Take 2 (2017)

Take 2 (2017). Take 2: Directed by Ivan Ho. With Lei Wang, Ryan Lian, Maxi Lim, Gadrick Chin.

“u0026#39;Take 2u0026#39; weaves a story of four ex-cons struggling to reintegrate into society – Ryan Lianu0026#39;s Tiger is a former gangster who took the rap for his boss Blackie (Henry Thia); Wang Leiu0026#39;s Mad Dog is a serial criminal who has apparently been convicted of every single offence in the Penal Code except for u0026#39;unnatural sexu0026#39;; Gadrick Chenu0026#39;s Panther was betrayed by his partner during a robbery attempt; while Maxi Limu0026#39;s Jian Ren was a soon-to-be groom convicted of sex with an underage prostitute during his bacheloru0026#39;s night party – and Tigeru0026#39;s voice-over at the beginning sums up their collective willingness to turn over a new leaf following their most recent prison stints. It was just last year that K. Rajagopalu0026#39;s u0026#39;A Yellow Birdu0026#39; dwelt on similar themes, and slightly more than a decade ago that Jack Neo had done likewise with u0026#39;One More Chanceu0026#39;, but u0026#39;Take 2u0026#39; is intended less as a serious drama on new beginnings and second chances than as a light-hearted dramedy with the same subject matter for the Chinese New Year season.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCo-written with his u0026#39;Ah Boys to Menu0026#39; director Neo, Ivan Ho (who also makes his directorial debut here) himself struggles to strike the right balance between humour and seriousness, exacerbated by the blatant repetition of casting a cross-dressing Dennis Chew in a variety of bit roles. There is Dennis Chew as an egotistical u0026#39;auntieu0026#39; whose car Panther had leased for use as a private taxi; there is Dennis Chew as the owner of a tuition centre who offers Jian Ren a teaching position without knowing of his past conviction; there is Dennis Chew as the female boss of a u0026#39;bak chor meeu0026#39; stall whose quarrel with Mad Dog goes viral; and there is Dennis Chew as a beggar who bursts into church with face shrouded in shadow looking like Jesus Christ. As much as Chew doesnu0026#39;t attempt to steal the limelight in each one of these scenes, his presence alone ultimately distracts from the intended message of the stigmatization that these ex-cons face while trying to get back on their feet, even at times trivializing their very predicaments.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAmong the quartet, only Tiger emerges as a fully enough formed character that we come to empathise with, especially as he tries in vain to get through to his estranged teenage son Guang (newcomer Shawn Ho) who appears to be following in his younger dayu0026#39;s footsteps. Whereas, Panther and Mad Dogu0026#39;s presence seem to go not much further than as comic sidekicks, and Jian Ren is (well) almost completely sidelined. It should also come as no surprise that, among them, Lianu0026#39;s performance is easily the most gripping, injecting some much-needed gravitas into a film that would otherwise come off too lightweight for its own good. Graduating from his scene-stealing supporting part in Neou0026#39;s epic period drama u0026#39;Long Long Time Agou0026#39; into the lead role here, Lian also holds his own against veteran actor Chen Tianwen, who sheds his u0026#39;Mr Unbelievableu0026#39; persona for a truly menacing villainous part named Di Tie with his own score to settle with Tiger.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOh yes, as formula would have it, Di Tie represents the past that comes back to haunt our four flawed heroes just as they are about to make a breakthrough with a new business venture that combines Tigeru0026#39;s cooking talent with Jian Renu0026#39;s excellent Maths teaching skills and Pantheru0026#39;s entrepreneurial instincts. Bearing the filmu0026#39;s titular name, the three-in-one establishment offers tuition services for kids with food and beverage options and massage services for their waiting parents. And yet, that promising restart threatens to be derailed by Di Tie, who not only exploits Mad Dog (who owes him money he borrowed to feed his gambling habit) to spike the establishmentu0026#39;s water on its opening day but also Guang to frame his father for drug possession, thus culminating in a showdown at a warehouse pier that youu0026#39;ve probably seen the trailers teased.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhereas the earlier two acts alternated between comedy and drama, the last adds action into the mix – what with Mad Dog dusting off his former u0026#39;choppersu0026#39; inscribed with his former nickname u0026#39;Geylang Mad Dogu0026#39; (prompting one of the genuinely funny quips from Blackie that he had ORD-ed from gangster-hood without u0026#39;returning his armsu0026#39;) and Panther packing a fire extinguisher, a washing basin, a pair of nanchucks and rope to stage an ambush on MRT and his gang. The ensuing mishmash is as discordant as it sounds, vacillating between melodramatic scenes of Tiger fending off MRTu0026#39;s brutal attack for the sake of Guang and amusing scenes of nerdy Jian Ren transforming into a u0026#39;nanchucksu0026#39; expert as well as Panther channeling his inner Bruce Lee. And yet, there is undeniably a scrappy charm to the proceedings, driven by the chemistry between Lian, Wang and Chen that translates into a palpable sense of brotherhood between their characters on screen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat u0026#39;Take 2u0026#39; proves to be somewhat rough around the edges is perhaps to be expected, given how this is only Hou0026#39;s maiden outing behind the camera. His background as a writer no doubt makes his debut feature a lot more narratively coherent than some of Neou0026#39;s earlier works, but as a director, Ho seems to have adopted his mentoru0026#39;s sitcom-ish style despite trying to infuse a more urbane flair with the use of Latin tunes like Gabriel Saientzu0026#39;s u0026#39;Te Quierou0026#39;. As far as inspiring its audience to give ex-cons in society a u0026#39;take twou0026#39;, u0026#39;Take 2u0026#39; isnu0026#39;t nearly as moving or poignant as it needs to be; but as comedy fare for the Chinese New Year season, there is enough humour, wit and even sheer nuttiness to keep you engaged, if not entertained. Just as how it is not realistic for ex- cons to keep their old ways while starting over, u0026#39;Take 2u0026#39; cannot be both goofy and compelling at the same time, so it is no surprise that it ultimately comes off more of the former and much less of the latter.”