On the day of her sixth birthday, while blowing out the candles on her cake, Ah Kiao makes a wish: that she will become a star. It’s just a shame that, as her mother points out, having revealed her wish, she risks it not coming true. Reaching adulthood, Ah Kiao does actually get to work in television: she sells TV sets in a small shop in her village in Malaysia. But in her heart of hearts, she dreams of joining the plethora of Chinese people in Malaysia who have made their fortune in Singapore showbusiness. Her half-blind grandmother, who claims to have had an affair with Zhao Lei, the star of The Kingdom and the Beauty, encourages her to pursue her dreams, while Ah Kiao herself urges a chubby young boy not to lose sight of his dream of becoming a ballet dancer, difficult though it may seem. When a new season of Starz Search is announced, Ah Kiao decides to give everything up and head south, re-baptising herself with the stage name of Zann. In Singapore, she is in for the obvious rude awakening, initially struggling to make it as a promoter before getting small roles, with an unexpected courtship from a Taiwanese proletariat knight in shining armour.
Already Famous, the first outing as director and screenwriter for the TV actress Michelle Chong (best known to the local public for her role in the extremely popular series The Noose, whose title plays on the similarity between the words “news” and “noose”, the latter used to carry out death penalties in Singapore) is most certainly the most welcome cinematic surprise of 2011 from Singapore. Not only did the film become one of the biggest local its of the year, riding the wave of the notoriety of its director/star, but it also managed to convince the public thanks to its refined humour and the tender spontaneity of the tale. It is indeed rare that, in any point of the globe, comics hailing from the sphere of TV manage to demonstrate the sensitivity that Chong shows in terms of cinematic rhythm and directorial know-how. Already Famous never reverts to the motionlessness of a TV sketch and carries its brisk comic pace with style. It is rich with verbal and visual inventiveness that make it both pleasurable and even exhilarating, even for those who will not get the specific local references, including language, quotes and special guest stars. Looking beyond the spot-on gags and the gallery of eccentrics (the gambling mother, the gay promoters, Ernest and Vaness, Angie, the colleague/rival, excellent in the scenes in which she gets shot) and the cornucopia of tragicomic situations (the entire rising through the ranks of showbiz section almost certainly reflects the experiences of Michelle Chong or her pals…), Chong manages to give the spectator something even rarer: as the film progresses, the character of Ah Kiao, who could have slid slowly towards becoming a mere object of ridicule, is enriched with a humanity that endears her to the public. Already Famous steps outside the realms of comedy (even rom-com territory, when Ah Kiao flirts with her Taiwanese suitor) and enters the territory of the coming-of-age story. As Ah Kiao’s becomes more aware and mature, the spectator’s affection grows for this Malaysian kampung girl (village girl), whose innocence calls to mind some of the classic Audrey Hepburn characters.
Paolo Bertolin