Definitely Not Stupid

by: Monica Dawn T. Palad

A 2-hour comedy/drama made produced in Singapore by Jack Neo in 2002, I Not Stupid is a simple and clever story covering topics discussing social problems of modern day Singapore ranging from Educational system to suicide while subtly we aving those social issues into its character’s dialogues.

The movie stars Terry, Boon Hock, and Kok Pin who are classmates in EM3 (A grade level for students who are not academically inclined with their peers in the normal level). The 3 kids came from different classes and each has a family dilemma of their own. Terry is a spoiled rich kid who has been raised by her mother to “Mind business of his own” and hasn’t been pressured by his parents to do well in his studies. Boon Hock, on the other hand, came from a very poor family and was having a hard time in helping to look after his parent’s small canteen and his studies. Lastly, Kok Pin, an inborn artist but overlooked by his parents because they want him to focus more on his Math and Science.

Three of the laziest students in the laziest section, Terry, Boon Hock, and Kok Pin, the 3 kids touch an excellent blend of comedy and drama about education and the importance of being able to speak Chinese to achieve academic excellence. While the 3 kids see their school as a jail where teachers made unfair remarks and judge a student by his grades and not by his character, it is a good universal movie because it discusses the very nature of school pressure. In the family aspect, the parents of the 3 kids would push them to achieve the very best in their lives without thinking that it is not very understandable for the mind of a 12-year old. Though Terry, Kok Pin, and Boon Hok are not really stupid, they have such potential achieve something better, but they still have to realize how to get there. This movie is more of a laugh-out-loud kind of movie, but will still leave you a little teary-eyed in some of the more serious scenes.

One clear message that the movie would like to convey to its viewers is that kids are kids and at some point they will grow tired of their happy-go-lucky acts and grow up. But still, what happens if your parents push you too hard to achieve something better? What’s going on with their parents and why are they pressuring their kids so hard? The movie answers those questions as their major plot while injecting so many open-ended subplots (Yeah, too many) which makes some of those unnecessary.

One of Singapore’s highest grossing movies for all time, I not Stupid is good family movie. It will make you realize that our parents, although too pushy at some point, only wants their children to perform well in class and children, although goofy most of the time, will grow up at some point and create important decisions of their own.

A 2-hour comedy/drama made produced in Singapore by Jack Neo in 2002, I Not Stupid is a simple and clever story covering topics discussing social problems of modern day Singapore ranging from Educational system to suicide while subtly weaving those social issues into its character’s dialogues.

The movie stars Terry, Boon Hock, and Kok Pin who are classmates in EM3 (A grade level for students who are not academically inclined with their peers in the normal level). The 3 kids came from different classes and each has a family dilemma of their own. Terry is a spoiled rich kid who has been raised by her mother to “Mind business of his own” and hasn’t been pressured by his parents to do well in his studies. Boon Hock, on the other hand, came from a very poor family and was having a hard time in helping to look after his parent’s small canteen and his studies. Lastly, Kok Pin, an inborn artist but overlooked by his parents because they want him to focus more on his Math and Science.

Three of the laziest students in the laziest section, Terry, Boon Hock, and Kok Pin, the 3 kids touch an excellent blend of comedy and drama about education and the importance of being able to speak Chinese to achieve academic excellence. While the 3 kids see their school as a jail where teachers made unfair remarks and judge a student by his grades and not by his character, it is a good universal movie because it discusses the very nature of school pressure. In the family aspect, the parents of the 3 kids would push them to achieve the very best in their lives without thinking that it is not very understandable for the mind of a 12-year old. Though Terry, Kok Pin, and Boon Hok are not really stupid, they have such potential achieve something better, but they still have to realize how to get there. This movie is more of a laugh-out-loud kind of movie, but will still leave you a little teary-eyed in some of the more serious scenes.

One clear message that the movie would like to convey to its viewers is that kids are kids and at some point they will grow tired of their happy-go-lucky acts and grow up. But still, what happens if your parents push you too hard to achieve something better? What’s going on with their parents and why are they pressuring their kids so hard? The movie answers those questions as their major plot while injecting so many open-ended subplots (Yeah, too many) which makes some of those unnecessary.

One of Singapore’s highest grossing movies for all time, I not Stupid is good family movie. It will make you realize that our parents, although too pushy at some point, only wants their children to perform well in class and children, although goofy most of the time, will grow up at some point and create important decisions of their own.