"The Papaya Sisters" tells the story of two childhood friends who grew up mesmerised by the glitz and glamour of 'Getai' and dream of one day performing on the 'Getai' stage. After being blessed by the Goddess of 'Getai', they become the most sought-after pair of 'Getai' singers ever. Unbeknownst to them, rival sister group The Durian Sisters have become intensely jealous of the Papayas' success, and are determined to trip them up by messing with their schedule. With the help of their gangster Godfather, the Durians succeed in shutting the Papayas out of many 'Getai' performances. Await the musical battle where both sides pull out all the stops to win over the audience!
The story revolves around two friends drawn to each other by the love of the 'getai' - a lively stage performance held during the Ghost Festival in Singapore. The Papaya Sisters face job insecurities, tough competition, health problems, family objections and love woes as they claw and climb their way up the wooden ladder of success to become well-known in the getai circuit. This musical features outstanding acting by Mindee Ong as Little Papaya, who battles her personal health issues while fighting to stop The Durian Sisters (played by May and Choy) from ruining what is possibly her last getai. Mindee offers a refreshing touch to the impish, gung-ho Little Papaya with a never-say-die attitude. She is paired up with Big Papaya (played by Yeo Yann Yann) and together with their inspiring and glitzy costumes, take the getai world by storm.
On the other hand, the performance of the Papaya Sisters' rivals - the Durian Sisters, were lacklustre. Their acting attempt scrapes the bottom of the barrel, just like their Mandarin. It makes one wonder if the director had chosen to deliberately leave the pair's voice undubbed to perhaps represent the burgeoning portion of Singaporeans who, like them, have difficulty stringing together a proper sentence in Mandarin. The Durian duo, left nothing short of a horrid aftertaste in both performance and costume. Perhaps like the fruit, they are either loved or hated but never in between. In this case, watching them can be likened to wanting to spit as soon as the fruit is in.
In addition, the performance by Qi Yu Wu hardly leaves an impression, understandably because he had nary a word to say throughout the 110-minute movie. Once again, I choose to believe that there must have been a reason why the director chose to do it this way. The director also employs a couple of special effects, which when set against the makeshift stages, over-the-top costumes and heavy make-up, look as if the production had been experiencing funding problems.
The saving grace is perhaps the nostalgia generated by the medley of Hokkien songs delivered by the gutsy Papaya sisters and their impeccable performance on and off the getai. The generation who still understands the language will no doubt be in stitches as they walk down memory lane, singing the forgotten songs that once rang out into the still, starry nights of the seventh month.
