BY TAY YEK KEAK

DIRECTOR Jack Neo has arrived at a milestone in life, having hit the big 5-0 in January.

And, judging by what he said during a chat on Tuesday, it seems that the guy - whose new film, Being Human, is out today - is out to change his approach to film-making.

In Neo's new comedy, Mark Lee, Neo's constant collaborator who has worked in the 11 previous films that he directed, seems to propagate the unwholesome message that you have to be nasty in order to win.

Lee plays the unscrupulous owner of a slimming centre who resorts to selling a harmful product to get ahead in his business.

He is a remorseless character who wants to win at all costs, even to the detriment of his wife (played by Yeo Yann Yann), who's trying to have a baby.

"It would be good to be a bad guy, but without the consequences," Neo said with a laugh.

Here's the big change for Neo: During the making of this film, he instructed Lee to curb his inner Ah Beng, curtailed the slapstick, and cut down on excessive use of dialect and blatant product placements.

And while there is the matter of conceiving babies, there are none of his trademark parables to Singaporeans about raising children.

When I ventured that his movies - which have traditionally poked fun at issues concerning everyday Singaporeans - can come across as preachy, Neo said: "I'm not God, although I do have messages."

He added, though, that whether or not viewers get his message, his bigger concern lies in "entertaining the audience".

To the average observer, Being Human - despite Neo's new M.O. - may still not be very different from his previous films.

But to Neo, there are implicit transformations in his basic landscape, not least in his willingness to try out locations other than his usual, restrictive HDB estates.

But one thing still remains.

"I'm making films for the large number of people who watch me," he declared.

And what about the critics, those people who have whispered that Neo's movies are "too commercial" or "lack artistry"?

"Frankly, I'm not a trained filmmaker," he said. "I am self-taught. I concentrate on doing a good story, but I may neglect other aspects like the tone, feel and artistic quality of the movie.

"Some critics don't like my films, but that's fine with me. My feeling is that I'm not making movies for them.

"I tell myself that the criticism is actually giving me a direction, but if people say that my movies look the same, I can explain to them exactly where every film I make is different."

Criticisms aside, his films have collectively earned over $41 million in Singapore, making him a sort of home-grown James Cameron.

He has seven entries in the 10 top-grossing local movies of all time, and Money No Enough (1998) still stands at the top spot, with takings of $5.8 million.

The second and third spots go to I Not Stupid (2002), with $3.8 million, while its sequel I Not Stupid Too (2006) made a rosy $4 million.

Meanwhile, Neo professed to another ambition: He is planning a 3-D version of Where Got Ghost?, his horror-comedy from last year.

But, he said, there's plenty of time for that.

"I might have another 15 years of work in me. Until 65, lah," he said with a laugh.

Critics, beware.

myp@sph.com.sg