When Qiao Shan in the trailer was gray and helplessly frozen with pork, although he didn't know anything about the theme and plot of the movie, his biggest advantage had been infinitely magnified. "Life is Unfamiliar" can be said to be the first comedy with pure blood after "Hello, Li Huanying".
It can be said that "Life is Unfamiliar" very cleverly combines the "pre-explosion" characteristics of today's commercial films. In terms of cast, veteran comedy director + happy twist + traffic + high-national actor. In terms of theme, road movies + pure comedy + current hot topics, taking the publicity route of family fun, are very consistent with the tonality of the May Day schedule in all aspects.
Not broken, not standing, pure happiness
The audience has been preaching in comedies for a long time, so "Life is Unfamiliar" has made itself a complete comedy. Director Yi Xiaoxing once said at the premiere of the film: "Today's Chinese comedy movies are already very good if they can have a meme that the audience can always remember." ”
And "Life is Unfamiliar" precisely takes the route of the presentation of a dense "terrier", it can be said that in the screening hall of the premiere, the laughter has not been broken. And the whole movie has always focused on "showing" rather than "output" values, resulting in a very relaxed and pleasant viewing experience.
First of all, the theme of the road film is like a line, connecting this string of "terriers". The identity of the heroine's father truck driver played by Qiao Shan also gives the film a layer of "road" style narrative. And all the jokes of the movie are contained in this layer of misunderstanding, embarrassment caused by the dislocation of characters' personalities, identities, and words, and the domino effect caused by this.
The way the drama conflict is presented is very old, whether it is Fan Chengcheng's "Fan Chengcheng" who hastily "recognizes the wrong father", or the secret contest with "Boss Jia" in the RV camp, or lost in the false "utopia" made up by Guangzi played by Chang Yuan. The emergence and resolution of the "fuel guzzler" contradiction is almost reasonable and expected.
Therefore, in this slightly old-fashioned narrative, the key to "seeking innovation" is whether the character can "stand". "Unfamiliar with Life" almost implements a "no break, no standing" approach, allowing the film to move away from the trap of fragmentary narrative of sketches and turn to the narrative level and continuity of film texture.
The first to break is the traditional East Asian family image. Whether it is a loving mother or a loving father or a loving mother, East Asian families are generally in a conditioned competitive pressure, surrounded by an atmosphere of involution of "other people's children". But the parents played by Ma Li and Qiao Shan are typical confident and enlightened parents, especially the mother played by Ma Li, even if Qiao Shan has traditional needs such as "choosing a good son-in-law" and "mature person", she does not have any regulations on her daughter's growth path.
Zhang Jingyi's daughter Zhou Weiyu also changed the image of a "problem girl" on the screen in the past, becoming independent, autonomous and thoughtful, inheriting the courageous, independent, righteous and kind temperament of her family. This family combination is relatively rare on the screen of the East. Such a family full of warmth and strength can give people positive hints and psychological support in comedies.
The second thing that is broken is the stereotype of gender and occupation. The "son-in-law" played by Fan Chengcheng is not only full of comedy in terms of personality, but its essence is also a counterattack and mockery of gender stereotypes such as "male protagonist outside, female protagonist inside", "machismo", "women need femininity, men need masculinity" and other gender stereotypes in society.
In addition, the film's breaking of Qiao Shan's illusion of "mature" career preferences such as "manager", "president" and "construction engineering" also shows the idea of the times full of tension. Despite the excessive elevation and sanctification of the image of the game engineer, his pursuit of a higher-level vision of professional equality and freedom to love is still evident. And it is this purity and sincerity that can create the pure happiness of the film.
Chang Yuan, who has no idol baggage, can still reap countless laughs
Who can compete with it?
Although there are as many as ten films in the May 1st show, there are still only a handful of truly competitive movies. Among the pre-sale shares that exceeded 200 million yuan, "The King of the Long Sky", which has been postponed from last year to now, has won 114 million pre-sales box office by relying on the dual traffic of actors and topics, and "So Many Years" is close behind, with more than 30 million yuan. And "Life is Unfamiliar" ranked third with more than 20 million.
"King of the Long Sky" and "Shocking Rescue" are almost the main theme films of collision type, plus the latter's behavior of forcing students to apologize at the Peking University Roadshow is extremely unfavorable, and the popularity of passers-by will be much worse. What's more, the audience has been preaching hard for a long time, the first May Day after the epidemic, in addition to the revenge trip, the second expectation may be to watch a happy comedy without using your brain.
As the only comedy in May 1st, coupled with the theme characteristics of movie travel and "departure", it can be said that it caters to the psychology and expectations of many audiences, and wins a lot. And Yi Xiaoxing, a veteran comedy director and Internet work operation operator who has come all the way from the "Never Expected" series, also injected some deeper black humor and his own observations and thoughts on life in this film, outlining some "high-level" jokes that are divorced from low-level fun.
The "advanced" laughter and misplaced anticipation vision and unfamiliar treatment are not only the key to the breakthrough of "This Killer Is Not Calm" in the last Spring Festival file, but also the key to the breakthrough of domestic commercial comedy films in the future. After all, when the mass-produced "happy twist" meets a steady stream of 4 points and 5 points, it is enough to understand that homophonic terriers, urine farts and Internet rotten terriers cannot save Chinese comedy.
Therefore, in the film, the discussion of marriage anxiety and the breaking of gender stereotypes give the film a layer of empathetic care, the film's care for marginalized groups such as truck drivers who have been affected during the epidemic and the thorny but marginal problems they face such as "fuel guzzlers", bathing, wine tables and other memes with certain regional characteristics, while giving the film a dramatic conflict, has a certain social care significance.
Stills from the movie "The King of Bath", in this film Qiao Shan still did not leave the bathhouse
Existing problems
The story is still too old, the narrative is still too old. Although "Life is Unfamiliar" is higher in terms of production, narrative and even comedy than "The King of Bath", it still needs to face the shackles of the story and the comedy shackles of "just like that" after playing.
In terms of performance, compared to Qiao Shan and Ma Li's nature, the two young leading actors are still a little timid. And behind this reserve, restraint or unnaturalness, it leads to a lack of CP sense between the two leading actors who play couples. Although the "Han" performance contributed by newcomer Fan Chengcheng to the role is very pleasing and better than expected, it is still too immature and less convincing than the model comedy performance that Qiao Shan's Ma Li naturally exudes between her eyebrows just by virtue of her mature sense of comedy and natural relaxation.
Secondly, in terms of the social care that the film is proud of, there is still too dramatic, fragmented and pan-entertainment deconstruction. The apotheosis of the game engineer, the simplification of problem solving, and the "family-friendly" dreamy ending are no different from dancing hand in hand in Bollywood. For the problem still stay in the dragonfly point water, the septum boot tickle.
But fortunately, the self-positioning of "Life is Unfamiliar" is still very accurate - if you just want to let go of all your worries during the May Day holiday, pursue simple happiness, or want to choose a good place for leisure and entertainment with your family, then this work is very suitable.