Singapore — There’s been a lot of hype over Ah Girls Go Army, which is set to be released next Tuesday, Feb 1, the first day of Chinese New Year.

On Jan 26 (Wednesday), Wake Up, Singapore called out the film’s director, Jack Neo, for the low bar he set for what audiences may find funny. His latest iteration of army life is already being called out for the depiction of a character played by comedienne and actress Xixi Lim.

Posting a photo of Lim in army fatigues, the alternative news site wrote on its Facebook and Instagram pages, “The bar is really in hell with this guy. Jack Neo with his lowblow humour once again. This character is called Yuan, which means round in Chinese (园).

I wouldn’t pay ten cents to watch this movie. They need to pay us for allowing our brain cells rot. The bar is really in hell with this guy.

It is 2022. Do we still need to put up with this?”

Ah Girls Go Army is the successor to one of the most popular (and profitable) Singaporean film series of all time, Ah Boys to Men, and is expected to make quite a splash.

However, the first (and highest-grossing) Ah Boys movie came out almost a decade ago, and the times, as they say, are a-changing.

Many netizens agreed, with one saying that “this kind of regressive humour can (sic) should be cancelled.”

In a comment on Instagram, Wake Up, Singapore also brought up an earlier controversy about how the name of one of the characters,” Amanda Man,” had been changed over potential harm and insult to the transgender community.

Many, however, took the line that “it’s just a movie” and it’s just a joke.”

Some pointed out that Ms Lim herself is fine with this type of portrayal.

However, one commenter thoughtfully pointed out that even if the actress is playing a character true to her “brand,” “it only normalises and encourages stereotyping and abuse of others who are like her but aren’t ok with it.”