Like almost every other Jack Neo film, Money No Enough 2 will be a hit at the box-office. Its local gags, generous use of dialects and topical issues will have all the uncles and aunties flocking to it like bees to honey. It'll make more money than the far more expensive The Mummy (which sucks, at any rate...).
But that doesn't make Money No Enough 2 a good film. In fact, we'd even go so far as to say that it is one of the worst films of writer-director Jack Neo's career. Not only are the scenes badly shot and directed, it has an ending that is so shockingly ugly and immoral, you have to see it to believe it.
Jack Neo, Henry Thia and Mark Lee play three brothers who are struggling to sustain their middle-class lifestyles. With rising costs of living and badgering wives, they are constantly figuring out ways to make more money. Things take a turn for the worst when Mark's pollen supplement company — which Henry is also involved in — is hit by a health scandal.
The brothers promptly turn to their mother (superb Malaysian actress Lai Meng) to help them through their financial crisis. But when she develops Alzheimer's disease, they turn a blind eye on her...
Although the film does have some very funny scenes, our problem with it is that it is painfully immoral. The brothers never get their comeuppance for ill-treating their mother — if anything, they are actually "rewarded" for neglecting her. We honestly wonder what old folks' reaction will be to the movie — ours, at least, is far from positive.
Compared to the terrific first film Money No Enough made 10 years ago, Money No Enough 2 is awfully disappointing.