Susah Sinyal, the film production of Starvision Plus, which is a comedy-drama genre, is made by the rising director, Ernest Prakasa. In just one week after its release, this film has been watched by nearly 700 thousand viewers. Ernest’s previous film, Cek Toko Sebelah (2016), became one of the best-selling films with an achievement of 2.6 million viewers. In this film, Ernest is reunited with actors and actresses who have subscribed, such as Adinia Wirasti, Dodit Mulyanto, Chew Kinwah, Gisella Anastasia, and others. Ernest’s footsteps as a director followed his colleague, Raditya Dika, who departed from a comic and tried to explore the film world by becoming a creator as well as playing in his films.
This film tells the story of Ellen’s relationship (Adinia Wirasti) as a single mom with her teenage daughter, Kiara (Aurora Ribero). Ellen, who is very busy with her work as a lawyer, makes Kiara grow and be close to Oma (Niniek L. Karim). Unexpectedly, his Oma died. Kiara feels lonely and lost. Ellen tried to replace her Oma’s position, but it wasn’t as easy as she had imagined, because their relationship was already far apart. Until finally, Ellen also took Kiara on vacation to get quality time with her daughter.
Ernest was interested in cultivating family conflicts wrapped in comedy in the theme of his films. Intricate family drama is presented so crispy through a simple plot. Like Cek Toko Sebelah, this film also raises the relationship between parents and children. Although not as advanced as before, the filmmaker tries to present it a little differently through the favored approach of adolescents, both the story and the comedy side. The strength of the film lies in the seasoning of the comedy that is consistently presented throughout the film. Still, the style of the comic can be processed more elegantly to strengthen the story further. Some jokes are sometimes a bit too excessive and separated from the main plot of the film.
In addition to the comedy side, this film tries to process a dramatic moment by describing the relationship between Ellen and Kiara through the holiday segment on Sumba. The resort setting, which has a charming panorama, becomes a beautiful place to rebuild the relationship between the two. Hilarious moments, along with the employees and other hotel occupants, became the livelihood of the atmosphere, driven by Asri Welas, and the comic duo Arie Kriting and Abdur. The story’s climax illustrates Kiara’s disappointment at Ellen, well presented and closed with a sweet settlement.
This kind of comedy-drama seems like the market now. The formula of comics in the film industry with this type of comedy appears to continue to be used, as long as it still gets high audience interest. Ernest Prakasa itself has the potential to produce quality films with stories and themes that are simple but have a strong message. After the successful Cek Toko Sebelah, the filmmaker is again able to process the story with a neat and touching family story approach with a firm bandage of comedy elements.
