Los dan Faun

I’ve done some reviews of Afdlin Shauki‘s movies before this, and I have noticed some things that the movies may have lacked, that made it less perfect than what it should be. Los dan Faun (LDF)Afdlin‘s latest offerring, tries to tackle all those issues, and boy am I proud to say that in most department, he did it!

LDF is not quite a simple movie about 2 best of friends, Carlos Rodrigo Gunting (Los) played by Hans Isaac and Ahmad Faun bin Sulaiman (Faun) played by Adlin Aman Ramli, who came to KL to pursue a better life. There, they found out that Faun has a very keen sense of detail, and most probably a photographic memory, that Los suggested they cash on it, by launching a business to locate missing items. They were then approached by a rich widow, Jasmin (Erra Fazira) and her 2 insurance agents Dick Johnson (Stephen Rahman Hughes – or Hunk Tuah..hehe) and Arman Askor (Khir Rahman), to find her recently deceased husband’s 40 million ringgit watch. Playing Jasmin‘s late husband, is Afdlin himself, as Soffarudin al Soggood.
What makes it not that simple, while it’s pretty linear with some flashbacks, is the mysteries they’re trying to solve. The bra store scenes are quite enough to show how much detail is put for each of the mysteries.
Watching this movie, is akin to watching Austin Powers (AP), as mentioned by DJ, really holds some truth. One have to throw away a great deal of reasoning and logic to accept the jokes, but then, unlike AP, at times logic is needed to comprehend all the bits and pieces of the mystery that LDF tries to solve.
A very dangerous cocktail of brains and no-brainer, if you ask me, but on th whole, Afdlin managed to pull it off.
The jokes are laughing out loud kind of funny, with a lot of sexual innuendos thrown in here and there. From names (Dick Johnson – get it?), to drinks (Jus Betik, anybody?). I mean, Afdlin‘s really pushing it, but then, not all the way to make it an AP clone. Mind you, the jokes are his trademark humour, not some toilet humour that many use to shamelessly in their movies. Just hope you’re not drinking when the punch line hits, or you’ll have Coke up your nose.
The problem I had with Afdlin‘s previous movies were the audio. Maybe it’s time constraint, but his movies has a lot of mis-dubbed scenes, although he had time for off-screen dubbings. In this department, he did a great job in LDF, since the dubs are mostly, if not all, spot-on! Off-screen dubbings are aplenty, and of course, funny!
The characters, are custom made for the casts, and even though it’s almost the same team in most of his movies, I guess nobody would be saying that Afdlin (or his casting director) chose them out of the blue. They all know his jokes very well, and they did a good job adding their own onto it. Scene stealers aplenty, most notably Sofi Jikan and Khir Rahman. Even Adlin‘s not bad at all, especially in the ‘Brokeback Mountain‘ scene, IMHO.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that I didn’t touch anything about believability here. It is futile, to actually believe in the situations. It’s like a group of comedians brainstorming the plot, and the first thing they say is put on the movie. Logic is only needed when the mysteries are explained.
Another thing I love what Afdlin‘s done in LDF is the product placement. I guess after Sumo-lah, both he and Celcom have learnt their lesson, and it’s actually harder now to spot the brands. But it’s there, and subliminally asking me to buy their products.
LDF is Afdlin‘s best effort to date, and it shows. It’s polished, and it is funny as heck. It’s right up there along Buli and Baik Punya Cilok. Definitely something new to Malaysian movies, which is something we need a lot of right now.
While it’s pretty much THE movie for easy-watching and funny gags, please concentrate, or you’ll miss important parts of the mystery, and you won’t get the explanation. Now excuse me, while I plan out my next screening of this movie, just because I was reading an sms distracted during the final explanation scene.

Comments

5 responses to “Los dan Faun”

  1. hi lizzam,
    thx for really manage the ‘mini gath’ 4 me.. muahaha..

    thx a lot bro. nekt time buat lg ek..

  2. Babak menarik: Los dan Faun

    * Ulasan Faun kepada Los tentang bagaimana dia boleh tahu yang dompet tokei kedai coli tu ada dalam tandas.
    * Aksi pergaduhan antara Los dan Faun dengan Dick dan Amran di pejabat En. Sofaruddin.
    * Aksi menggatal seorang makcik cleaner dengan Faun. [Macam arwah Ibu Yusni je.]
    * Persembahan magik dari Serina Mysterina. [Mind Reading yang tak jadi, Silk to Cane, Magic Pan, Handcuff Trick.]
    * Aksi stunt Los bergayut di helikopter. [Aksi ini adalah yang pertama bagi sebuah produksi Malaysia. Tapi yang ke-2 dilakukan di Malaysia. Yang pertama adalah Jackie Chan melalui filem Police Story 3.]

    CICAKMAN 2

  3. Itu memang arwah Ibu Yusni kan?

    Anyway, got product placement ke? Where? Too subliminal that I didn’t realize it hahaahaha

  4. Een : bleh je. next time kena wat betul2 la…baru ramai.kalu ada nati sy ajak ain..

    PakciQue : Ye pakciQue, tu mmg arwah Ibu Yusni. Filem ni dah abis shooting tahun 2006 lagi.

    Lynn : Haah, memang dia.

    ada 2 yang I rasa Celcom punya:
    1. Awek pakai baju pengantin nak naik bas masa mula2 tu, macam dlm iklan celcom, and I half expected her to ask them “Want to marry me?” as in the advert

    2. Bills and calls are to and from celcom numbers, except Dick’s yang I tak ingat.

  5. ahhh no wonder bill tu macam familiar, cuz I pun pakai postpaid Celcom kan ahahahaa