Wait til you’re older
Okay, the film actually had a happy ending. But… it was ultimately not that happy! I was turning around in bed because the film left that bitter taste in my mouth, and I couldn’t really get rid of it, no matter how often I’d tell myself that it was a good outcome. More than funny (which it also was), the film was unrealistically touching and none of the characters really made sense. Yet at the same time, I strongly felt for all of them, and it left me thinking about them, with all their weaknesses.
In the same line as “Big” and other films with the premise of a little kid suddenly growing into the body of an older man, “Wait til you’re older” mostly reminded me of “Save the green planet”, which I loathed. It’s just so damn sad! Luckily, “Wait til you’re older” is mostly funny and has a bunch of really lovely scenes with sweet human interactions (Kwong with his teacher, Kwong with his best friend and finally, Kwong with his father and mother). On top of that, the film has a lovely imaginative style (although the CG is not always super great) and the heart-warming storyline totally draws you in. The film is more meaningful than your standard mainstream comedy, as it combines light-hearted comedy with real world problems.
Another odd aspect was that all adult male characters were assholes and all the women were lame. Every single problem in the film occurred because the two main male characters (apart from the kid) were unable to commit to just a single woman. Love triangles are the root of all problems in the world! One could say this was the moral of the story, ahaha.
It always surprises me how deeply sad even comedies are in Asian films. The willingness to pay money to witness heartbreak is impressive. It is pretty much exactly the opposite of the Hollywood tradition which must end up happily and no good person shall die. In contrast to that, in an Asian film, a good person almost always dies. I am really glad I randomly discovered the film (yay Netflix!) as I think it is quite a gem, even if it’s a sad one.