Army Daze
Encyclopedia
Army Daze is a 1996 Singapore
an comedy
movie based on the 1987 theater play(which had a rerun in March 2006 ) of the same name by Singaporean writer Michael Chiang
. Distributed by Cathay Asia Films and directed by Ong Keng Sen
, the film portrays a group of 18 year old Singaporean teenagers from different classes and cultural backgrounds as they perform their National Service and their experience within the Singapore Armed Forces
. The movie is spoken in Singlish
, Standard English
, Malay
, Hokkien
and Mandarin.
The tagline of the movie, From Real Blur (Singlish
reference to a mental state of confusion) to Real Men.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
movie based on the 1987 theater play(which had a rerun in March 2006 ) of the same name by Singaporean writer Michael Chiang
Michael Chiang
Michael Chiang is a prolific playwright of the '80s and '90s art scene in Singapore. He wrote Army Daze and Beauty World.He is also editorial director of Mediacorp Publishing, which publishes 8 Days .-External links:...
. Distributed by Cathay Asia Films and directed by Ong Keng Sen
Ong Keng Sen
Ong Keng Sen is a Singaporean director of the theatre group TheatreWorks, which was founded in Singapore in 1985.Ong is a member of the Asia-Europe Network, which promotes the artistic exchange between Asia and Europe...
, the film portrays a group of 18 year old Singaporean teenagers from different classes and cultural backgrounds as they perform their National Service and their experience within the Singapore Armed Forces
Singapore Armed Forces
The Singapore Armed Forces is the military arm of the Total Defence of the Republic of Singapore; as well as the military component of the Ministry of Defence. The SAF comprises three branches: the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Republic of Singapore Navy...
. The movie is spoken in Singlish
Singlish
Colloquial Singaporean English, also known as Singlish, is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore.Singlish is commonly regarded with low prestige in Singapore. The Singaporean government and many Singaporeans alike heavily discourage the use of Singlish in favour of Standard English...
, Standard English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, Hokkien
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
and Mandarin.
The tagline of the movie, From Real Blur (Singlish
Singlish
Colloquial Singaporean English, also known as Singlish, is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore.Singlish is commonly regarded with low prestige in Singapore. The Singaporean government and many Singaporeans alike heavily discourage the use of Singlish in favour of Standard English...
reference to a mental state of confusion) to Real Men.
Cast
- Edward Yong Ching Tah as Malcolm Png Wenjing, a young naive Chinese boy from a middle-upper class background. Due to being dotted by his mother, he at first has difficulty and culture shock in getting use to his new environment but slowly enjoys the life in the army. He serves as the narrator of the film including breaking the fourth wall to explain to the audience about Singapore National Service.
- Sheikh HaikelSheikh HaikelSheikh Haikel is a Singaporean rapper, actor and radio personality. He won talent competition Asia Bagus in 1993 and has since established himself as a major player in the entertainment industry...
as Johari Salleh, a large, chubby Malay boy who loves rap music. He wishes to be an actor so he can meet his favorite star, Malaysian actress and singer Deanna Yusoff. Some of funny moments about him are usually about his weight.
- Ahamed Asad as Krishnamoorthy, a heroic Indian boy who acts like a typical BollywoodBollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
hero. He has positive attitude in joining the NS to prove how much of a heroic man he is to his girlfriend Lathi. Yet at the same, Krishna won't hesitate to break some rules to spend more time with Lathi.
- Adrian Lim meng Kiat as Teo Ah Beng, a mean, foul mounted Chinese teenager just like his namesake, Ah BengAh BengAh Beng, from , is a stereotype applied to a certain group of young Chinese men in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia. The stereotypical view of an Ah Beng is a young Chinese man or teenager who lacks cultural refinement or indulges in criminal activity or is involved in brawls or...
. Has a serve dislike serving his National Service and is only doing it for the allowance. A recurring joke about Ah Beng is that everyone keeps telling him speak Mandarin when he talks in Hokkien. Krishna quickly become friends with him due to the latter secretly carrying a cellphone and pager.
- Kevin Mark Marghese as Kenny Pereira, an effeminate, gay man. Most of the funny moments about him are usually about how he manages to "feminize" any situation he is in.
- Margaret ChanMargaret ChanMargaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, OBE JP is the Director-General of the World Health Organization . Chan was elected by the Executive Board of the WHO on 8 November 2006, and was endorsed in a special meeting of the World Health Assembly on the following day...
as Mrs Png, Malcolm's mother. Mrs Png dotes on her son and expects Malcolm to get special treatment within the Army due to her husband working as a government official. However, she is unaware or doesn't realize that Malcolm will be treated the same like other recruits with no special privileges. Because she doesn't realize the training an bonding he does in the army, she thinks her son isn't eating enough and he getting stupid for spending time with the unintelligent people.
- Jacintha Charles as Lathi, Krishna's girlfriend. She is madly in love with Krishna over how heroic he is in joing the army.
- Eileen Wee Ling Yin as Teo Ah Huay, Ah Beng's younger sister. Ah Beng is sometimes annoyed about her due to the revealing clothes she wears and the fact she keeps asking hm for money.
- Daniel Gan Wei Teck as CplCorporalCorporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
Ong, the platoon's Drill instructorDrill instructorA drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer or Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in the armed forces or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. In the U.S. armed forces, they are assigned the duty of indoctrinating new recruits entering the military into the customs and...
. He tends to act harsh whenever the recruits try to be funny. While giving military lessons, he is also known for saying very strange aesops.
- Mark Richmond as SgtSergeantSergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
. Monteiro, the platoon's Sergeant. He gets annoyed whenever the recruits don't act accordingly in what they are doing in the army.
- Elaine Li Hoon Cheah as Sgt. Wendy Chung, the Sergeant in charge in bayonet combat. She despises the recruits for not taking her lessons seriously. However, Ah Beng falls in love with her.
- Gerald Chew as 2nd Lt.Second LieutenantSecond lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
Collin Heng, the platoon's commander. A handsome man who acts like gentlemanly and cares about the men under his command.
- Ong Choon Boone as Mr X, a man who secretly sells Malcom a book in the beginning in the movie called "101 Ways To Play TrauntTruancyTruancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. The term typically describes absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate "excused" absences, such as ones related to medical conditions...
In The Army", a book that shows how recruits can Truant within the Singapore Army without getting caught including how to become an Army Clerk.
- Deanna Yusoff as herself. A famous Malaysian actress and singer, she is Johari's crush. She appears in Johari's imaginations and in one segment with Malcolm about recruits having girlfriends. She also appeared at the end of the film which reveals she is Sgt. Wendy Chung's old school mate from Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
.
Differences from the play
The movie had several differences from the play. For example, Krishnamoorthy is an original character for the movie. Unlike the movie, the play focuses on Malcolm who plays the peacemaker and straight man within the platoon to Johari and Kenny, whom the latter two have a low opinion on National Service. Furthermore, how the characters became closer was different; in the movie, they were able to bond after talking about their problems with each other while in the play, they bonded after a crazy man attacks them and they subdued him.Reception
With a budget of S$700,000, the movie was one of the most profitable Singaporean films during that time, earning about S$1,600,000 at the local box office.External links
- Laugh -- That's an Order Asiaweek.com article