''Homecoming'' (), is a 2011 Singaporean and Malaysian comedy film directed by Lee Thean-jeen. It was Lee's debut feature film.

Plot

Ah Meng and his mother, Karen Neo, travel to

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

for a

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

reunion dinner. Newly-wed couple Boon and Jamie aim to head off to

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

right after their family's reunion dinner, which cannot begin until all of the guests arrive. Chef Daniel Koh neglects his daughter Mindy as he prepares dishes for customers. When his fiery temper results in the resignation of several assistant chefs, he requires the help of restaurant manager Fei Fei.

Cast

Ah Niu Tan Kheng Seong (Simplified Chinese: 陈庆祥; Traditional Chinese: 陳慶祥; ), better known by his stage namAh Niu or Ah Gu(), is a Malaysian Chinese singer in Malaysia and Singapore. In 1997, his popularity was restricted to mainly Mal ...

as Ah Meng *

Jack Neo Jack Neo (born 24 January 1960) is a Singaporean actor, television host, comedian and film director. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1983 to 2003. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was best known for his cross-dressing roles ...

as Karen Neo * Mark Lee as Daniel Koh * Huang Wenhong as Boon *

Rebecca Lim Rebecca Lim (; born 26 September 1986) is a Singaporean actress who won Best Actress in a leading role at the Asian Television Awards and two Best Actress in a Leading Role awards, a Best Supporting Actress award and 10 consecutive Top 10 Most ...

as Jamie *

Koe Yeet Koe Yeet is a Malaysian television and film actress. Koe achieved notability for her role in the 2008 action comedy film ''Ah Long Pte Ltd'' by actor-director Jack Neo. She also starred in ''Wind Chimes In A Bakery''; a web series sponsored by ...

as Mindy *

Jacelyn Tay Jacelyn Tay Siew Cheng (; born 12 June 1975) is a Singaporean former actress, health coach and businesswoman . She was crowned the female champion of the local Star Search Singapore competition in 1995 and was a full-time Mediacorp artiste fr ...

as Fei Fei *

Afdlin Shauki Dato' Afdlin Shauki bin Aksan (born 19 May 1971) is a Malaysian producer, screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, singer, songwriter, and television presenter and politician. Career Music A singer, musician and live performer Afdlin, toget ...

as taxi driver

Release

It released in theatres in Singapore on 3 February 2011, the first day of Chinese New Year.

Reception

Yong Shu Hoong of ''

My Paper ''My Paper'' () was a free, bilingual (English and Chinese) newspaper in Singapore published by the Singapore Press Holdings. It is published from Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays; and an electronic copy of the print edition is publ ...

'' rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5, writing "Of course, a little sentimentality is inevitable in a Chinese New Year comedy. And messages about the importance of family and tradition may, at times, border dangerously on heavy-handedness. Still, the overall effect is a wholesome feel-good movie that is not only well-paced, entertaining and (as its Chinese title suggests) brimming with laughter, but also has its heart in all the right places." Dylan Tan of '' The Business Times'' rated the film B+, calling it "heartfelt, well-made and well-observed". ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...

'' rated the film 2.5 stars out of five and 3.5 stars out of five for the festive index, stating "It is hard to quibble with the well-meaning sentiments here – the importance of family and spending time with them – but writer-director Lee Thean-jeen's debut feature feels a tad heavy-handed."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1908504, Homecoming 2010 films Malaysian comedy films Singaporean comedy films