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'Single' Raditya Dika's charming rom-com
Fresh and ready: Wawan, played by Pandji Pragiwaksono (left), Ebi (Raditya Dika, second left) and Victor (Babe Cabita, third left) prepare for a skydiving session together with Joe (Chandra Liow, second right) who is competing with Ebi for the attentions of Angel (Annisa Rawles, right)
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Fresh and ready: Wawan, played by Pandji Pragiwaksono (left), Ebi (Raditya Dika, second left) and Victor (Babe Cabita, third left) prepare for a skydiving session together with Joe (Chandra Liow, second right) who is competing with Ebi for the attentions of Angel (Annisa Rawles, right).
Single, the latest romantic comedy flick by author and standup comedian Raditya Dika, manages to beat the odds.
Unlike many Indonesian films, Single has been screening for three weeks in theaters and has broken the 1 million viewers mark despite the presence of major Indonesian movies and Hollywood blockbusters like Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
It is a startling achievement considering that previously only two films gained over 1 million viewers in 2015: religious drama Surga yang Tak Dirindukan (The Forgotten Heaven) and action comedy Comic 8: Casino Kings.
First screened on Dec. 17 , 2015 in the lead up to the Christmas and New Year holidays, Single went head-to-head with Star Wars and some promising local movies ' Negeri Van Oranje, which features scenery in the Netherlands and prominent actors Chicco Jerikho, Arifin Putra and Abimana Aryasatya, and Bulan Terbelah di Langit Amerika (Split Moon in the American Sky), a post 9/11 Islamic drama starring Acha Septriasa.
Bulan Terbelah can be considered a strong contender as it was adapted from a novel by Hanum Salsabiela Rais and Rangga Almahendra. Their previous novel, 99 Cahaya di Langit Eropa (Ninety-nine Lights in European Sky), was adapted into two films that collectively attracted more than 1.6 million viewers.
Single attracted 1.14 million viewers, according to filmindonesia.or.id. Bulan Terbelah and Negeri Van Oranje followed with 838,383 and 391,158 viewers, respectively.
The film, which marks the first collaboration of Raditya and Soraya Intercine Films, is packed with hilarious and touching moments delivered charmingly by three well-known comedians: Raditya himself, Pandji Pragiwakso and Babe Cabita.
Although Single offers nothing new in terms of plotline, it boasts vivid cinematography, stunning panoramic views of Bali and a couple of exciting stunts.
Like in Raditya's previous films, Single explores the miserable life of a Single man and his endeavor to find the girl of his dreams.
Raditya plays Ebi, an unemployed, single man in his late 20s who lives in a boarding house with best friends Wawan (Pandji) and Victor (Babe).
Ebi fails to get a job, forcing him to borrow money from his mother to pay the rent. His love life is not so good either.
Although he has a flair for standup comedy, Ebi can hardly start a conversation with girls. Know-it-all Wawan and childlike Victor worsen the condition by supplying Ebi with bad advice, which leads to comical moments in the early part of the movie.
Ebi's life hits a new low when his successful and handsome little brother, Alva, announces that he is getting married in the coming months. To save face, Ebi promises his mother that he will take a beautiful girlfriend to the wedding.
He soon meets the perfect candidate at the boarding house, Angel (Annisa Rawles in her big-screen debut), a gorgeous medical student who just moved into the room next to Ebi's.
Ebi starts making his moves, accompanying Angel when she volunteers at a nursing home, where Bu Marjan (played brilliantly by veteran actress Rina Hasyim), an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease, lives.
However, winning Angel's heart is no easy task as Ebi faces competition from Angel's childhood friend Joe (played by YouTube artist Chandra Liow), who just returned from studying in the Netherlands.
Soraya Intercine Films, which was behind blockbusters Tenggelamnya Kapal Van der Wick (The Sinking of van der Wijck) and Eiffel I'm in Love, gives lavish treatment to Single.
Through its 127-minute runtime, Single indulges moviegoers with beautiful, vivid cinematography and some exciting stunts: an exploding car and a skydiving scene that presents a scenic view of Bali from above.
The strongest point of the movie lies in the friendship of the Raditya, Pandji and Bebe characters. They deliver a solid comedy and show genuine bromance. Single, penned and directed by Raditya, also presents a sad story about Angel's past.
The movie tries to dramatize the sentimental moments by playing a heartbreaking ballad by band Geisha over and over again in the background ' which perhaps works well in stirring the emotions of some viewers, Geisha fans in particular.
The film also presents some familiar faces, Dede Yusuf and Dewi Hughes, and a performance by pop band D'Masiv.
A big letdown of Single lies in Chandra's acting. As Joe, he uses excessive facial expressions and talks in a high-pitched voice ' a character that can be annoying rather than funny.
Single follows a standard romantic comedy story structure and carries a simple message: Don't start a relationship only to meet people's expectations ' do it because you want it.
Although the story is largely predictable, Single avails of a topic close to the hearts of many teenagers and young adults, who are the movie's targeted audience. It is about a young man who feels insecure about himself and struggles to find love.
The movie's commercial success perhaps provides a hint of moviegoers' current interests. They long for an easy-to-digest, funny film with a story about their daily lives. A film that reminds them that even an ordinary, imperfect person will find happiness in the end.
Single perhaps also reflects the growing influence of online-based film promotion.
On Dec. 26, Raditya told his 12.7 million Twitter followers that he would upload his standup comedy videos if Single remained in theaters the following week. Within days, he fulfilled the promise by launching 11 standup comedy videos on YouTube, which have had more than 1 million hits.
' Photo courtesy of Soraya Intercine Films
