A Good Child Review: Richie Koh Outshines The Plot In This Tender, TV-Style Tale Of Love And Acceptance

A Good Child (M18)

Starring Richie Koh, Hong Huifang, Johnny Lu, Charlie Goh, Cheryl Chou

Directed by Ong Kuo Sin

Small story. Big performance.

Sums up this pic which is sort of a domestic-drama companion piece to writer-director Ong Kuo Sin's bawdier drag-queen comedies, Number 1 and 2.

But boy, what a performance by Richie Koh (The Diam Diam Era) who's so good here with his big hair and bigger movements — he’s nominated for Best Actor at the upcoming Golden Horse Awards — you[‘d think he’s a real Adele-impersonator ah qua. That Hokkien description is dropped freely here, so no offence meant, okay?

Here's the verdict — this dude’s better than both Mark Lee’s similarly costumed character in Number 1 and 2 and the plot here as haughty, flamboyant burlesque queen, Jiahao. Who’s suddenly forced to look after, in abject exasperation, his unpredictable dementia-stricken mum, Juhua (go-to senior citizen Hong Huifang), in her HDB flat after his estranged gay-hating father dies.

The filial duty drives Jiahao nuts as his memory-muddled mother goes from recognising him to attacking him. Actually, despite this, you'd still wanna care-give the quite amenable mummy cos this looks like dementia dabbled with a light touch.

Glum older bro, Jiaqiang (Charlie Goh), needs to travel for work. Jiaqiang's fiancee, Grace (Cheryl Chou as a spot-on, very practical Singaporean gal), declares outright that she can't handle the mum-minding task.

You gotta give it to director Ong for casting actors, including Taiwanese Johnny Lu as Jiahao’s saintly-patient photographer-boyfriend, David, who are so restrained, natural and true-blue familiar they remind you of your own family.

Now, whereas Lee played a job-hunting drag queen for laughs, Koh here assays an acceptance-yearning one for love. Requiring a higher degree of subtle identity-complexity which the latter’s big swings and little mannerisms against blatant hostility totally nail.

The reverse, though, is also true. A Good Child, adapted from the actual story of real-life Singaporean drag queen Sammi Zhen, is an insular, straightforward TV-ish relationship flick compared to Ong’s previous splashier, wackier, more cinematic crowd-pleasing trans tales.

You’d wish for more jazzed-up funny scenes. Especially when this movie hits its one clever angle in which the prodigal son realises that being dolled up as a pretend returning daughter is a much better strategy to placate his confused mum. There’s a reason for this maternal reaction which the film posits as a big revelation that turns out to be kinda underwhelming.

But helmer Ong is in no mood to really make raucous fun out of his main thing here — the unveiling of Koh as a performer of considerable substance.

“I’m different, but I’m not a joke,” the cross-dresser proclaims defiantly.

Alternating between hissy and happy here, Richie Koh clearly isn’t. (3.5/5 stars)

Photo: Clover Films