Ah Boys to Men (film series)

Last updated
Ah Boys to Men
新兵正传
Directed by Jack Neo
Written byJack Neo
Link Sng
Produced by
  • Jack Neo
  • Melvin Ang
  • Lim Teck
Edited byYim Mun Chong
Music by Tosh Zhang
Production
companies
Distributed by Golden Village Pictures
Clover Films
Release dates
CountrySingapore
Languages
  • English
  • Mandarin
  • Hokkien
BudgetS$39.90 million

Ah Boys to Men is a Singaporean satirical military comedy film series presented By J Team Productions and mm2 Entertainment, written and directed by Jack Neo and also produced by Neo, Lim Teck and Leonard Lai.

Contents

Development

Ah Boys to Men is Jack Neo's first military-themed film, [1] as well as his "most ambitious project so far" according to himself. [2] Neo had wanted to shoot a military-themed film since his recruit days after being influenced by Taiwanese army films, but could not find the right opportunity. [3] Neo was originally approached by MINDEF to edit footages from the 2010 documentary Every Singaporean Son into a film. After much deliberation, Neo decided to not use the footages and instead write a brand new script. [4] The production received the full support from MINDEF to shoot the film; they were provided access to vehicles, equipment and weapons as well as on-site consultants. [5] Neo did not accept financial funding from MINDEF as he wanted to retain full control of the creative process. The film was funded under the Media Development Authority’s Production Assistance grant, [6] and by investors and sponsors, some of which included Toast Box, Bee Cheng Hiang and KPMG. [7]

Research for the film alone took around two and a half months. [8] Neo said the decision to break the film into two parts was made after the distributors told him to keep the films 100 minutes in length, as any longer and it would have been more expensive and difficult to schedule. [3] With a budget of S$3 million, Ah Boys to Men is Singapore's most expensive film. [9]

Parts One and Two actually tell one entire story, but we had to cut the film into two because it was running too long. You’ll only really understand the whole story if you watch Part Two.

— Jack Neo, cited in [10]

Films

Ah Boys to Men (2012)

The film revolves around a group of army recruits in National Service in Singapore. Neo had wanted to shoot an army-themed film since his army days, but could not find a suitable chance to do so.

Ah Boys to Men 2 (2013)

The film focuses more on the unity of the protagonists, as well as tapping more on hot social topics like foreign talent in Singapore. It gave "a stronger story than its predecessor", and had a "more meaty" drama aspect, according to Neo. Other themes for the sequel include "sacrifice, love, family and patriotism".

Cast

Ah Boys to Men (2012)

CastCharacterDescription
Joshua Tan Ken Chow

Recruit Ken Chow is a spoilt teenager who dislikes the Army and is reluctant to enlist as he wants to study abroad with his girlfriend. Tan, originally from Australia, previously encountered a similar situation faced by his character in real life, when plans with his girlfriend were derailed by his mandatory NS. Tan, an undergraduate at Monash University, had to defer his studies to film Ah Boys to Men and Ah Boys to Men 2 .

Maxi Lim Aloysius JinRecruit Aloysius Jin a.k.a. "Wayang King", one of Ken's bunk mates and a nerd stereotype. Ambitious in nature, he aims to be among the best and get into Officer Cadet School (OCS) so as not to disappoint his mother; his "wayang" behaviour is encouraged by his parents. It is Lim's feature-length film debut; previously he had worked on local television sitcoms and short films.
Wang Weiliang LobangRecruit Bang "Lobang" Lee Onn, a street-smart and witty recruit, who according to filmmaker Gilbert Chan, "really nailed the portrayal of a slightly rebellious but very funny caricature". A getai singer by profession under the mentorship of Wang Lei, Wang auditioned for the role without prior preparation.
Noah Yap IP ManRecruit Man In Ping a.k.a. IP Man, Ken's bunk mate. Yap had to defer his theatrical studies at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts to shoot Ah Boys to Men. It was reportedly Yap's "unconventional hairdo hair" that made Neo see potential in him. A certain scene required Yap to kiss co-star Tan's buttocks; Yap, though, did not find doing so uncomfortable. He said: "It's all acting. For me it [the scene] wasn't difficult … not that I have worked with a bare ass before." His nickname is a parody of a Chinese martial artist Ip Man.
Ridhwan AzmanIsmail MohammedRecruit Ismail Mohammed, one of Ken's bunk mates. Formerly taking an events management course at Institute of Technical Education's Bishan campus, Azman had to quit his studies to film Ah Boys to Men and Ah Boys to Men 2 . Previously, he was a finalist in Campus SuperStar , a Chinese talent-singing competition.
Tosh Zhang Second Sergeant Alex OngSecond Sergeant Alex Ong, a stern platoon sergeant in charge of Ninja Company. Neo offered Zhang the role after viewing his vlogs. Said Neo of Zhang: "He is eloquent, has musical talent and acts well, too. It is rare to have such a unique all-rounder." Initially supposed to attend a film course at Deakin University in Melbourne, Victoria, Zhang deferred to film Ah Boys to Men and Ah Boys to Men 2 which subsequently turned down his place at the university. Following the release of Ah Boys to Men , he was nominated for The New Paper's 2012 Breakout Star award, a subcategory of the newspaper's annual Flame Awards. Zhang eventually won. Zhang became a nominee in the 2015 Kids' Choice Awards.
Charlie Goh Tan Wei MingRecruit Tan Wei Ming, one of Ken's bunk mates.
Aizuddin NasserRecruit Muthu ShanmugaratnamRecruit Muthu Shanmugaratnam, one of Ken's bunk mates.
Luke Lee Third Sergeant Jed HengSection Commander of Section 2
Fish ChaarCaptain SL ThamOfficer Commanding of Ninja Company
Richard Low Ken's fatherHad a car accident at the end of this film
Irene AngMary Chow, Ken's motherPampers Ken Chow and finds all methods to defer his son from National Service.
Yoo Ah MinKen's grandmother
Wang LeiKen's uncleTaught his nephew Ken Chow on how to "geng".
Tony Koh Beng HoeKen's second uncleAlso taught his nephew Ken Chow on how to "geng".
Qiu QiuAmy, Ken's girlfriendDumped Ken Chow as she felt that he was childish.
Chen Tianwen Mr. Jin, Aloysius' father
Ye Li MeiMr. Jin, Aloysius' mother
Sherraine LawMayoki, IP Man's girlfriend
Justin Dominic Mission1970s Army Sergeant

Ah Boys to Men 2 (2013)

CastCharacterDescription
Joshua Tan Ken Chow
Maxi Lim Aloysius Jin
Wang Weiliang Lobang
Noah Yap IP Man
Ridhwan AzmanIsmail Mohammed
Tosh Zhang Second Sergeant Alex Ong
Charlie Goh Tan Wei Ming
Aizuddin NasserRecruit Muthu Shanmugaratnam
Luke Lee Third Sergeant Jed Heng
Fish ChaarCaptain SL ThamOfficer Commanding of Ninja Company
Wilson Ng3rd Warrant Officer K W SngCompany Sergeant Major of Ninja Company
Richard Low Ken's father
Irene AngMary Chow, Ken's mother
Yoo Ah MinKen's grandmother
Wang LeiKen's uncle
Chen Tianwen Mr. Jin, Aloysius' father
Ye Li MeiMr. Jin, Aloysius' mother
Sherraine LawMayoki, IP Man's girlfriendDumped IP Man for Gangster Zhen Zi Dan
Benjamin Mok Gangster Zhen Zi Dan (literally "Real Bullet", loosely a parody of Donnie Yen)Stole IP Man's girlfriend, Mayoki.
mrbrown Lieutenant S T ChoongAn army officer. It is his first film role. For the role, he was made to go through "physical torture". At a press conference for part two, Lee said: "It was three days of physical torture. I ran about more during the filming than in my entire army life!" Neo has said that there may be more future collaborations between Lee and himself.

Crew

Ah Boys to Men was directed by Jack Neo [11] and the script was written by Neo [12] and Link Sng. [13] [14] Neo, Lim Teck, [15] and Leonard Lai [16] served as producers, while Neo's wife Irene Kng, along with Mang, Teck, Tengku Iesta, Tengku Alaudin, Kenny Chua, William Sin, Dominic Inn, Tan Tong Hai, Eric Liang and Sky Li Yunfei, served as executive producers. [17] [18]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Quek, Sherlyn (November 9, 2012). "Time for ACTION!". Cyber Pioneer. MINDEF . Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  2. ↑ Loong, Wai Ting (December 31, 2012). "Focus on Singapore's National Service". New Straits Times . Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Chou, Han Wei (July 20, 2012). "Jack Neo takes a gamble on S$3m new film "Ah Boys to Men"". Channel NewsAsia . Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Jack Neo film a NS propaganda?". RAZORTV. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  5. ↑ Tseng, Douglas (October 25, 2012). "Trailer Breakdown: Ah Boys to Men". 8 Days .
  6. ↑ Noh, Jean (March 19, 2013). "Singapore's mm2 to partner with HK's Smart". Screen Daily. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  7. ↑ Ng, Gwendolyn (November 7, 2012). "Ah Boys To Men... to commercials". My Paper . Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  8. ↑ Teo, Bjorn (October 2012). "Ah Boys to Men" (PDF). Army News. No. 204. p. 22.
  9. ↑ Kee Yun, Tan (March 23, 2012). "Heartlands to be a war zone?". AsiaOne . Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Jack Neo vows to skinny-dip to celebrate Ah Boys To Men box office success". F***. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  11. ↑ Lui, John (January 4, 2013). "Shot in Singapore". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  12. ↑ Lui, John (January 7, 2013). "Shot in Singapore: 16 local movies for 2013". Her World . Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  13. ↑ Hee En Ming (November 14, 2012). "Ah Boys to Men". Fridae . Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  14. ↑ Lee, Benita. "Jack Neo: A National Service". Time Out . Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  15. ↑ Frater, Patrick (December 6, 2012). "Boys comes of age with record TV deal". Film Business Asia. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Jack Neo starts programme to groom film-making talent". AsiaOne. March 18, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  17. ↑ Elley, Derek. "Ah Boys to Men". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  18. ↑ Specific details on film poster for part one. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
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