From Straits Times
Ah Long triumphs despite bad notices
Jack Neo's latest comedy triumphs over Jay Chou's basketball
movie, but Stephen Chow reigns supreme at the box office
By Boon Chan, MEDIA CORRESPONDENT
FACED with the Stephen Chow-Jay Chou challenge over the Chinese
New Year weekend, Singapore writer-director Jack Neo held his own
with his best-ever box-office weekend showing of $1.47 million for
Ah Long Pte Ltd.
Hong Kong funnyman Chow's CJ7 still came out tops with $2 million
but Neo beat Kungfu Dunk, which came in third with $1.41
million.
CJ7, a family drama about a poor boy and an alien pet, the Jay
Chou star vehicle-cum-basketball action flick Kungfu Dunk and
loanshark comedy Ah Long Pte Ltd all opened last Thursday.
Ah Long's achievement came despite mixed reviews from the press.
Some critics had panned it heavily. The movie has television star
Fann Wong playing a loan shark and popular comedian Mark Lee as her
effeminate husband.
Neo said: 'I'm very happy with the results. That's the fun thing
about movies. There are lots of surprises.
'The most important thing is word of mouth. After all, you would
trust your friends more than anyone else.'
What was surprising was the relatively poor showing of Kungfu
Dunk. The movie was heavily promoted and Chou toured the region to
publicise the movie.
Despite the cool critical reception, hardcore fans of Neo found
plenty to like in Ah Long.
Housewife Lan Meilan, 68, said: 'I loved the dialect dialogue
best. It was well-spoken and very funny. I felt very happy after
watching it.'