Monday Morning Maybe

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Poster for 881

881

Seen it?

2007 | 115 min | Comedy, Drama

Monday Morning Maybeearly rating

Why it’s a Monday Morning Maybe

With almost no lasting buzz and soft box office, this one could be a tough watch. Keep your phone handy.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Tailor-made for music lovers and fans of a well-timed joke. The music is woven into the story, not just laid on top. If you loved How to Marry a Millionaire or Blazing Saddles, start here.
The mood
Funny with heart.
The pace
Quiet, then quietly devastating, at 1 hr 55 min.
What might put you off
  • It's in Chinese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
  • Not the pick if you want something heavy or meaningful.

Two Singaporean girls join together to form the Papaya Sisters, a getai group that sings at performances during the seventh lunar month. Big Papaya is estranged from her mother, who disapproves of her performances, whilst Little Papaya is an orphan who suffers from terminal cancer. The two are assisted by Auntie Ling and her son, Guan Yin. The two soon rise to the top of the Singaporean getai scene singing traditional Hokkien songs, but their fame brings along with it the enmity of the Durian Sisters, a rival group of techno-singing Eurasian girls.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsSolid

    Generally positive reviews

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsWeak

    0 wins and 1 nomination from smaller awards and festivals

  • Box office & staying powerBelow par

    $3 million worldwide; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactWeak

    About 6K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

Behind the scenes

A few things you might not know about the making of 881.

  • The film's story was originally conceived as a joke after Royston and the two lead actresses agreed that Getai was one of Singapore's uniquely Singaporean cultural attributes.

    Production

  • It took Royston Tan 22 days to produce the film and only two weeks to write it, which, according to him, was the easiest and fastest script he has written.

    Production

Sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA.

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Cast & crew

Directed by Royston Tan

  • Qi YuwuGuan Yin
  • Mindee OngLittle Papaya
  • Yeo Yann YannBig Papaya
  • Liu Ling LingAuntie Ling / The Goddess
  • May Wan TehThe Durian Sisters (May)
  • Choy Wan TehThe Durian Sisters (Choy)
  • Royston TanNarrator
  • Johnny NgLittle Papaya's Father
  • Wang LeiWang Lei
  • Anna Ru Ping LimLittle Papaya's Mother