Writer: Nurul Yezid

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Watch this if you liked: “Mama Mia!”, “High School Musical” and “Hairspray”

It's not every day that you'll come across a bunch of high school kids singing and dancing in tune to the late Allahyarham Sudirman's songs wearing their white and blue baju kurung, perhaps some covered in hijab and in a simpleton village no less! In the tradition of musical classics, the latest instalment by director Saw Teong Hin pays homage to one of the greatest musicians and entertainers in Malaysia, which is Allahyarham Dato' Sudirman Haji Arshad. But before you read on, please understand that this is not an attempt by Saw Teong Hin to create a musical based on the life of the legendary singer, instead the movie is a form of inspiration that derives from the musical wonders of the late singer. Unlike the biographically themed musical by Adlin Aman Ramli and Zahim Albakri in "P. Ramlee - The Musical... Hidup, Cinta and Inspirasi", "Hoore! Hoore!" focuses solely on the lives of a group of individuals living in a 'kampung' and their tendency to burst out singing to Allahyarham's songs while they are out and about with their daily happenstance! Seriously! Well jokes aside, this is Saw Teong Hin's 3rd film after being absent from the film industry for 4 years. His first ever entry into the industry as a director was "Puteri Gunung Ledang", which became a huge award winning success that gained him instant fans and a legion of admirers. So it was not surprising to see everyone anticipating "Hoore! Hoore!", and honestly, it was well worth the wait. With mostly newcomers as the stars of the film, Saw Teong Hin should really be credited in unearthing such rare gems from the pool of talents available across Malaysia.

This musical production tells the story of a girl named Nurul Aiman (Farah Nazirah) who possesses a chubby body, less-than-desirable physical features and a naive but kind heart. Despite her looks, she is as much a lady as other girls her age. Her best friends are Lana (Nur Syazwana) and Azadan (Afi Faris), whom she has known since childhood and she lives in a backwater village with her mother Lia (Adibah Nor), her father Hairil (Harun Salim Bachik) and her grandmother Nenda Zaimah (Fauziah Nawi). In school, Aiman is friends with a guy named Johari (Akim AF), who is good-looking and smart, and who also secretly harbours feelings for Aiman. At the same time, Lana and the most popular girl in school, Rita (Kilafairy), fancy Johari. Despite her beauty, Rita is an egoistic girl who always tries to find trouble with Aiman. With all these complications brewing yet blissfully unaware of them, Aiman's only wish is to win the Beauty Pageant contest held by a magazine. Seeing this as her opportunity to win Johari over and shame Aiman once and for all, Rita decides to enter the contest as well.

Newcomer Farah Nazirah not only entertaining in her role as the feisty Aiman, but her wit and innocence helps her charm her way through the audiences' hearts, and certainly the reviewer's as well since there's nothing but winning praises for this bubbly girl. And she has quite a pipe to boot too! Her renditions of "Basikal Tua", "Ayah Dan Ibu" and "Anak Gembala" among others were beautifully done. Physical attributions aside, her character and the way she manages to wow the audiences with a first time performance somehow resembles the success story of Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad in award winning musical "Hairspray", and that's quite an achievement! Other honorable mentions should go to Fauziah Nawi as Nenda and also Adibah Noor and Harun Salim Bachik as the father and mother to Aiman respectively. The chemistry of the actors in this film was incredible throughout the whole film, with only some minor awkwardness and unnecessary plots that would not even leave a dent to such a fantastic casting. And it's also refreshing to see Adibah Noor on a more serious note compared to her past comedic roles, and with this film, it manages to showcase Adibah's versatility in playing roles she is not accustomed to.

The rest of the cast also played their parts perfectly, and most of them can actually belt out a tune! Aside from the acting aspects, the dance routine could probably have been improved a little bit more, as there were no difficult movements that you can expect from other films to be included here. The film is a great combination of comedic chops, a little action and perhaps some drama that would leave you nearing to tears. A fun family film, this is definitely a great way to pay the respects and show our appreciation towards Allahyarham Dato' Sudirman Haji Arshad's work. Not only that, songs such as "Bercanda Dipasiran Pantai", "Basikal Tua", "Hidup Sederhana", "Hoore! Hoore!", "Salam Terakhir", "Kasih", "Milik Siapa Gadis Ini", "Merisik Khabar", "Ayah Dan Ibu", "Pelangi Petang", "One Thousand Million Smiles", "Anak Gembala", "Terasing" and "Balik Kampung" were nicely arranged to suit the mood the film was in. And don't be surprised if you find yourself singing and dancing along to the tune while watching this film!

Cinema Online, 25 May 2012