By Kelvin Tong

Get set for this Granny and Gang

Jack Neo's latest movie about his 85-year-old female alter ego is a movie in every sense of the word

Sticklers, who scoff at Jack Neo's command of the Singlish language, will be glad to note the funnyman behind Money No Enough has got only the title of his latest family comedy right.

Without a doubt, Liang Po Po - The Movie is a movie.

It has buckets of gloss, hefty production values, a star-studded cast, battalion-size gang clashes, car stunts and even pyrotechnics.

It is a show of force riding on the frail shoulders of Neo's popular 85-year-old alter ego, Liang Po Po.

Fans, who were charmed by the comedian's bumbling granny act on television, are in for a treat. In this big-screen shenanigans-filled extravaganza, Liang Po Po gets into beaucoup mischief.

She breaks out of an old folks' home, hawks porno VCDs, hangs out with tattooed thugs and even raises a bony fist to a triad kingpin played by Hong Kong veteran Eric Tsang. The implausibities are numerous, but director Teng Bee Lian's debut feature is also enjoyably absurd.

Think Young And Dangerous crippled with osteoporosis.

If Money No Enough's selling point was it's familiar scuzziness, then Liang Po Po- The Movie's hook is it's familiar goofiness.

Neo is a scream as a gullible, but softhearted granny who meanders along HDB walkways completely oblivious to the evil ways of the world. Getting conned and duped on a titanic scale is the cross that a good soul like Liang Po Po is destined to bear.

The hilarity level skyrockets when he encounters the rest of his Comedy Night entourage.

Mark Lee plays the ubiquitous kopitiam lout, while Henry Thia reprises his blur-king act- the difference this time being the zany tennis shorts and an ever-present inhaler, Patricia Mok shows up all togged out in neon as an aggressive ah lian.

At times, the movie suffers from the sudden deluges of ham-fisted humour. Gags revolving around chewing-gum smuggling and Neo parading around in sari fail to raise titters, but the likeable supporting cast offers pleasant distractions.

Of the lot, Lee is the most compelling as a lowlife who is tough on the outside but low soft inside. Long after Liang Po Po's handbag toting and hoo-hoo-hooing antics plateau, it is Lee's unlikely friendship with Singapore's best-loved senior citizen that produces unexpected sparks and pathos.

Audiences looking for a sequel to the record-smashing Money No Enough will not find it in Liang Po Po- The Movie. The latter has none of the former's raw energy and buzz.

However, that does not mean that it is a pushover.

It is zany enough to thrill (gangsters upgrading themselves and running for elections) and broad enough (Liang Po Po playing the medic in gang fight) appeal to both young and old.

Also it has yummy nuggets like Malaysian singer Ah Niu's cameo as a petrol-station attendant who is in love with a truly gorgeous Zoe Tay.

Best of all, Neo's feisty granny is proof that life after CPF-collection can be a colouful one. Just like Liang Po Po, everyone's twilight years ought to be filled with gangster drama, heists, car chases and gunshots.

Caption 1: Goofy and enjoyably absurd, the antics of the gullible, but soft-hearted granny Liang Po Po, will appeal to the young and the old.