Stip dan Pensil (Eraser and Pencil) from director Ardy Octaviand is a teen-friendly social commentary that shows some promise, but turns too sugary at the very end.

The big names behind the script are seasoned director Joko Anwar and two stand-up comedians, Ernest Prakasa and Bene Raja Gukguk, giving the film a lot of engaging dynamics and some bitter sweet, smirk-triggering humor.

Stip dan Pensil tells the story of Toni (Ernest), Aghi (Ardit Erwandha), Bubu (Tatjana Saphira) and Saras (Indah Permatasari). They are senior high school students who form their own exclusive clique.

However, the whole school hates them because they come from wealthy families and act like a bunch of snobs. One of their antics is interrupting a school play because they consider it boring. They perform their own show and receive a standing ovation from the audience.

Their antics irritate a rival gang, led by the school’s hipster poet and playwright Edwin (Rangga Azof) and also celebrity YouTuber and self-appointed citizen journalist Richard (Adhitya Alkatiri).

One day, their social science teacher, Adam (Pandji Pragiwaksono), assigns the students a comprehensive essay on today’s social issues. Determined to prove that they are more than just spoilt brats, the rich kids set themselves a much larger goal.

After a meeting a young street musician named Ucok (Iqbal Sinchan), the rich kids decide to not only write about poverty and the lack of education Ucok and his friends have had to face, they will also build a free school for the poor community in which Ucok lives.

The privileged group, especially Toni, is confident that they will be able to execute their plan and show off their success in providing poor children with free education. They are, after all, rich and therefore, what could possibly go wrong?

Soon, these rich kids learn the hard way about the harsh realities of living in a slum and force themselves to grow up quickly – or be humiliated for their failure in front of the whole school.

Stip dan Pensil is a satirical jab at the pseudo-philanthropic intentions of upper-and middle class people, who are represented by Toni and his clique.

The group thinks that just because they have money and are well-educated, it will be very easy for them to persuade street children and their parents to attend their free school. They have lived for so long in their ivory towers that they are detached from the real issues plaguing those living at ground level.

Their initial intentions are also insincere as they want to provide street children with free education for the sake of receiving recognition from their peers.

What makes Stip dan Pensil interesting is its narration throughout the story and the change of behaviors from Toni and his friends. From being complete snobs, they learn more and more about humility after they come in contact and interact with more people from Ucok’s community.

Joko’s background as an ex-journalist covering metropolitan issues is definitely showing in the narration involving the story’s underprivileged characters, like head scavenger Toro (Arie Kriting) and Ucok’s mother, Mak Rambe (Gita Bhebhita).

These characters and the rest of Ucok’s community directly and indirectly teach Toni and his friends that their priorities are vastly different from those living in the slum.

In one scene, for example, Mak Rambe tells Toni and his friends that she will only let her son attend their free school if they teach him to play guitar.

“Because that is what he needs to make money on the streets,” Mak Rambe said.

The plot and narration of Stip dan Pensil are satires done right for teenagers because they address the tragedies of people living in slums by using family-friendly material, but without losing the film’s edginess.

Some actors also receive a much-needed and well-deserved career boost from the movie. Arie, for example, has spent much of his comedic career portraying slap-stick, clownish characters, but in Stip and Pensil, his innate comedic talents come out naturally and this is the funniest he has ever been in a movie.

What is really unfortunate, however, is that as the film approaches its finale, it becomes too sentimental and sappy. Also, the final quarter of the movie feels like a regional government propaganda ad that justifies the practice of evicting slum areas.

The film’s satirical bitterness suddenly goes missing and eventually, this over-the-top depiction of evictees enjoying being removed from their homes is just too much to handle.

— Photos courtesy of MD Pictures

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‘Stip dan Pensil’

Director: Ardy Octaviand

Screen writers: Joko Anwar, Ernest Prakasa and Bene Raja Gukguk

Cast: Ernest Prakasa, Ardit Erwandha, Tatjana Saphira and Indah Permatasari

Duration : 98 minutes

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