Warkop Dono Kasino Indro - Gengsi Dong Movie Review, Film Still and Poster

Indonesia 1980
Director: Nawi Ismail
Cast: Dono, Kasino, Indro, Camelia Malik, Rahayu Effendi, M. Pandji Anom
Rating: Adult
VCD Quality: Poor/Decent/Excellent
Running Length: 1 hour 55 mins 44 secs

Review of the Movie

Warkop Dono Kasino Indro - Gengsi Dong film still 1

Warkop Dono Kasino Indro - Gengsi Dong film still 1


Warkop DKI: GENGSI DONG
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

Gengsiiiii Doooooong! is probably the more appropriate spelling than simply Gengsi Dong, as the young people of Indonesia used to say to each other to express something that more/less goes like "Have pride, dude!". It was a quite popular colloquial term back in the day. Concerning the movie, Gengsi Dong is a part of a SlaSaJo Trilogy. What is SlaSaJo? It's actually a word I made to remember Dono, Kasino and Indro's screen names that they used in Mana Tahan, Gee eeR and Gengsi Dong. The word actually stands for Slamet (Dono), Sanwani (Kasino) and Paijo (Indro). These names probably will ring a bell for fellow moviegoers who used to listen to their show on radio.

Improvements were made obvious in this entry, and to me, Gengsi Dong became the yardstick that Warkop actually intended to amuse the audience with funny jokes and decent quips without being distracted by singing scenes. It's a movie where I could actually laugh without having to experience burnt ear for hearing extremely rude words that are sooo not appropriate for a comedy with a light theme, as I experienced in Mana Tahan.

But before I start giving credit for Gengsi Dong, let me tell the plot first. The storyline is a definite simplicity actually... and probably could be judged as rather repetitive. The film begins where Slamet (Dono) is shouting happily in the middle of his father plantation in Central Java for knowing that he manages to graduate from high school. With his father permission, Slamet goes to Jakarta to study in "Hayam Wuruk" University, and where Slamet will later befriend Sanwani (Kasino) and Paijo (Indro).

Sanwani is a cunning young man who pretends to be a rich person by using different cars every day, cars that are actually belong to his father's clients. Sanwani's father opens a humble garage and repair shop business and which being annoyed often by Sanwani's act of "borrowing" cars. While Paijo, who truly is a rich dude and the son of a big oil typhoon, always acts and brags that he has everything that others don't. The advent of Slamet in their circle is actually quite unwelcomed... Why? Because those three guys are aftering the same hot girl, Rita (Camelia Malik).

Facing this fact, Slamet, who is incredibly naive, tries to compete with Sanwani and Paijo by buying a extremely dreadfully funky which now makes him one of the most famous guy in campus in a "funky" way too. Well... in a "Hanuman" way more precisely :-). Slamet's fame, whose full name is Raden Mas Ngabeyi Slamet Condrowirwotikto Edipranoto Joyosentiko Mangundirjokusumo, continues to shine when he's forced to sing a Dangdut song in front of other students and even gets more famous when Slamet and friends go hiking and camping, and this is a scene where we see one of the members of Warkop for the very first time in big screen wears women clothes. You guys could later catch them femininely dressed in Atas Boleh Bawah Boleh and Bebas Aturan Main for examples.

I have to say that even though the jokes don't deliver a hefty stock of big laugh-out loud moments, still it could made me watch through the entire running time with a feeling of curiosity and cheerfulness. Probably it's also because the storyline is decently crafted and executed and the important thing is that the story does not drag. Well, at least unlike in Mana Tahan or Gee eeR where there are plenty of void moments.

Dono, Kasino and Indro's acting level is also at higher capacity with quite strong line of supporting casts from Rahayu Effendi, Panji Anom and even Camelia Malik. But the star of this Indonesian comedy movie is none other than Wahjoe Sardono a.k.a Dono. He occupied the entire scenes! From acting goofy, singing and dancing, to giving all-out on a river by the hill. Kasino and Indro are also looked more alive with their youth spirit, as it should be, though. And Camelia Malik, a famous Dangdut singerine who is not only contributed her good voice but also performed decent acting quality.

However, even though I enjoy the storyline very much, I did hope to laugh some more. Still some chuckle-inducing scenes in Gengsi Dong surely save the day. And as aforementioned, there are several singing scenes. And maybe this is just a matter of musical personal taste, but the songs in Mana Tahan are more suitable to the theme of Warkop Movies, where they are more upbeat and hip.

Note! Take a look at the cover of its VCD... It's a total lie! First of all, Kasino was still with them, and second of all Indro was not bald in 1980, only the face of Camelia Malik isn't false. I didn't know why the designers made that cover...

But what is the most important facet is that Gengsi Dong still stands the test of time, it still has the gusto to entertain either fans or general moviegoers. And with Gengsi Dong VCD's quality that still crisp and crystal clear, I honestly don't regret collecting this Warkop Flick. I hope you could enjoy it too :-)

Warkop DKI: Gengsi Dong