It's a Great Great World

Lunar New Year is arriving and together with it comes a whole lot of new movies being released in cinemas. Those joining in the party this spring include The Green Hornet, Homecoming and Shaolin.

However, there's one film which distinguished itself from the rest by desperately doing promotions via "sell hard" tactics. It is none other than It's a Great Great World.

Since it is a production of Mediacorp, the sole TV station of Singapore, you can expect lots of "free" publicity for the movie on Singapore's free-to-air channels.

Not only are there TV commercials which let you have a couple of glimpses, there's even a 30-minute variety show hosted by the film's actors which debuted last Thursday on Channel 8.

Now, let's take a look at the cast. Upon first glance, it looks like a rare occasion where all artistes gathered together for a blockbuster. But look closer and you will say "Where's Fann Wong, Zoe Tay, or even Jeanette Aw?"

Indeed, It's a Great Great World is made up of Mediacorp's second-liners and outdated actors except for Bryan Wong, Kym Ng and Guo Liang.

Even Joanne Peh, the sole representative of the 7 princesses in the film, had a rather dull year in 2010 after being pushed down the pecking order by Jeanette and Rui En.

And if things didn't look that bad, do note that they even had to rope in singer Olivia Ong to play one of the characters when any other female actress could do the job without a sweat.

The truth is, It's a Great Great World is a platform for Mediacorp to "make up" to its acting staff whom have faded in colour or weren't given much opportunities to shine.

This movie was created with a very strong sense of commercialism, aiming at attracting the older generation to buy tickets and rewind their memories. Since the idea is already there, why need to look for the top artistes?

It's a Great Great World looks more like it's a Great Great Wayang.