Writer: Naseem Randhawa

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Watch this if you liked: "I Not Stupid" & "We Not Naughty"

Walking into a Jack Neo film, one surely knows what to expect in this Singaporean comedy that hits close to home.

"Ah Boys To Men: Part 1" is a coming of age story about a group of boys going through the mandatory National Service in Singapore. Particularly, the plot revolves around a spoiled brat named Ken (Joshua Tan) who rather play war games than to face the actual discipline of joining the Singaporean army. His parents played by Richard Low and Irene Ang heavy heavy-heartedly let Ken go for National Service, but not without numerous tries of trying to defer his enrollment first. At the bunks, Ken meets Lobang, Aloysius, I.P. Man and a few others, building a camaraderie amongst themselves. It doesn't take long for Ken to try several hilarious ways to escape training so he could get to his girlfriend back home.

In "Ah Boys To Men: Part 1" viewers are taken through an often times self-deprecating journey of what its really like to undergo National Service in Singapore and get an in-depth depiction of the very disciplined program which has in recent times been in the newspapers highlighting how most pampered recruits are very reluctant to leave their parents and the comfort of their homes for their duties.

Perhaps this is why Jack Neo made this film, to show that National Service isn't really that bad and skipping or trying to avoid it, may result in less than desired consequences.

The cast of the film mainly the boys, Joshua Tan, Maxi Lim, Wang Wei Liang and Noah Yap, carry the film well and bring about a fresh yet honest approach to the overall theme of the film that will have you laughing in fits. Not surprisingly, the boys already have a fanbase of young girls in Singapore awaiting part two of the film which picks off immediately after the first's cliffhanger which is due on 1 February 2013 in cinemas.

Watch "Ah Boys To Men" if you're interested in watching a coming of age story with a sense of humour that is rich with the everyday Singaporean culture.

Cinema Online, 23 December 2012