[Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 4
Outbound Love <單戀雙城>
TVB Series 2014
Cast: Ruco Chan, Aimee Chan, Tony Hung, Lin Xia Wei, Matt Yeung, and Samantha Ko
Disclaimer: This is a watch as I write episodic thoughts and some information may not be accurate since this is memory based. Certain dialogue is reproduced with some creative license adopted. I apologize if there is any mistake. All opinion remains my own.
EPISODE 04
FUNNLING METRE
Why so happy? Because the story is now in Penang = storyline moving on = more Ruco = more Malaysian scenery!! Yeah! Finally, some breakthrough and easily the best episode in 4 episode thus far. Not that it was that great but at least finally something good.
Anyway before I start recap proper, in case you’re wondering …
The music used during another couple’s engagement scene at the same spot where Nic proposed to Sik Sik (if the same music with Sik Sik scene) is called Canon in D Major by Pachelbel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachelbel’s_Canon), a very popular classical music used for wedding. Hear another version here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlprozGcs80).
Notable Malaysian slang/words in this episode:
Bodoh is Malay for stupid which I suppose is the bobo often used by Sik Sik
Apa Khabar as 6th Son (Ruco) said is Malay for How are you?
Kari ayam is chicken curry
And a whole lot of malay dialogue tonight which I shall summarise later on.
Ok, recap.
Woahhhhh major man!! MA-JOR!
Engagement day (like 1 month after proposal day) and happily Sik Sik declared to all she was soooooo lucky to have met Nic and Nic declared he loved her very much and Kei Ying declared “Nic you better not lie to Sik Sik!” and Nic promised and Chin Jun looked sheepish and not too happy (since he had the hots for Sik Sik) and suddenly everyone’s What’s App like ding ding ding and suddenly Sik Sik’s dad shouted “You bastard! You don’t deserve my daughter!!” and everyone was cursing Nic and Kei Ying looked might embarrassed and Nic wondered what happened and coldly Chun Chun said “Here, you have a look yourself” and it was a clip of Nic kissing Kei Ying in the car (remember?). And Nic looked at Sik Sik with a small degree of horror (oi Matt! You dreaming ah? Reaction so slow one?!) and Sik Sik suddenly shaking and her eyes rolling like I thought she was gonna faint but she was actually having a mental breakdown and she screamed and ran away and Nic ran after her but not before Sik Sik’s dad slapped him.
Pause.
That was very embarrassing and hurtful but all undone by Aimee’s seriously awful moment in acting history. Her reaction was so very funny and therefore shouldn’t be funny but it was. I thought if she was having an epic meltdown which her Sik Sik was, her interpretation was epicly bad.
Continue.
Nic rushed to her and she tearfully and angrily asked when they started, etc and Nic confessed to what we already know in Episode 3. Then Sik Sik suddenly remembered and asked was he the guy in episode 1 with Kei Ying’s snapped bra strap and he admitted he was that guy and suddenly the realisation was that he has been cheating on her since DAY ONE and what’s more? With her BFF right under her nose! She felt so disgusted and wanted to run but Nic held onto her and Mr Busybody Who Is In Love With Sik Sik But Will Never Get Her arrived and punched Nic and all that and Sik Sik ran to a taxi and he followed and basically she cried her heart out in the taxi and then spent whole day by the seaside, sitting, staring in silent and removed her ring whilst Jun looked on.
Pause.
As for Aimee’s crying, I can see distorted face and tears so they were real tears but problem is she didn’t cry big enough. The tears were not big enough, her eyes not red enough, etc. For someone dealt with such a huge blow and a low blow with double betrayal (BF cheated on her, and he cheated on her with her BFF!!) and for crying so pitifully and so hard, her eyes wasn’t red at all. I thought another epic fail.
Continue.
Anyway reached home and there was Kei Ying who was better at epic meltdown but also not enough red eyes. What is it with actresses these days that cry without investing emotional, like red eyes and all? Is it too much to ask for? Epic meltdowns should be like Linda Chung but at appropriate time in appropriate measure. Linda Chung’s fault is always too much and Aimee’s now is too little.
Anyway Kei Ying tried to explain she and Nic were just for sex and she should forgive Nic or in so much words that was what she meant but Sik Sik rightfully felt very betrayed and scolded Kei Ying that she should have known better but Kei Ying said “You don’t get it! You and I are not the same. Nic and I, I invested my feelings too but I knew he was not that sort of guy I can tie down. With you he was serious. I was heartbroken too but I knew he was not into me” and this made Sik Sik even angrier and Sik Sik left but before that she angrily said “I never ever want to see you ever again!” and to me that was pretty final in any finality and Jun, not pitying Kei Ying left as well. Kei Ying was teary eyed when that sneering guy in Episode 3 appeared and I was wrong. He wasn’t Sue’s anybody. He was I think the guy Kei Ying rejected in Episode 1 and he bore a grudge, hired a private detective to investigate, joined her What’s App and basically told the world what a good friend Kei Ying was. Kei Ying angrily said “You’re insane!!” but the guy coolly retorted “So? But you, you will never be able to lift your head again when everyone now knows you are the slut who seduced your best friend’s fiance” and he left happily and Kei Ying devastated.
Sik Sik arrived home and pretended to be just fine. Back at work, she decided to go on to lead the first tour group for that super high class deal she brokered previously.
Meanwhile Nic was drowning himself in alcohol when he woke up and saw the message from Chun Chun who decided to leave for Malaysia because she was so disappointed with her brother she’d rather not face him at all. Nic looked… troubled.
Pause.
Matt Yeung, seriously, is that all the regret you can muster?
Continue.
Sik Sik with her quirky group who probably were extras from Malaysia arrived in Penang and the local tour guide was Ruco!! Sik Sik didn’t like seeing him since she never knew when he was telling the truth and when he was lying so she decided that everything he said must be a lie. Sik Sik looked mournful alone and Ruco didn’t know why and tried to cheer her up but she refused his help. The tour went well, everyone was happy and satisfied with Ruco who wasn’t too happy with Sik Sik who was looking mournful and wandered off and Ruco said “I am a professional tour guide too and I had to fight to get this job so please don’t ruin it for me because I can complain about you too” but he didn’t say it harshly, just like you know bantering.
They went to a famous Penang site called Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi (http://www.khookongsi.com.my/) where you know you are Khoo you are in here and I went there a few years ago and pretty nice place to visit. Anyway Sik Sik wandered off and met with a mysterious old Chinese fortune teller (please don’t run there to get your fortune told. No such thing there as far as I can remember) and he looked at her and said she have met with her true love and her romance will be good and Sik Sik was like “I just ended my engagement” and the guy rightly said what is the past is the past, that guy wasn’t her true love, her true love is a man in white who rescued her and she must seek out this white knight, if not she will grow old alone and then she heard Ruco calling for her and she rushed out and Ruco sorta scolded her why she wandered off and he needed help with a lot of things when she forgot her bag and went back for her bag and …drum roll…. old man was missing!! Oh the mystery!! She was shocked and felt pretty spooked.
Lunch, they were having kari ayam and Sik Sik wandered off and lo and behold, met Nic’s friend from that night she was harassed by… and the guy said “yeung yan” if I remember correctly which is gwailo which means they too got it wrong so ain’t my fault for saying gwailo!! Anyway she knew he knew about Nic and all and he said he felt pretty bad for Sik Sik since Nic was such a jerk. Anyway he mentioned those foreigners were arrested I think but he couldn’t find the white knight who was 1 guy fighting 4 guys. Sik Sik surprised said she thought he was Nic but guy said no, that wasn’t Nic, Nic arrived later and Sik Sik asked him to describe the guy and he said about 30s, pretty tall, quite well built but anyway he had to leave. Sik Sik then did something rather shallow; she called her sis and complained that if she had known who was the white knight she might not have agreed to marry Nic! Kinda shallow thing to say. Even if she knew the white knight, surely if Nic was a good guy would she have been so easily persuaded by one moment of heroism? Again Ruco arrived at the wrong time and overheard and she angrily accused of listening in to her calls and he teased her “I thought you would be busy looking for your white knight?” and well, she will not know until sayyyy maybe 3 episodes later? Let’s see.
At the hotel Ruco was very impressed when Sik Sik was very tender and attentive to her group and even massaged a woman’s leg (with dirty socks) when she suffered cramps or something and Vivien (Yeo the actress) saw them and nodded and even the manager saw them and walked on. Ruco liked Sik Sik a lot but Sik Sik ignored him.
Anyway Ruco was staying in the hotel and he seemed pretty cozy with the manager who seemed to know his yet to be seen mom. Step dad? Uncle? Who?!
Whilst Ruco walked out in white towel (don’t get your hopes high – no half nudity at all) when there was a knock and he opened and a Chinese looking but Malay speaking girl was at the door (same one he saw arguing with another girl previously) and entire scene in Malay. I am sure there were Chinese subtitles? Anyway kudos to Ruco for speaking understandable Malay because we had no subtitles!! I could understand him, pretty good but the longer the words the more not accurate but hey, clap clap to Ruco!! Anyway he rejected her and tried to run away and sued the room card to opened the connecting door (I don’t think it could be opened that way so easily) and out walked Sik Sik in bathroom and she shouted at the creep to leave her room when he said he just needed a moment. Anyway he left but the Chinese looking Malay speaking girl arrived and sneered at Sik Sik and said was she rejected for that girl and Ruco again in full Malay said yeah, he loved her, he was having a fun time being intimate with her and told the girl he chose Sik Sik and Sik Sik didn’t know what were they saying when the girl sneered that he chose the ugly one over her? She left fuming and Ruco sighed a breath of relief when he explained to Sik Sik that was a creditor and he had to hide in a hotel and he told the creditor Sik Sik was the bigger creditor. Sik Sik was doubtful when she received a call and she went out to a bar to meet Sue and Sik Sik said she knew who Sue was aka ex girlfriend of Nic and Sue said “I wasn’t his ex. We were still together” and explained what happened that night when she was harassed by foreigners and Sue advised her to forget about Nic and move on as he wasn’t worth it.
Pause.
Ok he may be a douchebag but how much of what Sue said can you trust? After all she was jilted too and so she may not be telling the truth about not breaking up with Nic, etc. Nic could be telling the truth about Sue. But by now whatever negative thing said about Nic, Sik Sik will believe.
Continue.
Sik Sik rushed out and saw the 2 bickering girls of Ruco’s and one said in Malay and one in Mandarin and one of them slapped Sik Sik and Ruco was there and Sik Sik was rightfully pissed off and stalked off whilst Ruco told the girls he never wanted her, he is not worth their attention and he ran away and after Sik Sik.
Sik Sik arrived at some spot telling herself to be calm, to be calm when fireworks and lo and behold, she was at the same spot Nic proposed to her and same scene happening but with another couple. Wow, even proposals these days have package plans? Sik Sik was sullen again when Ruco arrived and tried to explain what was happening and Sik Sik basically cried that because Nic was not only cheated on her with one woman but 2 women AT THE SAME TIME (she didn’t know about the 3rd girl on her pre-engagement party night because that would be THREE WOMEN in total but 2 at the same time .. this could be a good math question I tell you!) and she declared all men as lusty and could not be trusted. Ruco tried to counter her but she was angry and wanted to beat up someone and Ruco let her punch his back and after a while she was calm again and said she is ok and he can leave but before he did he gallantly covered her bare shoulders with his thin white t-shirt to a shocked Sik Sik and he said “You can’t be sick. You still have 5 days to go to lead the group. Take good care of yourself” and he walked away as Sik Sik looked on.
Last part was Ruco briefly introduced Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi.
I predict at some point he will introduce Twin Towers, Malaysia’s most iconic building. But I wonder will he ever introduce the blue mansion of Penang aka Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (http://www.cheongfatttzemansion.com/) which to me is more awesome than Khoo Kongsi. A perfect example of a house built to specifics of Feng Shui and its epic failure to the family who owned it. Be sure to check it out when you are there. The guide in there if is still the same lady is very very good at explaining the place.
Anyway story wise, a huge leap! Story now begins and since this is a love story, be ready for being predictable. So the challenge now is how romantic will it be? So far, not quite. Hopefully it will be romantic.
Performance wise, Ruco is getting more comfortable. Whilst his BM wasn’t great, I applaud him for trying to speak in full sentence. Every time I hear an actor speaking a foreign language badly, like Kenneth Ma in English I tend to mock them but then I feel guilty because at least they tried. Look at Joe Ma and his gibberish English who never tried, everyone else would be much better than that! So ok, just criticism, no mocking. Ruco wasn’t great in BM (aka Bahasa Malaysia aka Malay language) but he did speak in like at least 20 lines or so in that 2 scenes or so. And some mandarin. So yes, kudos. His character is mysterious. My hope is for a successful guy in disguise but so far no indication at all. Acting wise, hey it is Ruco Chan! He can act, even if the tour guide part, he is still a miscast.
Aimee Chan is still limping in performance wise. Can’t cry convincingly, can’t play adorable gullible nice girl convincingly. She has a lovely smile though and she is competent but why I am harsh on her is because she is in the forefront. Her chemistry with Ruco and her interpretation of Sik Sik will make or break this series. If you don’t adore and cheer on Sik Sik and if you wonder what does Luk Kung Tzi sees in here, then she failed. So far, I am wondering. But her worst was the supposed epic meltdown filled with rolling eyes and shaking body. Awful acting. Why not she just stand still, wide eyed, scream and run? I still feel she is a miscast. The more I see, the more I feel Samantha Ko should be Sik Sik and Selena Lee should be Kei Ying.
Samantha Ko did fine but her eyes not red enough.
Matt Yeung.. oi! Still asleep? Stoned? Zoned out? What the hell is wrong with him?
2 girls, one speaking Malay and the other Mandarin … ok lar. But why speak Malay? Supposed to be a Malay girl? Why not speak Hokkien? Penang speaks Hokkien. By showing Malay speaking errrr Malay girl, you do know the problems of khalwat right? Even if one is Chinese and the other Malay Muslim? Assuming Malay is Muslim?
Everybody else, no comments.
Episode 4 is moving in momentum and fans of Ruco, you can now switch on your TVs because there will be plenty of Ruco from now on. Storyline got to build up to justify his appearance. After all this IS Sik Sik’s story hence why I said the actress playing Sik Sik has a heavy duty. She could make Sik Sik memorable but Aimee ahhhhh … not quite yet lar……
Thus far I am enjoying this series more than that rather insanely dumb and not funny CNY series, Queen Divas whose only few moments of funny was Ip Man 7 and those small movie scenes but even those were forced laughter. Right now I see those 2 stupid women bickering that way with equally dumb 2 husbands just looking troubled and I feel this series is just dumb. At least this one got scenery. And that one has 2 actresses not known as comediens doing insanely childish stuff. Wasn’t laughing at all. In fact as much as I feel Angela Tong and Joyce Chan as beautiful women, I thought they looked pretty tired. Angela looked out of shape and Joyce looked like she slapped on too much of tanning spray or something. In fact even Pierre Ngo looked so dark. It wasn’t funny., I am hoping Outbound Love will outromance Queen Diva’s supposed comedy, which should prove easy because romance is easier than comedy with the right actors and situation. Give me a second viewing of Bounty Lady, please for comedy and a repeat of the last 30 minutes of No Regrets for romance please.
Problem with Outbound Love right now, apart from the actors is the fact that it is predictable despite the boast of this series being feel good series of the year or something fresh when everything is quite been there done that and tired. Please Aimee, for your sake, I hope you will do better in the next few episodes. Captivating charismatic leading lady, she is not. I know I know, Ruco fans will be crying why is he always cast opposite subpar leading ladies. Aimee is only subpar because the role is not hers to take. If this was some mournful love story in the 1900s, Aimee will be a right fit. Let’s hope I am wrong about Aimee in here. I still maintain though that this episode is a good watch and a huge leap in terms of development.
By the way where is the subsong by Ruco? Still that awful nasal themesong x 2!!
RELATED ARTICLES
- [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 1
- [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 2
- [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 3
This Episodic Thoughts is written by Funn Lim, a Contributing Writer at JayneStars.com, and was originally posted at http://outboundlove.blogspot.com.
Was the mental breakdown that horrible? I haven’t seen it yet.
Also, I sort-of agree with you regarding Queen Divas but I think that it’s much more interesting than Outbound Love so far.
It was.
yes, her acting was worse than horrible.
She’s one actress who seems to get worse. First time i watched her in Burning Flames 3, i thought she wasn’t too bad, then she got worse and worse. Guess she’s ok in supporting roles but as lead actress, total fail.
yes, i really like her at first. I like her in Off Pedder, but you are right, she seem to be getting worst
This role is probably one of her worst
It was really really bad. Just watched this episode 10 minutes ago. I’m watching this for Malaysia scenery and Ruco.
Aimee tend to roll her eyes alot for acting. She is really not ready to lead yet. I normally have to skip alot of her scenes.
i wld skip this if not for Ruco.
same for me … im watching it only because of Ruco and Malaysia
I think she is ok as a supporting actress but not leading please…
unfortunately, she will probably be nominated for the Best Actress award for this role, I still have a difficult time understanding her, she talks too fast , it is even worse when she is crying and talking at the same time, facial expressions the same and it does seem like her acting is force and un-natural, Rucco does brighten up the show though, and love the veteran actors – Hooray for them
The chinese looking malay speaking girl is denise tan, the one who represented malaysia and took home the 2013 miss chinese international pageant first runmer up title. She is so pretty and she can act (taking into consideration that this is her debut)
No, she’s not Denise Tan. I can recognise Denise a mile away and she’s definitely not her.
Please don’t act smart when you don’t know.
Thanks for telling me I got the wrong person however, I do not appreciate personal attack
@konichiwa
I like your response.
@konichiwa – you are most definitely right. that is denise tan. she is indeed pretty good for her debut.
@No no – unfortunately you are wrong. you should apologize for your remarks towards konichiwa and not being such an internet troll. if its not denise , so wat ? please you can verify it is her through her twitter.
@sandcherry and @jane,thank you for your kind words especially jane, thank you for the confirmation and for being righteous. People like you make this world is a better place
She is definitely Denise camillia tan.. Seems like u need to get your eyes checked for not recognizing her even when she is not a mile away!
Konichiwa, you are right!
@Jane, if she is indeed Denise Tan, then she has lose her sparkle and beauty since last year’s pageant. She is ordinary.
Your language tells us that you are more of a troll and a rude one at that than me.
So you feel proud of being right, eh? And this gives you the right to offend!
‘you should apologize for your remarks and not being such an internet troll’
Yes, this is for YOU!
@No No i should not apologize and i did not offend you at all. i was just stating the mere fact that it was indeed denise tan. she has been clarifying it is her through her official twitter and you should have gotten it checked before blasting at konichiwa for acting smart. i am not the internet troll as i am merely defending her point for being right. if you said that i attacked you and i should apologize to you. where is your apology towards konichiwa then? . Lastly , you pointed out that i was rude towards you? please. i am not proud to prove that i am right. i am clearly stating the truth. what do i even get out being right on the internet. And i offended you for being right ? I just asked u to say sorry to the rightful person konichiwa and if the girl is indeed not denise tan..what is the problem. that is all i have been stating.
oh shut up No No. konichiwa is right. Your eyes need to get checked if you can recognize denise a mile away like you said.
@jane, I feel bad to have put you in such a situation. You were merely trying to help clarify the situation. We all know, deep down in our heart, the right from wrong and who exactly was the troll. Let’s ignore whatever whoever is trying to provoke and we just stay happy
There are good and bad people everywhere,so we all must deal with it whether it be in real life or on the net.
i still think this show is horrible so far.
not funny, not romantic, nothing so far
I’m so proud as Penangites when i watch this series. TVB capptured the heritage site of Penang!
However, for episodes 4, i have comment to highlght which needs attention:
For the scene(Ruco and woman) in LonePine Hotel,Penang: y needs to talk in Malay? The woman is definely Chinese, y dont they speak in Hokkien? From my opinion, the result would turn greater if they speak in Hokkien dialect.
Moreover, That lady’s Malay speaking also very bad.
Kudos for Ruco been trying to speak in Malay!
Same here. Speaking hokkien (Fujian as you know it) is more authentic, Malay makes her neither here nor there and quite fake.
are a lot of Penangites hokkien?
Yes a huge majority like a national language. I believe older Malays or Indians who live with Chinese community will know Hokkien.
oic, i though most Malaysians are Cantonese.
No, mandarin. A majority outside KL and Selangor and some out of towners will speak Mandarin.
@buzz … usually only Malaysian Chinese in Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Ipoh & Kuantan speak Cantonese … Malysian Chinese in the northern area such as Penang, Kedah, Kelantan usually speak Hokkien … Malaysian Chinese in Johor also usually speak Hokkien but with a different slang … most Malaysian Chinese who speak Mandarin usually studied in Chinese Schools … while most Malaysian Chinese who speak Cantonese usually studied in English Schools or National Schools (Malay & English language)
In general, Northern part of Malaysia, Hokkien is generally spoken by the Chinese. Center = Cantonese, Southern = Mandarin & Hokkien (with a slightly diff slang from the Northern Malaysian as mentioned by some over here). Hope this helps for non-Malaysians to understand our culture better 🙂
Maybe she is supposed to be a nyonya?!
Her Malay was ok. I think she speaks better than me.
I thought you should speak Malay very well Funn. You are Malaysian right??
In school yes but after that not used often so lack practice. Malaysian need not mean speaking Malay well. Same as being HK doesn’t mean you speak guangdong level of cantonese, as an example.
@HeTieShou … usually in Malaysia we have to speak a minimum of 3 Languages a day … English + Malay + Chinese … so we usually mix all three languages together
depending on the are where we stay, we use a particular language more than the other … such as in Klang Valley (KL City Bangsar, Petaling Jaya, Damansara, Mont Kiara, Sri Hartamas), the people in these area speaks English most of the time … in other Chinese areas, people usually speak mandarin or other dialects most of the time … so when we speak english or chinese most of the time, we seldom have the chance to speak malay, thus being not very good at it.
in my school, i have ethnic malay classmates who also eventually did not do well in bahasa malaysia (malay) exam paper … but got ‘A’ for english … similarly an ethnic chinese student also may not do well in the exam for the mandarin paper.
Some malays even speak better mandarin than I do! Anyway in KL more and more speaking Mandarin.
yah, can see that more and more chinese parents in KL nowadays convert into speaking mandarin to their children in order to prepare and groom them for chinese school education, i think =)
haha, my mandarin is self taught and hard knocks from taiwan tv dramas … using it only because of communication necessity =P
i also have to send a BIG THANKS to TVB & ATV, because almost my entire chinese language knowledge comes from Hong Kong dramas =D
yah, many malays speak very good mandarin nowadays too … like 8tv host Baki Zainal, i love to watch his programme … i have a malay friend who manage to learn and master mandarin in just a few years while he was studying in US, because he took chinese as an extra language and was thought by a taiwanese teacher.
@anneyen,
Thanks for your info and I thought that Malay is the official language of Malaysia so you would all speak it very well. I really have so much to learn about the world. Do you guys ever speak Malay? I often see so many Malaysian Chinese singers who are so talented but never knew they were Malaysian.
@HeTieShou … Malaysian Chinese do speak Malay but usually it is only for communicating with other ethnic groups, for school studies and government official matters … but overall, most malaysians communicate and write in English for corporate company matters, news and even a high proportion of official letters … in olden times, Baba & Nyonya communicate in a mix of malay and hokkien … but nowadays most Baba & Nyonya communicate in English … however, there are also many chinese community groups that communicate in mandarin or dialect usually in rural areas … but most city folks whether chinese, malays or indians and other ethnic groups in Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Ipoh, Malacca & Penang communicate in English … as for dialect, people in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Seremban & Kuantan usually communicate in Cantonese, that is where TVB dramas are more popular … other states such as Penang, Johor, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan usually communicate in Hokkien, usually hokkien dramas & mandarin dramas are more popular in these areas, but they also do watch tvb dramas.
usually TVB Dramas are more popular among english speaking malaysian chinese … while taiwanese dramas are more popular among mandarin speaking malaysian chinese
I have not been living in Malaysia for many many years, but my Malay used to be better than my English and Cantonese since I went to a Malay school and my family speak Hokkien. I was in the state Malay debating team. But right nowts a different story…
i think it’s for the comic element. So funny to see Ruco speaking Malay. He’s such a darling <3
Totally!! As malaysian chinese, we don’t normally speak in malay especially to chinese friends. Not to mention, the two girls speaks terrible, terrible malay. Flat and so unnatural. I have to really pay attention to grasp their words. Even Ruco can speak more accurately than them. Couldn’t they just speak hokkien, mandarin or even english? If they are nyonya, their malay should be flawless! I’ve known a number of nyonya friends and their malay and english are totally thumbs up. They should get better cast who can truly represent our language n culture, just saying.
agree, Ruco can speak Malay quite accurately in this show … sounds quite natural =) … his malaysian slang is quite hilarious too making the show pretty interesting =D
as for malaysian actors and actresses who appear on tvb dramas … most of them cant even speak proper malay or english =/ … they usually speak broken malay with a heavy chinese accent, it would be good if they could improve and speak our national language bahasa malaysia(malay) in a better intonation, at least to make country proud … so far ive only heard good malay once a tvb drama, the girl personal assistant to Mimi Chu in “Divas in Distress” speaks good malay.
i remember once on Super Trio Show, Eric Tsang asked a Malaysian for the malay word for a few different words with different meanings … at the end the malaysian only answered him with one “Boleh (can)” word for the many different meanings … even eric tsang was puzzled and ask him even this is called boleh? … seems like bahasa malaysia (malay) vocabulary and speech competency among many malaysians is really quite limited =(
I wonder why they cannot get the proper cast members that can speak Malay properly? Maybe they cannot find anyone so gave to take what they get.
Meant to say have to.
@HeTieShou … frankly speaking, actually most Malaysian Chinese cannot speak Malay properly due to heavy Chinese accent … and most Malaysian Chinese who can speak Malay properly are not very inclined to Chinese entertainment … thatz y it is difficult to find the right cast member … and tvb has to grab whatever they get =P
Lol… I seriously can’t help myself but to comment over here. As a Malaysian Chinese, I was seriously laughing when I heard those 2 girls speak super terrible Malay which I think it’s a disgrace especially when this show is shown in so many countries. I do agree with Varnice that they sounded so unnatural and yes, even Ruco speaks better Malay and I’m impressed! They should have spoken in Hokkien as it’s very common for Chinese Penangites as pointed out by many pplz have mentioned over here. Think TVB should have consulted a local over here so that they’ll understand our Malaysian culture better and will produce a higher quality show. Well at least we (Malaysian) don’t laugh over those unnatural stuffs depicting our culture.
@Eric C .. haha, the drama succeeded in becoming a comedy =D … the unnatural stuffs is a PLUS POINT in terms of Comedic Elements for malaysian viewers
was watching episode 1, and i think Ruco praised Aimee beautiful in Hokkien … but he pronounced it as “suey” … i thought in hokkien beautiful is suppose to be “sui” ? … anyway the scene is quite amusing =)
Probably pronunciation problem.
btw … ruco, aimee and lin xia wei are hokkiens =)
@Funn – TVB QC problem… rofl…
They “cincai” select… lol
hahaha … the “cincai” select, thatz really funny and true =P
just curious since you said Aimee wasn’t fit for this role, who do you think that fit the leading role perfectly? =)
Been saying Samantha Ko will be ok. Linda chung will be my choice. Got one more whose name escapes me now but I mentioned before I think.
Oh I have never mentioned her name before but I feel Yoyo Chen can be Sik Sik.
pl not yoyo, she’s another 3rd or 4th line actress, not lead actress material at this moment or for some time to come.
She can be. This is a small production and the success of us liking Sik Sik is finding an actress who is and looks bubbly even when she is sad. Yoyo has that quality even if she is 3rd rate actress. I see Sik Sik a lot like her character in that series with Him Law… was it that Michael Mui series? Anyway even if she is 3rd rate, if she own this character, does it matter she is not first line leading actress? Or someone close and similar is Samantha Ko who gives me a positive vibe.
can’t agree with you abt yoyo, i too think Linda’s a good fit though.
Have to skip this series, Aimee just painful to watch. Elaine yu or Selena can act way better.
Disagree. Both will be disastrous.
agree with you
I don’t think you would know who would do a better job until all of them are given a similar opportunity since Aimee, Elaine Yiu and Selena Li all have different levels of experiences and have different acting roles.
Elaine Yiu debuted in 2003, Selena debuted in 2004 (same time as Linda Chung) and as for Aimee, she debuted in 2008 .
Bubblez
Agree with you. It is hard to tell which actress is better than the other unless all of them act the same role.
imo, all of the above are 3rd rate actresses but maybe Elaine’s a slight notch above aimee and selena.
Personally I like Elaine Yiu a lot. She has improved tremendously in her acting skills in the last few years, and she is superb in speaking her dialogues despite that her first dialect is Mandarin.
Yoyo Chan is pretty okay in her acting, but is terrible in her lazy intonations. If she wants to move up to act major roles, she needs to get rid of her lazy intonations.
If you have seen their past roles yes you can. That’s what casting directors too. Selena will be good as Kei ying. Elaine will not be good for either except maybe Chun Chun. It is not about when they debut.
true, if you can act, you can act; some cant act to save their lives even if they’d debuted donkey years ago.
I don’t have absolute confidence in TVB producers/directors. They are good in casting some roles, but not good in others. Many times they are “influenced” by TVB’s Senior Management/Executives.
TVB promote whoever they want, doesn’t use much casting directors while.. in america, they do cast. :3
And if they are only given roles based on what they have already done, how can they improve or gain new experience?
I’m not saying when they debut is #1 factor, but depending on when actresses debut, their acting skills may not be par to someone who has done acting since they were little vs. someone who has just started acting. (example).
And if they are only given roles based on their traits (because of having similar acting skills), how is that ACTING when they are only being themselves? I feel that it’s way easier to be yourself than acting someone completely different.
Agree. Artistes need to improve or broaden their acting skills and experiences by acting a variety of roles. Otherwise, they will always be in their own little “scope”.
Acting someone completely different requires good and strong acting skills. It can easily be an under-act or over-act
In my opinion, if a newbie (example: Eliza Sam) is given a role similar to her personality in the first 2 drama series, it will be a lot easier for her to act the character successfully and establish her status. However, she needs to try other roles in order to learn and broaden her acting skills and experience for her future career.
I agree.
That’s the beauty of acting; it forces the actress or actor to be outside of their comfort zone.
I think it would be dull or boring to see them act like themselves in a drama.
But what some people are saying is that they rather see them act to roles that have similar personality traits. And that if they don’t have anything in common or don’t share similar traits to the character they are acting, it’s a “miscast”.
But this is acting. They are supposed to be outside of their comfort zones, which means NOT having the same traits as the character they’re acting.
That is the main reason why so many artistes like acting. They said that they can be someone else from time to time, e.g. doctor, lawyer, spoiled brat, innocent girl, police officer, beggar, or greedy person. Many interesting lives in one person!
” They said that they can be someone else from time to time, e.g. doctor, lawyer, spoiled brat, innocent girl, police officer, beggar, or greedy person. ”
^Agree. I would LOVE to live a life like that. Not being tied down/constraint to being one occupation for the rest of my life; makes life exciting! But too bad this is only in dreams and in acting!
Bubblez
Who doesn’t?
Mmmm:)
Shld have auditioning before deciding on the cast
agree Ita … i love to watch Ruco so much but is really painful to watch Aimee =( … however, i will still continue to watch the show because of Ruco and Malaysia
I think the reason why tvb promote aimee is because she is moses’s wife and also it depends on the sponsor too. Did u heard she just attend a baby nappie promote for half a million dollars ! Is all about money!!
overpriced, honestly, she is where she is cuz she is mrs moses chan, otherwise I dont think she will be receiving all this attention and $$$ and leading roles, too overrated and undeserving…
Wow the part where Nic admitted he was the one that broke Kei Ying’s bra while having sex just made me think… What kind of best friend would make her friend (Sik Sik) buy her a bra the next morning after screwing her bff’s boyfriend… O.o
i know right. she should have some self respect and dignity. ok having sexual intercourse with the guy is fine in the past but not after he has become your best friend of 15 years boyfriend. thats like already violating best friends code.
eversince episode 1, the scriptwriter seems to think that malaysians communicate only in malay … well, it is true to a certain extend for the case of aimee with the bus driver and aimee asking for directions in english from the ice-cream man … but actually there are many people who can speak english in malaysia, afterall it is compulsory examination paper in all schools.
but chinese speaking to chinese in bahasa malaysia (malay) is actually not very common in malaysia … it is common in indonesia but not common in malaysia … sounds really wiered when tvb drama put up such scenes here and in “Divas in Distress” … usually malaysian chinese communicate with each other in either mandarin, cantonese, english or other dialects … baba & nyonyas nowadays communicate more in english … however, if the show really wants to portray baba & nyonya speaking malay, they should look for actors and actresses who can speak better malay.
haha, anyway the malaysian elements in this show is still very entertaining to watch =D
Did they actually come to Malaysia to film this series?
Of course. Those are Malaysian scenery specifically those more older parts are Penang and the more modernised parts are KL and that huge golden statue is in Batu Caves. They could have had the same huge statue albeit Kuan Yin in Penang at Kek Lok Si but I suppose batu caves trumps that temple in terms of local highlights. And when you see extra bright and sunny that’s Penang. Very very sunny = very very hot!
I did not see this series yet so not sure if they did go yo Malaysia or not. Thanks for the info and just wanted to make sure since we all know how cheap TVB is.
Maybe heung heung princess can take up this role? since she has the bubbly feels.
Which role are you referring to Veejay??? You mean Princess Xiang Xiang from the Book and Sword?? What has she got to do with this series?? I am so confused.
Veejay must be referring to Eliza Sum
Oh ok,thanks and yea she does have a princess Xiang Xiang look.