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Jabba the Hutt
Guest
Meet Karen, Jack Neo's alter ego
By Noorsila Abd Majid
At 50, Jack Neo really looks pretty as Karen Neo, a single mum in the buzzworthy Chinese New Year movie, Homecoming.
Jack Neo as Karen Neo shopping for some ointment
Jack/Karen made heads turn when he sauntered into the conference hall at the Cititel Mid Valley.
Garbed in a figure-hugging, floral print dress and a pair of designer open-toe heels, the actor - perfected by serious make-up, was the epitome of female chic.
"I find it hard to go to the toilet in my one-piece dress," Jack/Karen joked.
"So I've asked my costume designer to design dresses that come with a hole and a front zipper for me. Ah Niu (his co-star who plays his son in the movie) got to help his mama pull the zipper, sometimes."
Jack Neo and Ah Niu play mum and son in Homecoming
"It works like a non-surgical facelift," he laughed. "My skin is tightened so much that it bleeds when the tape is removed."
Homecoming features a joyous celebration of family reunion during Chinese New Year and Malaysia-Singapore co-operation.
Jack aside, the feel-good comedy also stars Ah Niu, Afdlin Shauki, Mark Lee, Huang Wen Hong, Rebecca Lim and Jacelyn Tay.
Jointly made by Malaysia’s Double Vision and its Singaporean partners, Homecoming tells three different stories of Malaysians living and working in Singapore and their mad balik kampung rush to have reunion dinners with their families.
It is sort of based on the experience of the director, Penang-born, Singapore-based Lee Thean-jeen.
The movie, in a mix of Mandarin, English, Malay and some dialects - a reflection of the multi-racialism unique to Malaysia and Singapore - features location shoots in Kuala Lumpur and the Lion City.
The shooting was briefly held for a week in KL in October last year.
Homecoming opens in Malaysian cinemas on Jan 19.
