Courtesy: The Star On Line eCentral


Growing pains

By MELODY L. GOH

The second season of Gol & Gincu is more appealing with its mature plotlines and evolving characters.

Many teen dramas deal with issues that teenagers often go through each day in real life. Sure, a few of the problems may seem a little exaggerated, courtesy of some of the highly complex characters in a show. Do teenagers really talk like Katie Holmes’ Joey from Dawson’s Creek or are as messed up as Shawn Pyfrom’s Andrew Van de Kamp of Desperate Housewives? But one can’t deny the fact that the issues really do occur in today’s world.

However, these series are usually set in Western countries where society is more open and not bound by traditional views and centuries-old cultural ways. So, things do get a little too, well, dramatic sometimes.

In local teen series Gol & Gincu, the stories and characters are fairly simpler, at least most of the time.

The show takes its cue from Gol & Gincu, the 2005 movie. It revolves around the lives of a few girlfriends, who all met and bonded over that once-male-dominated pastime, football. Okay, futsal actually, but aren’t they basically the same thing?

Now in its second season, Gol & Gincu the series picks up its storyline from where it left off in the previous season.

A few of the girls are still in college; one has started working; one is starting her internship at an architectural firm, and another has gone overseas to further her studies (so you probably won’t see much of her anymore). Also, the girls don’t play futsal much anymore. Oh, and one friend, Mia, is pregnant.

Though young and still in college, Mia had married her “sweetheart” in secret because she was too scared to tell her parents about the relationship. Her 40-plus husband just dropped the bomb on her – he wants to take on another wife, a woman he describes as “the woman he has always loved but never got to marry”. At the end of last week’s show, Mia was seen leaving her husband.

Now, before you start thinking of the Bold and the Beautiful-like plots, keep in mind that this is a Malaysian series targeted at college-going teens and young adults. So, don’t expect any sordid affairs in this one.

Still, things do tend to get a bit spicy, if the previous season is anything to go by. In the last few episodes of season one, viewers discovered that the man who had been stalking Putri (the central character) and her mother was actually her biological father; Putri’s boyfriend Reza is HIV positive; a mentally disturbed girl is obsessed with Reza and wants to harm Putri; and, Shasha finally gives in to Haikal’s charms, only to find out that he’s going back to Jakarta.

The new season may have just begun, but already things are heating up, and issues like inter-racial relationships and religion have been discussed.

J, one of the more tomboyish characters, was forced to wear a headscarf at work, even though she was a little embarrassed by it. Meanwhile, Ling is going out with a Malay boy she calls Atoi.

Race has never really been an issue among the girls. Sure, there is only one Chinese character, and no Indians among their circle of friends, but the show has successfully focussed on the growing pains of a young Malaysian, regardless of ethnicity.

While it is nice to see a show with real problems and characters that are like most regular teens out there, what makes Gol & Gincu interesting is how these problems are handled, and the fact that things aren’t always resolved with a clean-cut, predictable solution.

Also, the characters seem to have good chemistry with each other, though at times you can tell between a real actress and a celebrity who’s trying to act.

One of the better actresses is Sazzy Falak, who plays Shasha. Sazzy’s performance as a college girl is quite convincing because she delivers her lines naturally and her facial expressions are convincing.

The rest tend to ham it up a bit, especially when their scenes demand more emotion and depth.

The other cast members include Nur Fazura Sharifuddin (who plays Putri), Melissa Maureen (Mia), Rafidah Abdullah (Zie), Pierre Andre (Reza), Fasha Rahman (J), Razif Hashim (Haikal) and Celina Khor (Ling).

Despite its flaws, Gol & Gincu is doing pretty well for a half-English, half-Bahasa Malaysia programme. It has staying power not only because the plotlines are becoming more complex and mature, but because the characters are evolving too.

Gol & Gincu is aired over 8TV, on Sundays at 10pm.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com