'5 Sehat 4 Sempurna': A desperate attempt at hip comedy<\/p>\n
Joko E.H. Anwar, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
5 Sehat 4 Sempurna (Healthy Five, Perfect Four); Comedy, 114
\nminutes (** out of ****); Starring Fathir Muchtar, Rena Tabitha,
\nIvan Gunawan, Jaeim Rosadi; Directed by Richard Buntario;
\nA Broadcast Design Indonesia Production; in Bahasa Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Indonesian movie audiences should be grateful for the release of
\na comedy, the first since local film production began to reemerge
\nin 2000.<\/p>\n
Just as a reminder, to name a few, we already have children's
\nfilm Petualangan Sherina (Sherina's Adventure), art house movie
\nPasir Berbisik (Whispering Sands), horror flick Jelangkung,
\nhistorical epic Ca Bau Kan, teen romance Ada Apa dengan Cinta?
\n(What's Up with Cinta?), and adult drama Eliana, Eliana.<\/p>\n
Diversity in the genre of recent releases should be seen as a
\nsign that our infant film industry is heading toward the right
\ncreative direction.<\/p>\n
If only we could say the same about the quality.<\/p>\n
Richard Buntario should be awarded the Most Confident Film
\nDirector by claiming that he has invented a new genre, the so-
\ncalled \"urban pop comedy\", with this feature directorial debut of
\nhis.<\/p>\n
The long-time music video director said that only those who
\nhave or had been living in the city would get the jokes contained
\nin this latest offering from the Indonesian film lineup.<\/p>\n
He also claimed that the humor would be different from the
\nusual jokes Indonesian audiences have become accustomed to, such
\nas those from famous local comedy group Srimulat, which offers a
\ncombination of slapstick and intentional mispronunciation of
\nwords.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Richard gives us nothing but hot air with this
\nachingly unfunny misfire.<\/p>\n
The movie, whose title is a play on the wording used in long-
\nestablished government propaganda regarding healthy eating
\nhabits, is as corny as its title may suggest.<\/p>\n
It opens with an embarrassing scene that is guaranteed to make
\nanyone who has had at least one Friday night out drop their jaw
\nin disbelief.<\/p>\n
The so-so storyline revolves around a group of nine young
\npeople, five males and four females who, after playing pool, end
\nup making a bet between the sexes.<\/p>\n
It goes like this: one of the boys, played by Fathir, must get
\nback to his ex-girlfriend whom he has dumped before, while a girl
\nfrom the group (Rena), must get a date with a supposedly famous
\nAmerican pop star named John Doe who is on tour in the city. The
\nloser must treat the other to a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Even for a brainless comedy, the plot could not be more
\ncontrived than this.<\/p>\n
The movie then proceeds with fart jokes and the audiences will
\nsoon realize that the movie is trying to be an Indonesian version
\nof American Pie.<\/p>\n
The latter has a charming ensemble cast delivering countless
\namusing jokes, but all that 5 Sehat 4 Sempurna can offer is
\nannoying, overacting performers.<\/p>\n
It seems pointless that there are nine principal characters in
\nthis movie as they all act out their roles in a similar,
\nirritating way.<\/p>\n
The lame effort at defining characters includes a blatant rip-
\noff of the girls in the highly successful Ada Apa dengan Cinta?,
\nin which one girl poses as a butch character.<\/p>\n
The situation is also made worse by actors adlibbing their
\nlines in a pathetic attempt to be funny.<\/p>\n
It does feel though that the movie progresses as it goes
\nalong, probably due to the horrible start.<\/p>\n
Some jokes actually work; most come from androgynous Ivan
\nGunawan, who manages to lift up the movie to a watchable level.
\nOther funny scenes still involve drag jokes, which seems to be
\nthe kind of humor local audiences enjoy so much.<\/p>\n
Attempts at situational comedy seldom work in locally produced
\nmovies and TV shows as it requires a good writer to pull it off.
\nMostly, they end up finding out that the joke is on them.<\/p>\n
One of the exceptions was a hilarious comedy released in 1987,
\nKejarlah Daku Kau Kutangkap (Chase Me, I'll Catch You), directed
\nby Chaerul Umam and cleverly written by Asrul Sani.
\nThe film's success was due to the filmmakers' understanding that
\na character need not be lame-brained to be funny and a joke
\nshould not be about people making jokes about other people.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about 5 Sehat 4
\nSempurna. And the filmmakers must have targeted the wrong
\naudience if they expect the hip will go for this.<\/p>",
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