NOTHING'S CHANGED

AZIZ M.Osman's habit of directing movie upon movie, one after another has its drawback. After the less-than-inspiring Seri Dewi Malam, it looks like Aziz is burned out and tired and has lost his Midas touch.You get this feeling watching his latest movie Lagi-Lagi Senario. It left many with mixed feelings. While there is no doubt that the versatile Senario gang are again in top form, displaying their natural charm by just being themselves, the story is run-of-the-mill TV drama material.

It's about Azli (the actors use their real names) who runs a roti canai stall with his two workers Yassin and Saiful Apek. Azli's roti canai, made by Saiful, is popular and attracts many customers, and he soon hires Wahid to help out when the latter loses his job at a posh restaurant.

Seeing how well Azli is doing, a rival, Mazlan, decides to give him a run for his money. He tries to spoil Azli's business by setting up stall just next to Azli's. Mazlan ropes in his niece (played by Wardina Syafiah) and two other helpers, one of whom is played by singer Ani Mayuni.

The competition is relatively healthy at first, but soon Mazlan is resorting to coaxing Saiful the famous roti canai man to work for him.

To make matters worse, Azli's other worker Yassin also decides to work for Mazlan.

The only employee left, Wahid sympathises with Azli and vows to fix things. He starts practicing making roti canai and surprises Azli with his stylish way of making the roti canai. To lure the customers back, he launches his one of a kind Roti Canai Terbang Rock 'n'Roll. The gimmick works and soon Azli's stall becomes popular again.

But Mazlan doesn't give up. He cooks up an evil scheme to destroy Azli's business... The story, though simple, is quite interestingly weaved. Aziz has always been good at character development and this is evident in the way he handles each character, especially Wardina's. The five Senario members each have a distinct personality and it is a joy to watch them play their tailor-made roles with such ease.

However, the movie starts off rather slowly and Aziz really should have scrapped off a few scenes that add nothing to the story save some exaggerated comic moments. There are some grossed-out scenes as well. The one that has Saiful spitting phlegm into the roti canai was just sickening. In another stomach-turning scene, a Mamak sweats his way into the roti canai.

All the scenes revolve around the two stalls and Azli's house. This reminds one of the simple movies made in the 70s. It also gives the impression that this is a cheap production. You wonder how they came to spend RM1.6mil to make the movie.

Newcomer Ani Mayuni is a real turn off as the archetypal seducer who overplays her role to the maximum. Whatever happened to subtlety?

Despite the flaws, Lagi Lagi Senario has a feel-good ending and should go down well as a wholesome family entertainment - a few disgusting scenes notwithstanding.

No matter what the critics say, fans will be drawn to watch Lagi Lagi Senario. After all, they only want to watch the popular comedy group in action. The story is really secondary.

BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 15/12/2001