Let's Eat! (film)

Let's Eat!
开饭啦!
Directed byChapman To
Written by
  • Lai Chaing Ming
  • Ang Siew Hoong
Produced by
  • Lim Teck
  • Adrian Teh
Starring
Production
companies
  • Asia Tropical Films
  • Clover Films
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 4 February 2016 (2016-02-04) (Malaysia)
  • 5 February 2016 (2016-02-05) (Singapore)
Running time
96 minutes
Countries
LanguagesCantonese
Mandarin
BudgetUS$1.3 million[1]
Box officeUS$489,846[2]

Let's Eat! (Chinese: 开饭啦!) is a 2016 Malaysian-Singaporean Chinese New Year comedy film directed by Chapman To in his directorial debut. It stars To as a Chinese traditional chef who comes into conflict with the restaurant owner's daughter portrayed by Aimee Chan. It was released on 4 February 2016 in Malaysia and in Singapore the next day on 5 February 2016, grossing a total of US$489,846 in both territories.

Plot

A Chinese traditional chef named Dai Hung (Chapman To) comes into conflict with the restaurant owner's daughter named Rosemary (Aimee Chan) when she seeks to modernize the restaurant and reduce costs.

Cast

Production

To had previously worked with the producers on King of Mahjong, and they requested that he direct their next film.[4] Lim, one of the film's producers, said that To was impressed with the local talent after appearing in The Wedding Diary 1&2 and decided to make his next film in Singapore and Malaysia.[5] Production began on 8 September 2015 in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.[1] To said he was inspired by local dishes, such as Hainanese Chicken Rice.[6]

Release

Let's Eat was released in Malaysia on 4 February 2016 and in Singapore the next day. It grossed US$457,793 in Malaysia and $32,053 in Singapore; the total gross was $489,846.[2]

Reception

Boon Chan of The Straits Times rated it 2.5/5 stars and said that the dubbing from Cantonese to Mandarin for the Singaporean release ruined the film's humour.[7] Lisa Twang of The New Paper rated it 3/5 stars and compared it to The God of Cookery, which she said it does not match.[8] Jessica Lin of AsiaOne rated it 2/5 stars and said the film does not feature enough local Malaysian and Singaporean content.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Shackleton, Liz (2015-09-07). "Clover, Asia Tropical team for Chapman To debut". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  2. ^ a b "Kai Fan La! (Let's Eat!)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  3. ^ Ting, Loong Wai (2016-01-28). "Catch Chapman To in PJ, Penang and Ipoh". The New Straits Times. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  4. ^ Ng, Gwendolyn (2016-02-03). "Chapman To digs in for his directorial debut Let's Eat". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  5. ^ Tan, Dylan; Eu, Geoffrey (2016-02-05). "Home box office". Business Times. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  6. ^ Yan, Seto Kit (2016-01-29). "Chapman To-urs Menara Star". The Star. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  7. ^ Chan, Boon (2016-02-03). "LET'S EAT! (PG)". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  8. ^ Twang, Lisa (2016-02-03). "Movie Review: Let's Eat! (PG13)". The New Paper. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  9. ^ Lin, Jessica (2016-02-04). "Movie review: Let's Eat!". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2016-04-14.