Top image: Mediacorp
Not content with distilling the Singaporean experience into two-hour comedies and sending ah girls to the army, Jack Neo is going back to basics and making yet another I Not Stupid film.
This will be the education-themed franchise’s third instalment, for those of you who didn’t grow up in the 2000s. Say what you want about the state of local cinema, but the films struck a chord with Singaporeans back then, raked in the big bucks at the box office, and had schoolkids thirsting over lead actors Joshua Ang and Shawn Lee.
I Not Stupid 3 is still in the casting call stages, so we surmise it’ll be a while before it hits the big screens. But we think we have a pretty good idea of what it’ll look like.
– The school is hit with a scandal because a teacher gets caught for her OnlyFans side-hustle (because teachers don’t get paid enough).
– Meanwhile, the schoolkids are busy filming TikTok challenges – one of the student’s parents (obviously played by Mark Lee) becomes a TikTok star in the vein of Uncle Raymond in order to win the affection of his estranged daughter.
– A YP in the making gets busted for selling vapes to his classmates. His high-flying parents are flabbergasted that their precious boy would do this. Tears and promises to pay him more attention ensue.
– A brief mention of one token issue (think LGBTQ+, racism, or ableism) that doesn’t get fleshed out much.
– Students try to pull a fast one on their teacher by enlisting ChatGPT for their assignments.
– An unnecessary appearance by Tosh Zhang.
– A working-class parent scrimps and saves, just to send their kid to a ‘brand-name’ tuition centre. The rebellious tyke skips class anyway. Cue dramatic arguments and guilt-tripping monologues about the sacrifices parents make.
– Ending will feature the kids learning the important lesson of filial piety, even if their parents are kind of terrible and overbearing.
