''We Not Naughty'' () is a Singaporean comedy film directed by

Jack Neo Jack Neo Chee Keong (born 24 January 1960) is a Singaporean filmmaker, comedian and actor who was a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1983 to 2003. He established a unique presence with his genuine and relatable stories that highlight societa ...

. It was officially released on 19 January 2012 in Singapore. It is also a

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

to ''

I Not Stupid ''I Not Stupid'' () is a 2002 Singaporean comedy film about the lives, struggles and adventures of three Primary 6 pupils who are placed in the academically inferior EM3 stream. Written and directed by Jack Neo, and produced by Mediacorp Raint ...

'', '' I Not Stupid Too Movie'', '' I Not Stupid Too TV Series'' and '' Homerun''.

Plot

Chen Weijie ( Shawn Lee) and Damien Liu Jianren (

Joshua Ang Joshua Ang Ser Kian (; born 1 March 1989) is a former Mediacorp artist from Singapore who starred alongside Shawn Lee in the film '' I Not Stupid'' and its sequel '' I Not Stupid Too''. Career Ang began acting in 2001 and was one of four chil ...

) are two ITP (

Abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...

for International Technological Polytechnic) students who are constantly put down for being "dumb" despite the fact that they display a talent for designing and creating gadgets, which placed the both of them in the

Design and Technology Design and Technology (D&T) is a school subject taught in the United Kingdom to pupils in primary and secondary schools. It first appeared as a titled subject in the first National Curriculum for England in 1990. It has undergone several reviews w ...

, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics and

Electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

and

Electronics Engineering Electronic engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering that emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current flow ...

course. Damien comes from a wealthy single-parent home and is estranged from his mother Cynthia Phua (

Dawn Gan Yan Liming (; 15 April 1963 – 22 September 2018), also known as Dawn Gan, was a Singaporean ''xinyao'' singer. She was one of the pioneer ''xinyao'' singers in Singapore. Early life and education Gan was born on 15 April 1963 and studied at ...

) and younger brother Amos Liu (

Amos Yee Amos Yee Pang Sang (born 31 October 1998) is a Singaporean convicted sex offender, former blogger, YouTuber, and child actor. In late March 2015, shortly after the Death and state funeral of Lee Kuan Yew, death of former Prime Minister of Singapor ...

), a fluent English speaker. He joins the local

street gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

loan sharks A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate ...

and got the opportunity to work with the loan shark,

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

and

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...

in charge named Ah Qiang (

Roy Li Roy Li Fey Huei, more commonly or affectionally known as Li Fei Hui (Traditional Chinese: 黎沸揮), is a singer from Singapore. For the past two decades, besides penning his own songs and producing his own albums, the musician has been writi ...

) and becomes a loan shark runner, which he then brings Weijie in with him later on and work together as loan shark runners, by helping the loan sharks to spray paint, splash paint and write threats. Weijie's father Mr. Chen (Jacky Chin) is a taxi driver and compulsive gambler who frequently swings from loving husband and father to crazed gambler running away from

(One of the loan shark portrayed by Tony Koh Beng Hoe). To complicate matters, his younger sister Nicole Chen (Cheryl Yeo) is academically gifted in her studies in secondary school and pampered by their mother, Mrs. Chen (

Xiang Yun Xiang Yun (born Chen Cuichang on 27 October 1961) is a Singaporean actress and television host. She is commonly referred to as MediaCorp's first "Ah Jie" (senior actress) for being among the first locally trained artistes and has been in the ent ...

), thus causing frequent quarrels and misunderstanding amongst them. Unknown to the rest of them, Nicole becomes involved in a serious

cyberbullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased u ...

case and later becomes a victim of

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

herself. One day, Mr Liew CK (

Daniel Chan Daniel Chan Hiu-tung (born 3 September 1975) is a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, and actor. He is most notable as one of the young talents in the 1990s music scene. Career Singer In 2000, following the death of his manager Rebecca Leung, he b ...

) is announced as Weijie and Damien's new form teacher and also the subject teacher for the Design and Technology, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics and Electrical and Electronics Engineering course. The young and energetic Liew CK tries hard to connect with the group but they fail to respond. He challenges them to compete in a

radio-controlled helicopter A radio-controlled helicopter (also '' RC helicopter'') is model aircraft which is distinct from an RC airplane because of the differences in construction, aerodynamics, and flight training. Several basic designs of RC helicopters exist, of ...

race and if he loses, he will do a run of ITP in the nude. The students defeat him and he honours his promise. The story and the controversy it caused made the national news. However, he had earned his students' respect and they responded accordingly when interviewed by the press conference. As a result, the board of directors and the school principal ultimately decided that he could still continue teaching the Design and Technology, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics and Electrical and Electronics Engineering course and would not be fired from ITP. Unfortunately, one of Weijie and Damien's "inventions" falls into the hands of criminals by the street gang of loan sharks headed by Ah Qiang and street gang's leader named Boss Ma (

Eric Moo Eric Moo Chii Yuan (, born 9 February 1963), better known as Eric Moo or Wu Qixian, is a Malaysian Chinese singer-songwriter and record producer. Personal life Moo was born in Mambang Diawan, Kampar, Perak, Kampar, Perak on 9 February 1963. ...

), who is a crime boss, drug lord, loan shark and gangster. This made Weijie, Damien, Liew CK, Liew CK's Wife Mrs. Liew () and Cynthia Phua to travel to Johor Bahru, where Weijie and Damien are tasked to use the invention to carry S$1,000,000 (which are actually drugs) by a few of their former gang members who eventually betrayed and swindled Weijie and Damien including Ah Qiang, which was being tasked by Boss Ma to lure Weijie and Damien into a trap. The invention was close to crossing the Singapore-Malaysia border when Liew CK took control. Soon, Boss Ma, Ah Qiang and the gang members fought with Weijie, Damien, Liew CK and Cynthia Phua. Cynthia asked both Weijie and Damien to escape while she suffers from an injury. Weijie and Damien encounters Mrs. Liew, who is about to give birth. Whilst Weijie and Damien are trying to help her give birth, they realised on what they have done wrong towards their parents. Soon after Mrs. Liew gave birth to a healthy baby, Weijie and Damien are tasked to assist the Royal Malaysia Police Officers out using their invention to arrest Boss Ma, Ah Qiang and the other gang members of the street gang. Once the gang members are arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police, Liew CK, Mrs. Liew and Cynthia Phua are admitted to the hospital whereas Weijie and Damien thanked the latter for saving both of the good friends' lives. Once again, Liew CK had hit the headline news again and is proclaimed as a national hero, along with Weijie and Damien as well when they assisted the Royal Malaysia Police officers in arresting Boss Ma, Ah Qiang and the gang members. It is then revealed that Weijie and Damien became winners of a national science creativity and innovation competition, for their creativity, innovation and invention of their radio-controlled helicopter, and they were both awarded another trophy and award for their recognition by the

Singapore Police Force The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal Police, law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; hum ...

Cast

* Shawn Lee as Chen Weijie *

as Damien Liu JianrenWe Not Naughty (2012)
M Time. Retrieved August 21, 2012. *

as Mr. Liew CK * as Mrs. Liew, Liew CK's wife *

as Cynthia Phua, Damien's mother *

as Mrs. Chen, Weijie's mother * Jacky Chin as Mr. Chen, Weijie's father * Ivan Lo Kai Jun as Chen Ah Bao, Weijie's younger brother * Cheryl Yeo as Nicole Chen, Weijie's younger sister *

as Amos Liu, Damien's younger brother *

as Ah Qiang, a loan shark, gangster and crime boss in charge of Weijie and Damien who eventually betrays them with respect of Boss Ma (

). *

as Boss Ma, a crime boss, drug lord, loan shark and gangster. * Ashley Leong as Alvin, an International Technical Polytechnic (ITP) Student and one of Weijie and Damien's classmate for the Design and Technology and Electrical and Electronics Engineering course. * Natalli Ong Ai Wen as Natalie, International Technical Polytechnic (ITP) Student and one of Weijie and Damien's classmate Design and Technology and Electrical and Electronics Engineering course. * Tony Koh Beng Hoe as a loan shark targeting Weijie's father Mr. Chen to repay his debts.

Themes

The film examines the problems faced by parents with their rebellious children in Singapore's current society.We Not Naughty
, movies.insing.com Other themes in the film include

peer pressure Peer pressure is a direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests and experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, religion and beh ...

gangsterism A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...

morality Morality () is the categorization of intentions, Decision-making, decisions and Social actions, actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principle ...

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

relationships. A prominent theme relevant to Singaporean society is the social stigma about polytechnic students.

References

External links

* {{Jack Neo 2012 films Singaporean comedy films 2010s Mandarin-language films