Kwartet Jaya: Ateng Kaya Mendadak

	Indonesia 1975 Director: Pietrajaya Burnama Cast: Eddy Sud, Ateng, Iskak, Adi Bing Slamet, Vivi Sumanti, Erni Djohan Rating: Remaja (Teen) Language: Bahasa Indonesia VCD Quality: Poor/Decent/Excellent Release Date: 1975; 13 September 1999 (VCD) Running Length: 1 hour 30 minutes 50 seconds The Movie Review		KWARTET JAYA: ATENG KAYA MENDADAK ( Ateng is Suddenly Rich ) Storyline: Cast: Ending: Overall:
	Touching.... Those of you who have watched Kaya Mendadak might probably wonder what is so touching about this comedy flick and those who haven't might also confused of the concept of "touching". It's none other because Kaya Mendadak has Indonesian classic written all over it. I'll get to the explanation later, first we take a look at the storyline. The story revolves around two members of the Kwartet Jaya comedy group or loosely translated as (The Great Quartet), John Ateng (Ateng) and Bob Iskak (Iskak) who have won a lottery, thus making them "Suddenly Rich" (where the title stands for). After donating some of their money for the sake of their home town development, Ateng and Iskak travel to Jakarta to experience new things. While on the train to Jakarta, Ateng and Iskak meet a friendly young kid named Adi (Adi Bing Slamet) and his older sister, Vivi (Vivi Sumanti). Unfortunately Adi's father (Eddy Sud), who rides along with Adi, is an arrogant man who thinks very low of village people. Arriving at Gambir Railway Station, Ateng and Iskak take a cab which driver is an uptight man but actually friendly (Eddy Sud). Ateng and Iskak order him to take them to someplace beautiful and so he takes them to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah or TMII (Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park). There, Ateng and Iskak meet Adi again and even get the chance to Vivi. From TMII, Ateng and Iskak orders the taxi driver to take them to Hotel Gajah Mada where they merely try to stay where Adi is staying with his family. In the hotel, a friendly hotel attendant/bell boy (Eddy Sud) helps (teaches) them how to make a reservation. From there on, Ateng and Iskak's experience is just getting richer by the hours. What are these naive people are going to do next? Touching from the start to the finale, and Instant classic from top to bottom. First, now, all members of Kwartet Jaya have already passed away, Bing Slamet (Adi's real father), Iskak, Ateng and Eddy Sud are no longer with us. And this group is absolutely one of the oldest comedy groups that have appeared on the big screen in the history of Indonesian Cinema. The second would be Hotel Gajah Mada which no longer exists and the building next to it used to be nothing famous but now still standing firmly as Gajah Mada Plaza (although absolutely not the best mall in Jakarta). Third, would be the TMII which has just recently built in that time, you can see how empty it was and how scarce visitors were compared to the now-hectic and crowded TMII. Fourth, of course, is the sight of the old Jakarta where the word "traffic jam" didn't traumatize the citizen as it does now, and complete with the view of Monas (Monumen Nasional or National Monument), the legendary Hotel Indonesia, Senayan Circle (near now-Plaza Senayan), and the empty sight of Gambir Railway Station, and all this sightseeing is accompanied by the famous Betawi (native people of Jakarta) song called Kicir-Kicir. Fifth, the look of the old local supermarket, before big names like Carrefour and Giant entered Indonesia with all the conventional wardrobes and toys (concerning a scene with Adi). This is a comedy, so jokes are mandatory. Kwartet Jaya, although Bing Slamet was no longer in the movie, fortunately the rest of them still very much cut out to make the audience laugh. Although I admit that the jokes that make you laugh-out-loud are not much, they are more of chuckling-evoking ones. The directing is also enjoyable, thanks to Pietrajya Burnama, a director who probably more familiar to the audience through his acting in the 80s and 90s Warkop’s Films. The biggest flaw probably would be the VCD Quality that is extremely poor. Sigh…had it been better, what a very enjoyable movie to watch Kaya Mendadak would have been. The acting quality, in case you wonder, is unquestionable. These guys were experienced actors and legends. But particularly, in this comedy movie, it's Eddy Sud who deserved critical acclaim for portraying many different characters with different personality too. There are total 5 characters played by Eddy Sud, they are Adi's father named Eddy Wagiman, the taxi driver, the hotel attendant, the transsexual MC at the party, and the tough guy at the alley. Being overwhelmed by the "touching" stuff of what I've seen in Kaya Mendadak, nitpicking was my least priority. However it's very clear that the title doesn't reflect the whole storyline and the jokes where they're derived from. It would be more appropriate if the film had been named "Orang Desa Masuk Kota" or loosely translated "Hillbilly goes to the city". Kaya Mendadak depicts how culture shock could be really funny in the hands of Kwartet Jaya. An old premise that will never grow old if only they know how to apply it. And Kwartet Jaya did know how to do that, plus with classic and memory value that it contains, Kaya Mendadak is absolutely worth to watch. © iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com

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