interesting inter-racial relationship with his malay tuition teacher (Sherly Ng). There are also cameos by Patricia Mok, Steven Lim, Naomi Yeo (not Neo!) and a list of Xin Yao originators, who makes the movie so much more comical.

Verdict.

It’s difficult not to draw comparison between this film and Taiwan’s You Are the Apple of My Eye. But it is definitely nothing like a rip-off because the stories are truly Singaporean. While the producers made an effort to make the whole set as 90s as possible, there were still occasional loopholes. Julie’s emotional scenes were cringe-worthy at times and most of the censorship were really unnecessary (but I do understand that they probably want to keep it at PG13 to attract more audience). The development of the love story between the leads was rather thin, although they did make up for it with a very emotional and surprising ending.

As a Hwachong boy, I was really able to appreciate the entire movie and the whole Xin Yao movement. I don’t remember crying during a movie, and Pinafore would probably be the first and hopefully last one. Some of the scenes were just too relatable, warning: especially for those who/ have close friends going overseas to study. The movie is an apt reminder of all the dreams, friendships and love you have experienced in Singapore.

Pinafore is perhaps, the best local production to date since I Not Stupid.

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4/5

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