| Money No Enough 2 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jack Neo |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Ardy Lam |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Benny Wong |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Golden Village |
Release date |
|
Running time | 126 minutes[1] |
| Country | Singapore |
| Languages |
|
| Box office | US$4.8 million[1] |
Money No Enough 2 (simplified Chinese: 钱不够用二; traditional Chinese: 錢不夠用二; pinyin: Qián bùgòu yòng èr) is a 2008 Singaporean comedy film written and directed by Jack Neo and produced by Neo Studios, Mediacorp Raintree Pictures and Scorpio East Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1998's film Money No Enough, which was directed by Tay Teck Lock and written by Jack Neo, which also stars Neo, Mark Lee and Henry Thia. This movie sees Neo, Lee and Thia reprising their roles from the prequel film where they portrayed three best friends who started a car polishing business together, and as three brothers in this film who live their own personal lives together with their respective family members and having different plans on taking care of their elderly mother named Mother Yang (Lai Meng).
A sequel, titled Money No Enough 3, is scheduled for release in early 2024.[2]
Plot
The three brothers Yang Baohui, Yang Baohuang and Yang Baoqiang were having a hot pot with Mother Yang after caught in a traffic jam on separate locations. While stuck in the traffic, Baohuang and Baoqiang were separately criticising on the Electronic Road Pricing gantries whilst driving their Mazda RX-8 and BMW X3 respectively. Baohui was curious on the Caring Pollen supplement which Baohuang took and how he make profits, and mentioned Baoqiang's estate agent helped him earned over millions; Baoqiang's wife, Lingling, however, warned about the risks on making a large investment and handling on losses if unsuccessful.
The next day, after being awarded shopping vouchers and a reflexology package after working as an employer for 30 years, Baohui attends a conference hosted by Baohuang (being the director of his own company that provides and sells the Caring Pollen supplement) and commemorates one of his manager, Chen Guan Sai, for making profits. Shortly after, Baohuang offers the job to Baohui, after which Mother Yang gives Baohui $10,000 of her life savings from a tin of Cream crackers, to which Baohui promises to return when he has enough. Baoqiang's daughter, Stella Yang, took part in the audition for a singing competition and was introduced by the daughter of Baoqiang's employee. Concerned that her size would lose the competition, he then bribed other auditionees by giving money, but is caught and forced out by the organizer.
Mother Yang is later diagnosed of a history of diabetes and her body having fat lumps, which explains why Mother Yang felt tired often. Yanyan, Baohuang's wife, asks to arrange the doctor for a scan, but Baohuang opposes it due to time constraints. After a few days of work, Baohui becomes a manager, purchases a panel van, and repays the money to Yang. Thereafter, he and his family purchases other luxuries such as a MioTV pay television and a ticket to the Singapore Grand Prix.
Baohuang is caught by police officers for speeding in Pan Island Expressway; the blame is then placed on Mother Yang and afterwards, Yanyan covers up by telling she was the driver and was escorted to the police station; this incident and Baohuang visiting a nightclub strains their marriage. Shortly after, they are prosecuted, while Baohui fails to sue the carpark management after they were issued a summons; a situation worsened by a language barrier and is possibly charged for contempt. Later, while Baohui took his friends for a lunch and promoting the supplement, he sees a news broadcast that about tens of patients who were admitted to hospital showed signs of poisoning due to the supplements. After trying to claim that these were imitations, Baohui called Baohuang to sought help but was taken by the mob somewhere to watch a viral YouTube video uploaded by Chen on promoting the supplements. An infuriated Baohuang called Chen to explain the matter, to which Chen reveals that he borrowed $80,000 from a loan shark to initiate a business, and now demands $100,000, with a $20,000 increase due to interests.
Dumbfounded on what to do with the remaining batches of supplements, Baohui and Baohuang are then confronted by a few disgruntled employees; Baohuang told the employers to trust them and wait for the laboratory results to be released. Soon after, Baohuang calls Baohui's friend, Mandy, for an invite; it was later revealed to be a trap set up by Chen, and offered Baohuang to swallow a bowl of supplements as proof, but ended up in a scrawl and beaten up by Chen's henchman, before he dismisses Baohuang by demanding a $100,000 payment as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Baoqiang lodged a police report when the lawyer representative took the money from the client, but not before they received another phone call informing that their en-bloc sales failed after their committees have rejected his project proposal. To no avail, they failed to pay their mortgage loan for the bungalow and wind up settling at a house flat instead, much to Stella's chagrin.
At a coffee shop, the three brothers discuss their next course of action to try to rack up money; however their efforts was to no success. After meeting up again, Baohuang and Baoqiang saw Baohui got a sum of money, which they realize was actually retrieved from Mother Yang because of the scent of the crackers. After giving her entire life savings to the three brothers, she was depressed but upon her friends' encouragements, acts as a beggar, but is caught and taken to custody. After the brothers learned on her misdeed and took her home, Mother Yang suddenly collapses and was warded to a hospital. A doctor informed that Mother Yang was still recuperating in a hospital and was discharged the day after.
Pressured by Chen's debt, Yanyan gave a $100,000 cheque to Baohuang to repay the debts, while he and Baohui were able to dispose the supplement stocks safely. However, they are visited by the officers of Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, who ask to bring Yanyan for investigation. Baohuang initially denies Yanyan of any wrongdoing, after which Yanyan reveals that the $100,000 cheque was not from her father as mentioned earlier, but actually from company's funds. As she is then arrested, Baohuang lashes out at her. Yanyan is eventually jailed for a year for embezzlement, while Baohuang is found guilty of food poisoning and ordered to pay a fine.
Shortly after the arrest, Baohui and Baohuang began their fresh jobs as a cleaner and a taxi driver driving a Hyundai Sonata respectively, while Baoqiang continued his en-bloc sales, happily settling their new lives. Baoqiang was able to rack up at least $300,000 for the sales, and some more money for Ling and Stella's involvement in a getai concert as Hungry Ghost Festival was underway.
Soon after, Mother Yang began to urinate whenever she goes, raising concerns to the brothers on deciding who to be the caretaker for the week. The brothers decide to take turns for caring for their mother for a week, during which they face problems (Mother Yang's short-term memory leads to confusion on where she placed her bra and if she knew Baohui had eaten, to Baohui and Baohuang's chagrin, while Baoqiang had difficulty trying to find where she would sleep). Afterwards, the brothers decided to let Baohui bring Mother Yang to a retirement home. There, she collapses in shock, after seeing Baohui run away and then back to his mother's side, before she is warded to the hospital's intensive care unit. Baohui then admonishes Baohuang and Baoqiang for the idea, before they get concerned about the hospital expenses. The trio negotiated with the hospital's management to downsize the class, but the current condition and the risks involved lead to the management denying their request.
The brothers then received a talisman to burn in-front of Mother Yang, so she would pass on quickly. Baohui then burns the paper, but a frightened Baoqiang stops it midway, unable to bear the loss of Mother Yang. Coincidentally, the monitor bleeps and the nurse asks them and Xiuyun to wait outside. Meanwhile, Lingling, Stella and the singers are involved in a car accident - leading to them sustaining minor injuries and putting Stella in critical condition.
With the accident, both Mother Yang and Stella need blood to undergo surgery: both patients share the same blood type of O-; only two O- blood bags are left, one that has been given to a patient, and getting a new supply of bags would take time. While Baoqiang and Lingling share the same blood type and were eligible to donate blood, they could not due to separate reasons (Baoqiang's poor liver and Lingling's anemia). Baoqiang then figures out that the one who got one blood bag was Mother Yang, after which Baoqiang and Lingling quarrel with Baohui and Baohuang over who to save, and Lingling racing to Yang's ward to snatch a box of blood bags, leading to a fight between them. Mother Yang, who overheard the argument, cries and pulls the life support to end her life, to everyone's shock, and is pronounced dead soon after.
Seven weeks following Mother Yang's funeral, the family visited for another pot dinner while praying Mother Yang to repent for their misdeeds and telling that they have learned a lesson on money, while thanking her for winning the first prize in a 4D lottery as forgiveness, with the winning number based on the registration number of the van which used for the transport of her coffin. The family, including Yanyan, who is released, all thank her for her guidance, while Stella thanks Mother Yang for making the sacrifice. While eating, Baohuang introduces a safely-tested Supifen bark powder supplement to Baohui and Baoqiang, which becomes the key to their financial recovery later on.
During the credits, Baohuang met his friends and discussing on the parking coupons.
Mini-sequel
Following the events of this film, the three brothers paid a visit to Mother Yang during the Hungry Ghost Festival and began complaining about their poor finance performances and accusing that she was not assisting them supernaturally, before being haunted by her in multiple occasions.
Cast
The main characters of the movie were played by the following actors:[3]
- Henry Thia as Yang Baohui
The eldest brother of the Yang family who was a dedicated company worker for 30 years before working as a company introduced by Baohuang. Sometimes smart but also quirky solving issues. The last name Hui was based on the last name of Thia. - Mark Lee as Yang Baohuang
The youngest brother of the Yang family who is a company manager and owns a Mazda RX-8. Huang was arrogant and sleazy but care among the brothers the most, and an experienced sports car driver which he used to drive a Mazda RX-8 before selling it away due to not having enough money paying his loan and then eventually become a taxi driver driving a Hyundai Sonata. The last name Huang was based on the last name of Lee. - Jack Neo as Yang Baoqiang
The second brother of the Yang family who owns a luxurious BMW X3 and a bungalow, due to the large profits that he got from the resulting sales as an estate agent. Qiang was quick and decisive on solving questions especially handling money problems, notably after the time when he lives in a HDB flat. The last name Qiang was based on the last name of Neo. - Lai Meng as Mother Yang
The mother of the three brothers of Yang, who she have a record of diabetes and began displaying signs and symptoms throughout the course of the film. Yang was also much kindred to the three brothers on the actions and remain loyal. - Anna Lin Ruping as Lin Xiuyun
The wife of eldest brother Baohui, who sometimes care the most for Baohui and has three daughters. - Vivian Lai as Zhou Yanyan
The wife of youngest brother Baohuang and the caregiver of the house. Yanyan was also sometimes protective and truthful to Baohuang but their relationship find it hard to get a firm ground. - Choo Lingling as Zhang Lingling
The wife of second brother Baoqiang, who she was also a spendthrift but conservative, providing keen advices to Baoqiang whenever he need. - Natalli Ong Ai Wen as Stella Yang
The only daughter of Baoqiang who she was a passionate singer. She likes to live in a lap of luxury and dislikes adapting in a normal life once they settled in a HDB flat. - John Cheng as Chen Guan Sai
An employee worked under Baohuang and a former loan shark.
Additional cameos include then-Member of Parliament Michael Palmer, and future MP David Ong who appeared in a scene serving as members-of-parliament for Yang Baoqiang. Other actors also appearing the film include Wang Lei, Michelle Choo and Huang Bihua as singers in a Getai scene, and CK Cheong in another scene.
Sequel
In April 2020, an online live session between Jack Neo and Mark Lee hinted at a possible sequel for this film and are currently writing the script for the upcoming sequel titled Money No Enough 3. Filming was initially planned to begin in September 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. Neo stated that the film concept in the third film series would be a departure from the prequel and this film as he implied that people’s perception and concept of money has been changed.[4]
References
- 1 2 "Money No Enough II (2008)". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ↑ "梁志强将开拍《钱不够用3》 2024年农历新年期间上映". 8world Entertainment Lifestyle (in Chinese (Singapore)). 3 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ↑ "钱不夠用2 Money No Enough II". Archived from the original on 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
- ↑ Lim, Bryan (2020-04-21). "Coming Soon: Money No Enough 3, says Jack Neo". AsiaOne. Retrieved 2020-09-28.