When Jack Neo met Jack Sim

WITH the photograph of faeces on the floor of a public train and commuters in the cabin holding their noses going viral just earlier this week, local comedy Everybody's Business couldn't have opened at a better time (or asked for better-timed publicity, for that matter).

The lighthearted film explores the subject of public toilets and hygiene after a food poisoning epidemic breaks out in Singapore. The title is a playful take on the act of visiting the loo but it also refers to how everybody can play a part in public hygiene.

It stars some of the biggest names in the local comedy scene including Gurmit Singh, Mark Lee, Chua En Lai and Kumar.

The idea to make Everybody's Business came about when local filmmaker Jack Neo met Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation, a non-profit body committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide through education and training. Neo served as the film's executive producer.

Director Lee Thean-jeen says one of the challenges of making the film was deciding how to tackle the topic of toilets without turning people off. "Some people are going to watch this before they go for dinner so we don't want to turn them off or ruin their appetites," he acknowledges. "So one of the decisions we made was to turn it into a comedy; it's probably a lot easier to discuss a serious issue when you can laugh about it."

Lee half-jokes he was attracted to the project because he likes to be personally involved in whatever he does and since he too goes to the toilet on a regular basis, the nature of the job was well-suited. Everybody's Business also marks the third time (Mark) Lee and Singh are reuniting on the big screen after 2001's One Leg Kicking and Taxi Taxi earlier this year. Add Kumar to the mix and it's a laugh riot whenever the three comedians share a scene together.

"You'll see in the outtakes that the three of them got into a competition to see who could crack each other up first," reveals (director) Lee, who adds he's discovered a few interesting toilet facts while making the film.

"You should ask Jack (Sim); the man's a treasure trove of such information," he says, before sharing that women typically take 105 seconds to use the toilet while men only need about 35 seconds. "Also when you go to a coffee shop, you should go check the toilet first because it's being used by the hawker that will prepare your food," he chuckles.