Writer: Syahida Kamarudin

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Watch this if you liked: “All’s Well End’s Well”, “Liang Popo: The Movie”, “Money No Enough”

No matter how bad 2010 was for Jack Neo, if there is one thing he didn't lose through it all is his sense of humour. And in this movie, he is close to outshine everybody else in his representation of a middle aged woman who has nothing else in her mind except to arrive on time in Kuala Lumpur for Chinese New Year's Reunion dinner.

First time comedy director, Lee Thean-Jeen brought to life the stories of three families, all happen in the course of a day, on the eve of Chinese New Year - a renowned chef too busy cooking for other families' reunion dinner while forgetting his own, a pair of newlyweds that just want to escape their dinner to go on a free trip to Bali, and a woman and her less-than-interested son stuck in a long taxing journey from Singapore to KL. Troubles and the very many hilarious moments ensue.

Hilarious it may be, audiences can still see that the movie does not really balance all three stories and making it memorable in its own way. As much as you might love Mark Lee playing his character as the snobbish French cuisine chef, little by little you will get annoyed at him continuously saying the word "fantabulous", and will not care about his love-hate relationship with the restaurant manager, Fei Fei. The newlyweds storyline is a bit off the mark after a while, when the conflict between mother versus daughter-in-law ends faster than you can say "in-law". These two stories are more serious in nature and might lead to a smile or two, but not big laughs as they hope to get.

The emphasis, however, is given to the story of Karen (Jack Neo) and his son (Ah Niu) on their trip to a reunion dinner in KL. It makes the other two stories look like they are there just to link the whole plot to make it one big CNY movie. Neo and Ah Niu's chemistry are very strong, as so both with Afdlin Shauki who plays the idiosyncratic yet lovable taxi driver. The three of them makes such a great team with their perfect comedic timing that it nearly drowns young actress Koe Yeet, who is the only person playing a more serious role. Kudos however to her for being able to be the only non-comedic character and held her own.

Although "Homecoming" is a movie tailor-made for CNY, it doesn't mean that those who do not celebrate or know not much about it should skip it. As a comedy, it entertains. As a movie, it teaches you the tradition and true meaning of the celebration. As a language of the visual, "Homecoming" is universal. Hence, it is a movie for all.

Cinema Online, 19 January 2011