Definitely Woohoo!

When my friends and I heard that a 100% locally produced Chinese New Year film was showing in the cinemas this month, I decided to take up the challenge of watching it, since I had never been to see one. I was a little reluctant, as the language difference was a huge barrier for me.

This movie, by local producer cum-director Chiu Keng Guan who is a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, featured the stable of ASTRO MY FM radio deejays, ASTRO AEC & Wah Lai Toi newscasters and television hosts. I was wondering how well the director could direct them to act in front of the camera, since none of them were trained actors or actresses.

Judging from the title ‘Woohoo’, I initially thought that the movie was about a celebration, excitement, or simply pure joy. After I did some research, I then found out that the movie actually was about the tiger dance art which is in danger of dying.

In fact, literally translated, ‘Woohoo’ in Chinese means ‘tiger dance’. Therefore, I assumed this movie was going to be a straightforward and serious history of the tiger dance art.

I had a huge surprise in store for myself. As soon as the first scene was over, I had to stifle my laughter and clutch at my painful stomach. I practically laughed throughout the entire movie, and there was never once a boring moment. And also thank God for the subtitles, however blurred it was, or otherwise I wouldn’t have understood a thing.

In the movie, five apprentices were recruited to learn the art of tiger dance from the last tiger dance master who is too old to perform anymore. Along the way, they learn that they had been tricked to learn the art by the granddaughter of the master, who was so desperate to grant her grandfather’s wish of seeing the tiger dance being performed one last time that she promised cash rewards to those who answered her advertisement in the newspaper.

The villagers of Kampung Beserah, where the tiger dance originates, also add to the fun of watching. They are a closely-knit community, where the appearance of a python and its capture is warranted a mention on the first page of the newspaper, and the full moon celebration of a baby is attended by the whole village. Events like these create a huge buzz for the village folks, whereas those living in urban areas would have easily overlooked them.

I also enjoyed the movie because it had a local feel with its everyday Malaysian clichés. A mixture of languages was used in the movie, such as Chinese dialects, Malay, and English. On top of that, Woohoo also managed to incorporate family values, romance, culture, and not forgetting, humour altogether in an hour and a half’s time.

As I was getting into the car after the movie, I still couldn’t stop myself from laughing. And can you imagine, with me not knowing the language and could still burst out laughing just by reading the subtitles throughout the movie?

This movie had definitely hit home with its message of togetherness and teamwork, while giving joy to its viewers. Definitely two thumbs up for the crew!