Army Daze

''Army Daze'' is a 1996 Singaporean comedy film based on the 1987 theatre play of the same name by Singaporean writer Michael Chiang. Distributed by Cathay Asia Films and directed by Ong Keng Sen, the film portrays a group of 18-year-old Singaporeans from different classes and cultural backgrounds as they perform their National Service and their experience within the Singapore Armed Forces. The movie is spoken in Singlish, Standard English, Malay, Hokkien and Mandarin.

The tagline of the movie, ''From Real Blur'' (Singlish reference to a mental state of confusion) ''to Real Men''.

Plot

The film follows the journey of five men from different backgrounds as they enlist in their National Service: Malcolm, a nerdy and sheltered individual; Johari, a laid-back hipster Malay man; Krishna, a heroic and loving Indian lover; Ah Beng, a delinquent with a gangster-like demeanor; and Kenny, an effeminate boy interested in women's lifestyle. The story unfolds through Malcolm's perspective as he narrates his experiences in the army.

The men are assigned to Hotel Company Platoon 4, where they meet various other recruits. Before enlisting, Malcolm interacts with a shady character named Mr. X, who sells him a guidebook on playing truant in the army. Krishna has a heartfelt conversation with his girlfriend, Lathi, before reporting to duty. At the camp, they bid farewell to their loved ones and share their thoughts on the current state of affairs.

They are introduced to their tough drill instructor, Corporal Ong, who leads them to get their mandatory haircuts. The men introduce themselves to each other, with Malcolm feeling out of place among the group. The training begins with physical exercises and an obstacle course, where the five men comically struggle and fail. Their attempts at learning camouflage also end in failure, frustrating CPL Ong.

The recruits are allowed visits from their families, and Krishna reunites dramatically with Lathi. Ah Beng's sister, Ah Huay, makes an extravagant appearance, and Malcolm's mother expresses her disapproval of the army training. Johari feels neglected by his parents' absence, while Kenny dismisses his parents' absence as a holiday. The five men gather for a photo with Ah Huay as the photographer.

During combat training, they meet their tough instructor, Sergeant Wendy Chung, who unknowingly captures Ah Beng's heart. The platoon goes on a field camp, where Kenny and Malcolm try to make their campsite more comfortable but end up being punished with guard duty by Sergeant Monteiro. Krishna also joins them after trying to feign an excuse for absence using Malcolm's guidebook.

While on duty, Krishna faints after a scuffle with a python, and Malcolm finds him. Second Lieutenant Collin Heng decides to visit Krishna's family with CPL Ong and Malcolm. Lathi is comforted by 2LT Heng, and Malcolm notices a connection between them.

After Krishna is discharged, he returns to an empty bunk, only to find out that the platoon has been given time off for outstanding performance. The four surprise Krishna, but tension arises when Kenny accuses Malcolm of witnessing Lathi flirting with 2LT Heng. Malcolm denies the claim, leading to an argument. Johari and Malcolm try to pacify Kenny, and Ah Beng advises Krishna against breaking up with Lathi.

Krishna and Lathi reconcile over a phone call, while Malcolm learns to stand up to his overprotective mother. The five men bond as their military training comes to an end, expressing their desired vocations. The training concludes with a successful route march.

Upon graduating, the families of the five men come to pick them up, and they share their experiences and camaraderie, feeling like brothers. SGT Wendy Chung introduces Deanna Yusoff, whom Johari is a big fan of. They take a final picture together.

In the end, Malcolm signs on with the army and becomes a Captain while pursuing his nerdy hobbies. Krishna becomes a lawyer and starts a family with Lathi, who becomes famous. Johari joins the media industry and fulfills his dream of working with Deanna. Kenny enters boutique sales and aspires to become a dance choreographer, while Ah Beng becomes a cellphone manager and strikes the lottery, buying a diamond ring for SGT Wendy Chung.

Cast

* Edward Yong Ching Tah as ''Malcolm Png'', a young naïve Chinese boy from a middle-upper-class background. Due to being doted on by his mother, he at first has difficulty and culture shock in getting used to his new environment but slowly enjoys life in the army. He serves as the narrator of the film including breaking the fourth wall to explain to the audience about Singapore National Service.
* Sheikh Haikel as ''Johari Salleh'', a large, chubby Malay boy who loves rap music. He wishes to be an actor so he can meet his favourite star, Malaysian actress and singer Deanna Yusoff. Some of funny moments about him are usually about his daydreams involving her and also, his weight.
*Ahamed Azad as ''Krishnamoorthy'', a heroic Indian boy who acts like a typical Bollywood hero. He has a positive attitude to joining NS to prove how much of a heroic man he is to his girlfriend Lathi. Yet at the same time, Krishna does not hesitate to break some rules to spend more time with her. His relationship is brought into question after an incident involving her and a superior.
*Adrian Lim Meng Kiat as ''Teo Ah Beng'', a mean, foul-mouthed Chinese teenager just like his namesake, Ah Beng. Has a severe dislike of having to serve National Service and is only doing it for the allowance. A recurring joke about Ah Beng is that everyone keeps telling him speak Mandarin when he speaks in Hokkien. Krishna quickly becomes friends with him due to the latter secretly carrying a cellphone and pager.
*Kevin Mark Marghese as ''Kenny Pereira'', an effeminate Eurasian youth. Most of the funny moments about him are usually about how he manages to "feminise" any situation he is in.
*Margaret Chan as ''Mrs Png'', Malcolm's mother. Mrs Png dotes on her son and expects Malcolm to get special treatment within the Army due to her husband working as a government official. However, she is unaware or does not realise that Malcolm will be treated the same like other recruits with no special privileges. As she does not understand the training and bonding he does in the army, she thinks her son is not eating enough and becoming stupid for spending time with the 'unintelligent' people.
*Jacintha Charles as '' Lathi'', Krishna's girlfriend. She is madly in love with Krishna and thinks him heroic for joining the army. She remains faithful to Krishna, despite the flirting towards his superior.
*Eileen Wee Ling Yin as ''Teo Ah Huay'', Ah Beng's younger sister. Ah Beng is sometimes annoyed about her due to the outlandish clothes she wears alongside the fact she keeps bugging him for money and family matters back home.
*Daniel Gan Wei Teck as '' CPL Ong'', the platoon's Drill instructor. He tends to act harsh whenever the recruits try to be funny. While giving military lessons, he is also known for quoting very strange Chinese sayings.
*Rajagopal Kesavadas as '' SGT Monteiro'', the Platoon Sergeant. He gets annoyed whenever the recruits do not act accordingly in what they are doing in the army. Despite so, he does have a sense of humour which the recruits fail to grasp.
*Elaine Li Hoon Cheah as ''Sgt. Wendy Chung'', the Sergeant in charge in bayonet combat. She is stern while in uniform and despises the recruits for not taking her lessons seriously. However, Ah Beng falls in love with her.
*Julian Jay Huang as '' 2LT Collin Heng'', the platoon's commander. A handsome man who acts gentlemanly and cares about the men under his command. He unknowingly introduced himself informally to Lathi after comforting her over Krishna's state, but is oblivious to the matter at hand.
*Ong Chuen Boone as ''Mr X'', a man who secretly sells Malcolm a book in the beginning in the movie called "101 Ways To Twang In The Army", a book that shows how recruits can skive off within the Singapore Army without getting in trouble, including how to become an Army Clerk. He however is no more than a swindler, as his methods are unsuccessfully tried by the recruits who get caught by their superiors.
* Deanna Yusoff as ''herself''. A famous Malaysian actress and singer, she is Johari's crush. She appears in Johari's imaginations and in one segment with Malcolm about recruits having girlfriends. She also appears at the end of the film which reveals she was Sgt Wendy Chung's old school mate from Kuala Lumpur.
* Lim Kay Tong as ''Captain Lim'', CPL Ong's superior who is easily impressed by the antics of his men.

Releases

Context

Throughout the 1990s, the small Singaporean film industry had largely produced sombre films about serious topics. These included '' Medium Rare'' (1992), the co-production '' Bugis Street'', and '' Mee Pok Man'' (both 1995). The film's distributor, Cathay, had additionally been out of the movie production business for decades; ''Army Daze'' was the first film it had made since 1973. Ong admitted that the burden he felt was "scary", noting that aside from meeting financial expectations, the film had to also satisfy the military servicemen as well as people who had seen the play.

Box office

With a budget of S$700,000, ''Army Daze'' was one of the most profitable Singaporean films during that time, earning about S$1,600,000 at the local box office. The film's digital remaster received a limited re-release in March 2013.

Home media

A 15th anniversary edition DVD of the film was released in August 2011.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0115569, title=Army Daze
Laugh -- That's an Order
Asiaweek.com article

1996 films
1990s English-language films
Malay-language films
Hokkien-language films
1990s Mandarin-language films
1996 multilingual films
Singaporean multilingual films