From left: Camans Kong, Zhou Yuchen, Goh Wee-Ann and Joseph Ng in I Not Stupid 3. - GOLDEN VILLAGE PICTURES
Almost two decades after the release of comedy-drama I Not Stupid Too (2006), local film-maker Jack Neo’s film franchise returns with its third instalment.
Opening in Singapore cinemas on June 6, I Not Stupid 3 still aims to highlight the pressures faced by children in the Singapore education system. However, the spotlight has now been cast on unreasonable parents.
The franchise kicked off with 2002’s I Not Stupid, which centred on the struggles of three Primary 6 pupils placed in the academically inferior EM3 stream and made stars out of then child actors Shawn Lee and Joshua Ang. The latter also appeared in I Not Stupid Too.
Its latest instalment focuses on the academic rivalry between two Primary 6 classmates, Jayden (Camans Kong) and Zi Hao (Zhou Yuchen), who are both pressured by their mothers (played by Jae Liew and Hu Jing) to be the top student.
The women do whatever it takes to ensure their sons emerge victorious, even at the expense of the boys’ well-being.
“I will not say the movie is to wake parents up, but to remind them that parenting is not what they think,” Neo, 64, says during an interview at I Not Stupid 3’s press conference, held at the Mandarin Oriental hotel on Tuesday (June 4).
“It’s for audiences to understand that they may not be the best parent. Perhaps they have neglected their child’s feelings, misunderstood their child’s needs or think that they have shown a lot of love to their children, when their children do not think so.”
The writer-director adds that the movie draws on his experience as a father of four children, who are now between the ages of 19 and 32.
During the press conference, he said its script was in the works for more than 10 years. According to him, many versions were rejected by the education experts consulted as they did not accurately reflect the concerns faced by students.
The film’s main child stars – 11-year-old Yuchen from China and 13-year-old Camans from Malaysia – did not have personal experience to draw from, as neither had gone through Singapore’s education system.
However, their Singaporean co-stars Goh Wee-Ann, 13, and Joseph Ng, 12, believe I Not Stupid 3 is an accurate representation of their time as primary-school pupils.
In fact, Wee-Ann was in the midst of preparing for her Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) at Haig Girls’ School during filming in June 2023.
When it came to art imitating life, she says it was quite similar.
Northland Primary School pupil Joseph, who is taking his PSLE later in the year, says: “The atmosphere has become significantly more serious and stressful, and everyone around me is working hard.
“It no longer seems appropriate for me to be such a jovial character in school.”
The revival of the I Not Stupid franchise has also allowed Neo to highlight another hot-button topic among Singaporeans – the rising number of Chinese students moving to Singapore to enter the local education system.
Chinese actress Hu Jing, 46, plays a Shanghainese mother who leaves her job and migrates to Singapore to accompany her child as he prepares for the PSLE, and says the film accurately depicts the phenomenon.
Cast member Xiong Lingyi, who is a co-founder of YouTube comedy channel Wah!Banana, “looked at a lot of her friends and tried to mimic the way they treat their kids”.
China-born Xiong, 36, migrated to Singapore as a child and also portrays a Chinese mother.
Local actor Terence Cao, 56, who has a teenage daughter and plays a senior teacher, feels I Not Stupid 3 holds a mirror up to society.
He says: “Jack Neo’s movies touch on hot topics, but it’s not going to solve them.” - The Straits Times/Asia News Network
