Art imitates life for the film resembles an amateur singing contest: It is vastly uneven, with a number of high points and some low-lights. Still, the director known by some here for her emotionally charged eulogy-themed commercial for a Singapore government body delivers on touching and sincerely earnest moments that outweigh the bad, shrill occasions.
Her ability to string together a large ensemble cast, and the deft humour and heavy humanism that is vintage Yasmin, shines through, enough for you to forgive her dropping the ball at a few points.
The characters are brought together in a basic premise of a school organising a talent contest with seven participants, each of whom are picked up - unsurprisingly for Yasmin fans - via scooter by students to partake in rehearsals.
As a mirror held up to life across the Causeway, the film focuses on how the contest brings together differing elements of the population and, through their interactions, intimates the racial tensions of multi-cultural society.
First, the highlights. Harith Iskander, arguably Malaysia's best comic talent, provides much levity, with Mukhsin actor Syafie Naswip, who won an award at the Malaysian Film Festival for his performance here, carrying some of the film's most memorable moments. His role as Hafiz, which has him coming to terms with the inevitable demise of his ailing mother, engenders genuinely moving moments.