CY@CY Says Welcome to my dreamscape. Where a Lim is also a Ling.
I went to TGV at Permaisuri Imperial City Mall this afternoon to watch the Singapore movie “Our Sister Mambo” at Hall 2. And for the first time in my life, I had the whole hall to myself as I was the only patron!
I was the only patron for the show!
Our Sister Mambo is a family comedy drama commemorating the 80th anniversary of Cathay Organisation. It is a modern tribute to and reinvention of iconic Cathay classic films Our Sister Hedy (四千金, 1957) and The Greatest Civil War on Earth (南北和, 1961).
Movie poster for Our Sister Mambo
Set against the backdrop of modern Singapore, Our Sister Mambo follows the antics of the Wong family. The Wong parents (Moses Lim and Audrey Luo) have four daughters (Ethel Yap, Michelle Chong, Oon Shu An and Joey Leong), each making choices about love and career that surprise their parents.
Moses Lim plays Mr Wong, the father of the family with a relaxed and benevolent parenting style. Mrs Wong (played by Audrey Luo) provides many of the biggest laughs as a dominating mother and an ardent Korean drama fan.
Audrey Luo & Moses Lim as husband and wife in the movie
The eldest sister Grace (Ethel Yap) is dating a China boyfriend (Nelson Chia) who is a divorcee with a little daughter. Watch out for Nelson’s amusing china accent. Mambo (Michelle Chong) is the strong willed second daughter who quits her lawyer job to become a chef. Third sister is the sexy and feisty Rose (played by Oon Shu Ann) who hops from one “ang moh” (Caucasian) boyfriend to another. The youngest fourth daughter June (Joey Leong) is the baby of the family who runs into her man literally.
Singapore’s famous blogger, Xiaxue, has a cameo appearance in the movie as herself. The film also feature cameos from the biggest Cathay stars Maria Menado and Grace Chang (Gelan). Grace Chang, now in her 80s, was one of the original movie Queens of the 1950s-60s era, whose credits included The Wild Wild Rose (in which she performed the golden mandarin oldie, Carmen), Mambo Girl, Air Hostess (filmed partly in pre-independent Singapore).
Current issues such as inter-racial relationships, immigrants from China and prevalence of social media tools versus the traditional human touch are also incorporated into the screenplay to make it relevant to the 21st century audiences.
I find Our Sister Mambo a heart-warming movie. It had me laughing at the familiar antics common in typical Asian family. Audrey Luo’s scene-stealing performance of Mrs Wong stole the thunder from Michelle’s titular Mambo to become the most memorable character of the entire film.
Here is a trailer of the movie:
