Fridae

At a press screening of this Malaysian film Goodbye Boys, director Bernard Chauly had the cheek to ask our Fridae guy which of the actors he thought was cutest. Well, our answer will have to be: "Quite a few of them."

This sweet and simple coming-of-age tale centres on eight teenage boys who go on a grueling 100-km expedition to earn their King Scout badges. Along the way, they fight, talk about love, reveal their ambitions and, yes, take many steps closer to becoming full-fledged men. Grappling with typical teenage dilemmas, the boys' "emotional wilderness" is echoed by the natural landscape of Ipoh and the Kinta Valley. If there had been a male version of Britney Spears' I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman song, it would not be out of place on the soundtrack.

Goodbye Boy is the second film by Bernard Chauly after last year's Legally Blonde-meets-Bend It Like Beckham teen comedy Goal & Lipstick (Gol & Gincu). Rather than maturing as a director, Goodbye Boys seems to suggest that Bernard never really wants to grow up. His fans would say, he never has to.