Mr. Unbelievable
Mr. Unbelievable (Chinese: Unbelievable先生; pinyin: Unbelievable xiānshēng) is a 2015 Singaporean musical comedy film directed by Ong Kuo Sin, and starring Chen Tianwen as the titular protagonist. It is based on the viral song "Unbelievable"[1] and was released in cinemas in Singapore on December 3, 2015,[2] and in Malaysia on January 14, 2016.
| Mr. Unbelievable | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Unbelievable先生 | |
| Directed by | Ong Kuo Sin |
| Produced by | Melvin Ang Lim Teck Ong Kuo Sin Toong Soo Wei Sock Ling |
| Written by | Ong Kuo Sin |
| Starring | Chen Tianwen Liu Lingling Marcus Chin Li Feihui Jaime Teo Tosh Zhang |
| Music by | Gary Leo |
| Edited by | Heng |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | mm2 Entertainment Clover Films Shaw Organisation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | Singapore |
| Language | Mandarin Hokkien English |
| Budget | S$1 million |
| Box office | S$560,000 |
Plot
Eric Kwek Hock Seng (Chen Tianwen), born on the same day as Singapore (August 9, 1965), is abandoned as a baby in a basket with a broccoli, and is taken in by Master Lo Man (Marcus Chin). Lo Man trains Eric to perform in the getai industry, although his looks has caused setbacks. Through the years, he becomes one who is a patriotic Singaporean, and is hugely supportive of national campaigns. When Lo Man's getai business becomes unable to keep up with the times, he decided to add English lyrics to Chinese songs, much to the dismay to Master Lo Man, his friends, Ah Hua and Ah Fei (Jaime Teo and Li Feihui), and frequent getai-goers. At the same time, his poor command of the English language made it worse, resulting in certain phrases, such as "stunned like vegetable", sounding relatively wonky. However, his disciple, Lawrence (Tosh Zhang), is extremely supportive of this decision, as he is encouraged by his mother to listen to Eric's songs. To show his strong will and persistence in order to fulfil his dreams, Eric is determined to go on an unbelievable musical journey, even at the ripe age of 50. With the help of Lawrence, Eric managed to become a sensation through his song "Unbelievable".
Cast
- Chen Tianwen as Eric Kwek Hock Seng, a 50-year-old getai performer
- Genghis Chai as Eric Kwek Hock Seng as a baby
- Liu Lingling as Man Li, a beer promoter and Eric's love interest
- Marcus Chin as Master Lo Man, master of the singing troupe and Eric's adoptive father
- Li Feihui as Ah Fei, Lo Man's disciple
- Jaime Teo as Ah Hua, Lo Man's daughter and disciple, and Eric's childhood lover
- Tosh Zhang as Lawrence, a part-time actor, Eric's disciple and forever-loyal fan
- Hayley Woo as Omega Cui
- Hong Huifang as a Samsui woman who is a fan of Eric's music
- Ezann Lee as her younger self
- Zhang Wei as a getai show organiser
- Zhang Wenxiang as Man Li's boss
- Jim Lim
- Daren Tan
- Silver Ang
- Gadrick Chin
- Chua Jin Sen
Production
The huge success of Chen's "Unbelievable" music video, which garnered 3.2 million views on Facebook and YouTube prompted director Ong Kuo Sin to come up with a feature film and provide a background story for it. The film was shot in 15 days starting from 14 September 2015.[3]
In order to sing Hokkien songs in the film, Jaime Teo had to watch online videos to brush up on the dialect.[4]
Soundtrack
It was announced that Mr. Unbelievable would have three to four original songs, as well as other cover songs thrown in. With the release of the teaser trailer, the song "ABC" was revealed. The final trailer of the film revealed a cover of Frances Yip's song "Seung Hoi Tan", with English lyrics about hitching vehicles. On November 23, 2015, the music video for Hayley Woo's "Kabe-don" (壁咚) was uploaded onto YouTube on the official channel for Clover Films, while the music video for Chen Tianwen's "I'm 50 Years Old" (老子今年五十岁) was uploaded on December 3. The music video of Marcus Chin's "Bitter Sea" (苦海) was uploaded on December 10.
Reception
Yip Wai Yee of The Straits Times gave Mr. Unbelievable 2 out of 5 stars, attributing it to Chen's portrayal of his teenage character "unconvincing", and that "to milk (the original music video) and drag it into a full-length feature film makes the nonsense go on for far too long".[5]
Marcus Goh of Yahoo! Movies called it "intentionally cheesy and corny, which works well given the subject matter of the film and the different language mediums it spans". At the same time, "it definitely appeals to the older crowd, but there are elements for the younger audience".[6]
Jocelyn Lee of The New Paper rated Mr. Unbelievable a 2 out of 5, as it "is hindered by a thin plot, and relies on slapstick humour, making it utterly forgettable".[7]
Box office
Mr. Unbelievable collected $25,000 on its opening day, making it the biggest opener among Singaporean films, excluding Chinese New Year-related films.[8]
Sequel
A sequel has been planned to be released in 2016, according to an interview with Chen Tianwen by The New Paper. This had been confirmed by both Chen and Ong after Chen's huge breakthrough.[9]
References
- "Chen Tian Wen to star in 'un-un-un-un-unbelievable' movie". Channel NewsAsia. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- "Mr Unbelievable gets Dec 3 release date". Today. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- Lee, Jocelyn (29 September 2015). "Mr Unbelievable movie shot in unbelievable 15 days". The New Paper. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- Zhuang, Zara (4 September 2015). "'Unbelievable' gives Chen Tian Wen his big break in movies". Toggle. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- Yip, Wai Yee (2 December 2015). "A struggle to keep it believable". The Straits Times. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- Goh, Marcus (2 December 2015). "Review: 'Mr Unbelievable' has familiar faces and feel-good vibes". Yahoo Movies. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- Lee, Jocelyn (9 December 2015). "Movie Review: Mr Unbelievable (PG)". The New Paper. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- 陈, 韵红 (4 December 2015). "《Mr.Unbelievable》首日票房报捷" (in Chinese). Lianhe Wanbao. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- Lee, Jocelyn (28 December 2015). "Chen Tianwen says he'll film Mr Unbelievable sequel in 2016". The New Paper. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.