Which God should I believe? You say there is one God. I say no. There are two Gods. One who created us, and the other whom you createdJakarta (ANTARA) - How to disagree that laughter is necessary for people's lives, as are all emotions, including joy and laughter as well as anxiety and worry, which have an impact on the human psychological and physiological processes, according to the article, "Humor, laughter, learning, and health! A brief review".
We may even have an awareness that we needed more humor recently, amid the unfortunate situation--the coronavirus outbreak, for instance--occurring across the globe since the beginning of this year and continuing until today, that spiralled into our feeling of being dominated by fear.
Comedy movies could be such a remedy. It is a film genre highlighting humor, while also furnishing it with action, romance or drama. Asian comedy movies, among productions of other regions, should not be missed.
Asian-featured jokes within its plot, which are profoundly affected by cultural customs, may differ from Asian comedy films and particularly from their Western counterparts. Also, the storyline must be fresh, intriguing and unpredictable, though it does not propose too much of a plot-twist.
These five movies are ANTARA's choices and will bring you only joy while watching them--despite some of these movies making you wonder about life--as well as driving you from giggling to bursts of laughter.
ATM: Er Rak Error (2012) - Thailand
"What? The ATM is giving out free cash?" is where it all started.
The scene is of two friends in Chonburi province who doubled their cash due to a glitch in a newly installed machine, even though this is not the main problem in this movie.
Sua (Chantavit Dhnasevi) and Jib (Preechaya Pongthananikorn) are a couple who are persistent in their secret love, not as an affair but as an effort in saving their romantic relationship, as well as their job at a bank that forbids employees to have such relationships.
Both decide to get married, which means one of must resign from the company while, in fact, neither would.
The story is about how Sua and Jib challenge each other to recover 130,000 baht taken illegally from the ATM. They bet that the one who loses will have to end his career.
ATM: Er Rak Error never failed to be a very fresh romantic-comedy movie produced by GTH, a prominent Thai film studio, with funny and ridiculous jokes, along with its story.
Extreme Job (2019) - South Korea
A team of detectives put their best effort into exposing a narcotics gang, as they work undercover selling fried chicken at a restaurant.
"Are we cops or a chicken joint?" Chief Go (Ryu Seung-ryong) desperately asks his team members, since their business is flourishing, though the gang members have yet to be caught, even after all the time the detectives spent undercover.
Telephone rings.
"Never did chicken taste this good. Delivery or take-out?" Chief Go answers the phone with the restaurant's default slogan.
This one scene may capture how Extreme Job delivers its hilarious jokes within the unique story idea, and provides action. No wonder, if after its release in early 2019, this film became the second-most-watched movie in Korea.
Cek Toko Sebelah (2016) - Indonesia
As a year-end film, Cek Toko Sebelah succeeded brings fun and tears for all members of the family who watch it, since this film of Ernest Prakasa, an Indonesian stand-up comedy performer, has a simple plot about family affairs relating to all families.
A single father who fell sick was asking his second son, who just received a job promotion, Erwin (Ernest Prakasa), to continue managing their family business--a grocery store. While the eldest son, Yohan (Dion Wiyoko), is again disappointed, since he already feels unlucky with his life.
"Why is this soy sauce so pricey?" a customer complains.
"It is just like that. You can go check in another store (means cek toko sebelah in Indonesian)," the father, Koh Afuk (Chew Kin Wah), answers effortlessly.
The comedy-drama concept flows smoothly in this movie, with the perfect cast combination of prominent drama actors and many stand up comedy performers who play supporting roles.
PK (2014) - India
PK is the name of a human-like alien (Aamir Khan), which is pronounced as peekay, which means drunk in Hindi.
This film has a long storyline that is fun in a ridiculous way, as PK's behaviour is considered unacceptable for common people.
Yet, it is actually a satire that leads us into taboo questions in the community.
"Which God should I believe? You say there is one God. I say no. There are two Gods. One who created us, and the other whom you created," PK says to a fraudulent Indian guru.
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) - Hong Kong
The all time favorite comedy movie presents an extraordinary story, actions and jokes, that are more likely dark, as it also shows explicit violence and gore.
It focuses on Sing (Stephen Chow), a man specializing in the Buddhist Family Fist kung fu style, who plays the lead role in this movie. While the story centers on a fight between Axe Gang, which owns the town, versus slum area Pin Sty Alley residents who are led by an iconic landlord (Yuen Qiu).
The dialogue may not be too impressive, but scene-to-scene actions are out of logic and mostly an exaggeration, in an extremely fun way.
So, this is the time to sit back and enjoy the movies, while munching a big bowl of popcorn!
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