With the bell ringing of the May Day Golden Week, the domestic film market seems to have been injected with a boost and radiated new vitality.
However, despite the film's promotional posters plastered all over the streets and trailers bombarded on the Internet, the audience's interest in this visual feast was unexpectedly low.
The main problem, thinking about it, is that you have to blame the quality of the movie itself.
For example, the remake of the classic movie "Riot Squad Peacekeepers" has now set off a wave of movie-watching craze in major theaters.
However, despite its impressive special effects and action sequences, the weakness of the plot has become the focus of discussion among the audience.
On the Internet, many netizens have expressed their opinions, thinking that the story clues of the movie are disorganized and the character development lacks depth.
The film intended to lay out the noble demeanor of the peacekeeping police, but unexpectedly, on the screen, those heroes in uniform actually appeared on the screen with the frivolous posture of street gangsters, which caused the audience to be helpless, and the dramatic contrast made people laugh.
This also proves that even if the main theme film is co-starred by many stars, if the plot is not handled carefully, the scene transition will be blunt.
Well, no matter how dazzling its lineup is.
In the end, it was inevitable to encounter cold eyes and criticism from the audience, resulting in a plummeting reputation.
Another movie, "There Is No Thing That Can't Be Solved by a Hot Pot", is so popular that you can almost play peek-a-boo in the cinema.
Not only was it disappointing at the box office, but it wasn't even as good as the colorful, family-friendly cartoons.
However, the comedy masterpiece "Spending Money at the End of the Road", which stood out among many films, conquered the audience with its good performance, and its box office results were remarkable, easily exceeding the 100 million mark, ensuring a rich return on investment, and adding to the glory.
However, don't think that whether a movie is good or not is determined only by counting votes, the audience's laughter and applause are the ultimate bosses, they have the final say!
After the film's release, audience discontent quickly spread. One-star and two-star negative reviews drifted like snowflakes, relentlessly overwhelming.
In the midst of these criticisms, the audience's common complaints triggered in-depth thinking about the problems behind the movie.
When cheesiness meets comedy, it's shocking and absurd
The movie "Spending Money at the End of the Road" is like a trace of time, bringing the audience back to an old era that is no longer popular.
And its content does not seem to escape the popular framework, lacking that refreshing creativity, which makes the whole film immersed in a vulgar atmosphere.
Imagine what you would do if you only had ten days left to live? Jia Youwei (Jia Bing) encountered such a dilemma.
The unfortunate middle-aged man found out that his life was short, but he decided to spend all his million.
He gathered his unreliable friends - Sha Baihu (played by Xiao Shenyang), Xu Dali (played by Yu Yang), and Dong Jianfeng (played by Dong Baobao).
Then a crazy "dying carnival" began.
Their laughter not only broke the routine of life, but also made a series of jokes and troubles.
The audience has long been familiar with the plot of domestic comedies, and every time there is a scene on the screen where the male protagonist receives a terminal diagnosis in the hospital.
They could immediately sniff out that this was a misunderstanding that was about to be revealed.
So, when the male protagonist was in the hospital with the piece of paper that said "terminal illness", everyone was already snickering in their seats, thinking to themselves: "Don't panic, I've seen this plot, and the next second the doctor will run back and say, 'Oops, I got it wrong'." ”
This kind of plot is really lacking in innovation, and it can be said that it is a path that has been trampled unremarkable.
The director tried to attract the audience through the plot of an ordinary person squandering money, but such a technique was frequently used in Hong Kong films as early as 20 years ago.
Unfortunately, in 2024, the artistic path of comedy movies seems to be stuck in a kind of stagnant swamp, unable to break free from those repetitive old patterns and clichéd routines.
However, the problems presented by the film are much more than that, they are like phantoms in the fog, layered and elusive.
For example, if an outright ordinary person suddenly sells his four walls on a whim and has millions of bills in his pocket, is he still that ordinary person? We all know that his current troubles are like looking for a raincoat on a sunny day.
For another example, in the story, the male protagonist unexpectedly discovers that he is not sick, and has previously had conflicts with his friends because of money problems.
But eventually, his conscience is awakened and he decides to help them achieve their dreams.
Such a plot arrangement is intended to evoke empathy in the reader, however, this way of dealing with brotherhood is too direct and sometimes creates a sense of embarrassment for the audience.
In addition, many viewers have questioned the clichés of the film, which they feel is like a cookie-cutter industrial production.
Those refreshing elements are missing.
In the process of watching, the audience can almost predict every turn, and every set joke seems to have lost its due brilliance and effectiveness.
In the film, she is not only successful in her career, but also a winner in life.
However, under the curtain of light and shadow, she cast the most sincere inquiry and whispered to the man the vows of life and life:
"If reincarnation is true, would you like to join hands with me again and spend the rest of your life together?"
This reveals that there seems to be a time machine installed in the brains of domestic film directors today, which is dedicated to replaying those outdated gender concepts.
They think that the husband of a successful woman is disgraced, and the wife of a successful man is irrelevant.
It can be seen that the movie "Spending Money at the End of the Road" is more like a movie about an absurd profligacy, and it is actually the same.
It crammed those old-fashioned plots, characters that looked like mass production on a factory assembly line, and the sensational scenes that seemed to be copied from emotional textbooks into the audience's movie-watching experience, as if to say, "Come on, let's glide on this old-fashioned track together and see who shouts boring first!"
The actor's self-righteous laughter is enough
In an age where comedy movies dot the cinema chain like stars, we find ourselves somewhere in our hearts.
There's a deep space that belongs to the old masters of comedy.
Once their names are mentioned, they always evoke countless memories, and those classic lines and scenes seem to be just yesterday.
In the comedy world, the three bigwigs, Jia Ling, Shen Teng and Ma Li, are like kings and queens on the throne, and they seem to never go out of style.
However, other friends, such as Xiao Shenyang, their jokes are like expired milk, which is getting less and less fresh, and even "kittens and puppies" don't like to drink it.
Back then, Xiao Shenyang's play "Not Bad Money" in the Spring Festival Gala of 2009 could be described as a mess, and even the stove for roasting sweet potatoes was jealous.
However, feng shui takes turns, and in the past two years, his new works "A Game of Chess", "Poor Brother and Rich Brother" and "Flying Windfall" are like three kittens fishing.
In "Spending Money at the End of the Road", he wanted to copy the classic line "What is the greatest pain in life? is that people die, and money is not spent", wanting to evoke everyone's memories, but except for this line, there are no highlights in his whole play.
Imagine that you have a book in front of you that never turns to the last page, and every time you open it, it is those few lines, and even the kitten in the supporting role does not change its sleeping position.
This is often referred to as "standing still", and viewers will not give high marks to this kind of replay plot!
Let's talk about Jia Bing again.
In the Spring Festival Gala, his series of funny performances caused widespread discussion among the audience, although these comments were not all positive.
Since he played the guy named "Xu Jiang" in "Hurricane", his acting career seems to have pressed a refresh button.
Suddenly, everyone thought that this guy was quite interesting, and it turned out that he had mastered a stunt - pretending to be so good that people couldn't help but want to give him a thumbs up.
Although this role is quite suitable for him, he seems to think too highly of himself.
Imagine that Jia Bing is like that super seasoning bag in movies and TV series, sprinkle a little bit, and the plot is deliciously upgraded;
But if your hands slip and fall a lot, then you will change from a chef to a disaster maker, and the audience has to wipe their tears with tissues, which is not moving, but "spicy"!
The character he plays in the play is a notoriously stingy ghost, who can even feel distressed for a long time when he even gives a copper plate to a beggar.
But those scenes that were originally designed to amuse the audience are so few that people shake their heads.
Watching his performance on the screen, I couldn't help but feel a wave of embarrassment, and the smile in it stiffened on his face, as if he was frozen.
As for Yu Yang, he has a long face that can compete with the chopsticks brothers, and his straightforward and fast temperament that can directly make people laugh.
It has given him a firm foothold in the world of comedy.
To be honest, though, his performance really lacks innovation.
No matter what kind of role he plays, Yu Yang's performance is always the same, which is also a common problem for many comedians.
The homogenization of the characters is serious, and the audience has long felt aesthetic fatigue.
Perhaps, these comedians really need to think deeply about whether they should re-examine their performance line and make the necessary adjustments.
When we look at the popularity of domestic comedy films, we can see that their popularity shows a complex and changeable trend.
The audience has a deep affection for these films, however, there are also many dissatisfied voices.
Digging deeper into the reasons for this, the first problem is undoubtedly a lack of innovation.
It's better to watch a new comedy movie? It's better to watch dinosaurs dance! The current comedy army seems to have signed an "old-fashioned agreement."
Stuff those old jokes into the film one by one.
It's no wonder that the audience would rather hold popcorn and relive those old films that can make people laugh, at least, the laughter is sincere, not forced out by the plot.
In addition, the comedy film industry is facing a tricky challenge, which is the lack of a new generation of comedic talent, and the need to find the right person to fill the void left by the predecessors.
It is worth mentioning that "The End of the Road" is currently being screened in theaters, attracting the attention of many audiences.
So, I wonder if you in front of the screen have ever watched this movie? I wonder if it has succeeded in amusing you and touching your laughter?