I Not Stupid

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I Not Stupid
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack Neo
Screenplay byJack Neo
Story byJack Neo
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyArdy Lam
Edited byYiu-Chung Yeung
Music byLi Yi
Production
company
Mediacorp Raintree Pictures
Distributed byUnited International Pictures
Release date
  • 9 February 2002 (2002-02-09) (Singapore)
Running time
105 minutes
CountrySingapore
Languages
BudgetS$1 million
Box officeS$3.8 million

I Not Stupid (

Mediacorp Raintree Pictures, the film stars Huang Po Ju, Shawn Lee, Joshua Ang, Cheryl Desiree Chan, Xiang Yun, Jack Neo, Richard Low and Selena Tan
.

Released in cinemas on 9 February 2002,[1] the film earned over S$3.8 million, becoming the second-highest grossing Singaporean film. Its satirical take on the Singaporean education system and social attitudes in Singapore sparked public discussions and parliamentary debates that led to reforms in the education system. A standalone second installment titled I Not Stupid Too, was released on 26 January 2006. Another standalone third installment titled I Not Stupid 3, was released on 6 June 2024.

Plot

The film's storyline revolves around the lives and families of three students in the EM3 academic stream, Terry Khoo (Huang Po Ju), Liu Kok Pin (刘国彬 Liú Guóbīn; Shawn Lee) and Ang Boon Hock (洪文福 Hóng Wénfú; Joshua Ang). Terry, pampered and from a rich family, is a meek and obedient boy, with a domineering mother Mrs. Khoo (Selena Tan) and a negligent businessman father Jerry Khoo (Richard Low). Kok Pin is pushed to excel at school by his mother (Xiang Yun), but he shows a talent for art, not academics – much to the consternation of his mother. Boon Hock and his mother (Wong Choi Yeng) struggle to make ends meet by running a small wonton noodle stall, to make up for the lack of a father figure, he places high value on loyalty and "manliness" in his friends.

The boys are often bullied for being in the "stupid" stream, which eventually leads to a fight during which one of the bullies who happened to be Boon Hock's cousin named Ang Tiong Meng (Jed Tay) from the EM1 stream, is accidentally injured after having a scuffle with Kok Pin and his face was hit by the fence. This is because Tiong Meng was the one who bullied the boys and provoking them by looking down on them on their poor Mathematics test results. In the discipline mistress's Ms Tan's (Patricia Mok) office, Kok Pin and Boon Hock explain what happened, where Tiong Meng and his mother (Lim Kwee Hiok) were also present, but Terry declines to testify on their behalf, following his mother's instructions to "mind his own business", which infuriates his friends and causes trouble between the boys.

Meanwhile, Jerry gets in a fight with a man who turns out to be Kok Pin's father, Mr. Liu (Jack Neo), a chinese copywriter, over a parking space outside their children's primary school, while the both of them are about to fetch their children after school. Mr. Khoo's company is a client for Mr. Liu's firm, an advertising agency. Their new-found enmity causes Mr. Khoo to select the marketing campaign of John (Harlow Russell), an American expatriate and creative director of Mr Liu's firm, over that of Mr. Liu and Ben's (Hossan Leong) proposal, the latter being the creative group head, as they're both partners working together in the firm who dislikes John for many reasons, in addition to the stereotype that Americans are better than Asians. As John's ideas are deemed culturally inappropriate by locals, even going to the extent of stealing Mr Liu and Ben's ideas from their proposal, Mr. Khoo's business suffers due to the loss of customers.

As the boys deal with their problems, a new

loan sharks. This is to also ensure that Mr. Khoo would be able to pass the amount of money to the kidnappers and then let the 2 boys off. Afterwards, Kok Pin managed to assist the police officers by remembering the 2 kidnappers faces by using his drawing skill and draw their faces and help to investigate by saving Terry and Boon Hock from the kidnapping. After that happens, the kidnappers were then arrested by more backup police officers and even the S.W.A.T. team being led by the head of the police team (John Cheng
).

As the end of the year approaches, Boon Hock excels in the PSLE Mathematics Exam, while the other boys manage to scrape by – Kok Pin only marginally. Contrary to Kok Pin's fears, his mother is satisfied because he has tried his best. When visiting Mrs. Liu at the hospital, Ms. Lee announces that one of Kok Pin's drawings won second prize in an American International Youth Drawing Competition, but the moment is overshadowed by the rush to save Mrs. Liu's life. Mr. Khoo passes the transplant test, but refuses to donate after discovering the intended recipient is his enemy's wife. He eventually relents, but it is revealed that due to a mix-up Terry, not Mr. Khoo, is the suitable donor. Despite protests from his parents, he insists on undergoing the operation, which is a success. A grateful Mr. Liu offers to help Mr. Khoo's business with his proposal. As a result, Mr. Khoo's business booms, and the two enemies become good friends. The film ends with Terry being bullied once again, as in the beginning of the film – but this time, he stands up for himself and fights back.

Political satire

This film criticises many aspects of modern

academic elitism, with students in lower streams looked down upon as inferior, making it harder for them to catch up and realise their potential (see golem effect), even if they are not necessarily stupid.[3][4][5] This kiasu mentality puts mounting pressure upon the protagonists of the film, confounding them as they attempt to improve their standing and ameliorate their reputation in a society which judges them "worthless".[2]

Terry's mother, Mrs. Khoo, is a "thinly veiled stand-in for the Singapore Government", whose "mother-knows-best" mentality is well-meaning, but strips her children of their freedom.[3] She demands total obedience, and her repeated lines "Do you know how lucky you are to have a good and responsible mother?" and "This is all for your own good" parody the Singapore Government's efforts to convince Singaporeans that government policies and actions is in the best interests of the nation.[1][3][5][6] Mrs. Khoo also uses her position of power to buy off rebellion in her charges with gifts and bribes, in a pointed criticism of the government's social policies.[3][6] Other characters in the film comment on this relationship – for instance, in one scene, Mr. Liu states that "it is difficult to catch fish in Singapore, because fish in Singapore are like Singaporeans; they'll never open their mouths", poking fun at the Singaporean trait of obedience and respect for authority.[5]

The film also touches on other issues including Chinese self-loathing (wherein Singaporean companies regard Western expatriates as inherently superior to local workers), suicide, the use of Singlish (which was featured in the popular Singaporean local sitcom known as Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, where the titular character Phua Chu Kang (Gurmit Singh) was also mentioned by Ben), and the differences between English and Chinese.[2][5][6]

Production

Jack Neo's

streaming, students face considerable academic and emotional stress.[7][8] This problem formed the core of his film, which he called I Not Stupid in reference to the social stigma that streaming places on students.[3]

Neo also drew on a dissatisfaction he felt with the way the school system promoted deference to authority over self-reliance; he wanted his film to tell youth "If you don't want to change or make a difference, you won't. It's all up to you".[7] In exploring these ideas, Neo spent over two years researching and editing the script — checking scenes for accuracy, verifying facts, and drafting dialogue.[8] Altogether, the work went through thirteen different revisions, and saw over 50 children audition for the lead roles,[9] before Neo decided to send the film into production.[8]

This production was carried out by

theme song, which was sung by Chen Guorong. The actual filming took place at Braddell Westlake Secondary School and Westlake Primary School over a period of 24 days,[12] and the film found distribution through Raintree Pictures and United International Pictures.[13]

Reception

This film earned just S$46,000 during a limited sneak preview run, prompting

Alliance Entertainment, which said that 70,000 VCDs of Money No Enough were sold, but VideoVan called the comparison inaccurate, as Money No Enough was a mature title, rather than a new release.[16]

Awards that this film won include Best Chinese Film at the

Hong Kong Film Awards, losing to My Sassy Girl.[17] Critics praised the film for its humour and uniqueness, noting that it touched a raw nerve among Singaporeans. For example, Sanjuro of LoveHKFilm.com wrote, "I Not Stupid covers a variety of serious subjects, but all the while maintains a light comedic touch. Jack Neo [makes this film] a clever, well-crafted social commentary and a damn good film to boot".[3] Other reviewers described this film as "one of the greatest cinematic feats I've had the pleasure of experiencing"[4] and displaying a "simple and yet excellent execution".[5] In contrast, FilmAsia reviewer Soh Yun-Huei, found it "most shocking...that the Singapore censors actually allowed this film through in the first place".[10]

Despite its political satire, the film received a positive response from the Singapore Government, as the then second Prime Minister of Singapore, Goh Chok Tong commended Neo's creative talent during his National Day Rally speech on 18 August 2002.[18] In 2004, Neo was the first local filmmaker to receive a National Day Award,[19] and on 21 October 2005, he and Dick Lee became the first pop culture artists to receive the Cultural Medallion, Singapore's highest arts award.[20] The movie sparked public discussion and parliamentary debate about the negative effects of streaming. In 2004, the Ministry of Education decided to merge the EM1 and EM2 streams, and the EM3 stream was scrapped in 2008.[21]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-84520-237-6
    .
  2. ^ a b c "I Not Stupid but is clever, really", New Straits Times, 19 September 2004.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "I Not Stupid – Review", www.lovehkfilm.com
  4. ^ a b Daniel Nguyen, "I Not Stupid – Review Archived 2006-11-01 at the Wayback Machine", KFC Cinema.
  5. ^ a b c d e Funn Lim (2005), "I Not Stupid – Review", Spcnet TV.
  6. ^ a b c d Kenneth Paul Tan (2008), "Cinema and Television in Singapore", Brill Publishers, pg 164–168.
  7. ^ a b Karl Ho, "Jack as court jester", The Straits Times, 31 January 2002
  8. ^ a b c Hwa, Dr. Tan Hooi; Krysania Tan, Regina Chan (April 2002). Interview with Mr Jack Neo and Dr Winston Hwang from the cast of Local Production "I Not Stupid", SMA News. pp. 5–10. Retrieved 17 December 2006.
  9. ^ "THE CASTS Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine". Raintree Pictures Pte Ltd. 2002. Retrieved 17 December 2006.
  10. ^ a b Soh Yun-Huei, "I Not Stupid – Review", FilmAsia.
  11. ^ ""I Not Stupid" – Production notes Archived 2006-11-04 at the Wayback Machine", MediaCorp Raintree Pictures. 2002.
  12. ^ Wong Kim Hoh, "Who says I’m only good at drag?", The Straits Times, 20 June 2004
  13. ^ "UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES, MEDIACORP RAINTREE PICTURES AND SCORPIO EAST PICTURES RELEASE "I NOT STUPID TOO" Archived 2006-12-23 at the Wayback Machine". MediaCorp Raintree Pictures Pte Ltd. 2005. Retrieved 17 December 2006.
  14. ^ "Lineup", Tokyo International Film Festival official website.
  15. ^ "Britons get a taste of Singapore culture in I Not Stupid show", Channel NewsAsia, 6 April 2005.
  16. ^ Camilla Chiam, "Two Jack Neo movies slug it out", The Straits Times, 12 June 2002.
  17. ^ "List of Award Winner", Hong Kong Film Awards official website.
  18. ^ Goh Chok Tong (18 August 2002), "National Day Rally Address Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine", National Day Rally Address.
  19. ^ "Jack Neo honoured with National Day awards". Channel NewsAsia. 9 August 2004.
  20. ^ "Dick Lee, Jack Neo among this year's Cultural Medallion recipients", Channel NewsAsia, 21 October 2005.
  21. ^ "No streaming, no stigma", TODAY, 29 September 2006.

External links

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