Phua Chu Kang The Movie

Plot

Ah Ma pays a visit to Phua Chu Kang and Rosie Phua, who are now based in Malaysia. Almost as soon as she arrives, she disappears, only to resurface mysteriously tending to an elderly man at a nursing home run by Lim Lau Pek, where residents have been dying one by one. Mistakenly, Lim believes Phua Chu Kang is there to bid for a renovation job. Phua Chu Kang agrees to the job only after Ah Ma calls in his arch-nemesis, Frankie Foo, to bid for the job together with him, both in the hope of being awarded a lucrative job in the future. While Phua Chu Kang is busy with construction, he misses his anniversary dinner with Rosie Phua, who is wined and dined by Lim instead. At his luxurious home, Lim reveals that he has been siphoning the majority of funds from phone-in donations to the nursing home for his personal use. Shocked and guilty, Rosie Phua attempts to convince Phua Chu Kang to stop work to no avail. Meanwhile, Ah Ma reveals that the elderly man she has been looking after is Phua Chu Kang's grandfather, Ah Kong, who abandoned Phua Chu Kang in the belief that he would bring the family bad luck. Rosie Phua joins forces with Ah Kong and Frankie Foo, who has a crush on her, to find Lim's laptop in order to bring him to justice. The trio are caught in action by Lim and his thugs, who in turn are apprehended by the police that Phua Chu Kang, who pretended to continue to work for Lim, called in. Phua Chu Kang is reunited with Ah Kong, only to have Lim escape the clutches of the police before being caught by King Kong, who has returned from a date with the nursing home worker Angel. Phua Chu Kang's reunion with Ah Kong is cut short when Ah Kong passes away, after accepting Phua Chu Kang to his family.

Cast

Production

As early as 2000, the idea of a Phua Chu Kang movie had already been floated. However, Gurmit Singh and team felt that they had to wait for a script that combined Phua's trademark Singlish and physical humour with heartfelt drama and added new characters so that audiences would be willing to pay for it.

For his double role as Ah Kong, Gurmit Singh had to spend two hours in make-up.

This was actress Angie Seow's debut movie role.

The movie was mostly filmed at Sri Seronok Retirement Village in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Scriptwriter Ong Su Mann refused to watch the movie after being "dismayed" by the number of lines in its two-minute trailer that he didn't write. Instead of attending the premiere, he sent his mother and sister, who slept through most of it.

Critical reception

Critical reception of Phua Chu Kang The Movie was overwhelmingly negative.

John Lui of The Straits Times ravaged the movie, calling it "so awful that it feels as if everyone involved hates the character." While praising Gurmit Singh's "pitch-perfect Benglish and gift for physical comedy", Lui trashed the film as "grubby, chaotic, sponsor-intruding-grab-for-dollars...[it] will bring tears to anyone who remembers how startlingly good the MediaCorp sitcom PCK Pte Ltd was when it launched". He also stated that it is "high time Phua Chu Kang had a fatal construction site accident".

Phin Wong of TODAY found that the adaptation from small to big screen "ends up looking less like a film and more like a series of skits built around a barely-there story, with a handful of inexplicable melodrama thrown in", also calling it "an unfortunate waste of a talented cast playing well-loved characters capable of so much more."

Dylan Tan of The Business Times criticised its "scattershot plot", "annoying catchphrases shamelessly recycled", "banal gags", "exaggerated acting", "below-average production values" and "shoddy cinematography". He added, "To say PCK The Movie is a half-baked and rough effort could well be the understatement of the year as it’s neither original, clever nor grand enough to warrant a big-screen outing", claiming the film was made for the Malaysian market.

In contrast, Han Wei Chou of Channel NewsAsia found it "peppered with hilarious situations, side-splitting antics and well-delivered jokes that reflect the cast's comedic talents". He praised the film's director and screenwriter for managing to "translate the spirit of the television series onto the film medium quite well".

Stefan Shih of MovieXclusive.com awarded the film 1.5/4, criticising its "Jack Neo-ish style" and "many blatant product placement[s]". He gave the "scriptwriters credit in getting creative with the setting", which allowed the film to focus on Phua and Rosie, but concluded that it is "only suitable for kids as it played out in juvenile fashion appealing only to that targeted demographic".

Lai Swee Wei of Cinema Online gave the film 2.5/5. Lai praised it for providing "good reminiscence of the TV series" and its catch phrases, but criticised the "weak wordplay and slapstick which seemed aimed at younger audiences", the "lengthy storyline" with "unnecessary supporting character subplots" and the unmemorable ending.

Achievements

Gurmit Singh and Irene Ang were nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively at the 1st Golden Wau Awards, aimed at promoting Chinese-language Malaysian films, for their roles in this movie. Gurmit lost to Jack Neo in Homecoming (2011) while Ang lost to Angelica Lee in Ice Kacang Puppy Love (2010).

Sequel

It is evident from the film's cliffhanger ending, when Phua Chu Kang and Rosie Phua meet Lim Lau Pek's brother, that a second part was intended to be made.