In recent years, there is a genre of domestic dramas that is gradually disappearing.
Urban 喜剧.
The last popular and popular urban comedy was probably "I Am Yu Huanshui" in 2020, but although the plot of the play is a little witty and absurd, it is still an urban reality theme in essence.
In recent years, the suspense dramas "The Long Season", "The Hidden Corner", and "Hurricane" have shined, and the spy war drama "Wind Chaser" has regained the audience's confidence in the spy war theme.
Not to mention urban dramas, as the "handle" of the national drama market, the output is countless.
But urban comedies seem to have "disappeared".
Back then, "Family with Children" and "Love Apartment" can be said to occupy the entire winter and summer vacations of the audience, but now, in addition to idol dramas everywhere, only the film market can get a glimpse of the face of classic comedy.
Isn't urban comedy going to work?
Don't worry, the drama is coming.
The TV series "Laughing Old Alley" is scheduled to be released on Dragon TV on May 16, and it will be broadcast simultaneously on Blockbuster TV.
After watching the trailer, I was even more excited, and finally there is another urban comedy to chase!
Shanghai Old Alley, all the staff play within a play
The story of "Laughing Old Alley" takes place in the old alley Juqing, which is adjacent to Shanghai's landmark Xintiandi, where a group of "aspiring young people" come from all over the world to realize the value of their lives in the bustling city of Shanghai.
Feng Pitt (played by Sun Yizhou), a small assistant in the film and television company, and his immediate boss Zeng Xiang (played by Deng Jiajia) are the most representative personnel.
They are not only neighbors, but also superiors and subordinates, and in the noisy life, the two of them immersed themselves in the story written by the editor through VR high-tech means, and found the true charm of writing.
In "Laughing Old Alley", I felt the flavor of classic urban comedy, and the setting of the play within the play was also quite interesting.
In the trailer, the relationship between Feng Pitt and Zeng Xiang, the two superiors and subordinates in the work, directly became a CP relationship in the script of the Republic of China, which scared both of them enough, and hurriedly looked for a way to "clear" the customs.
However, after tasting the joy of script interpretation, Feng Pitt was directly immersed in his character story from a small employee to a big star, and he was directly arrogant in the face of Director Zeng, who was trembling when he looked at it in real life.
In addition to the script of the Republic of China, they also experienced the sadomasochistic love between "Hong Shixian" and "Ellie".
It can be said that in the drama "Laughing Old Alley", the content of the play within the play is quite high, and there is also the scene of Feng Pitt's reversal, which is really full of jokes.
Scripts such as "Shanghai Tang", "The Temptation to Go Home", and "Titanic", no matter whether they are new or old, no matter what the subject matter, will have an alternative performance in this drama.
The setting of the play-within-a-play is actually not new, as early as the audience of "Love Apartment" had this novel plot experience, but after many years, there is no urban comedy that can make the audience laugh.
Now, "Laughing Old Alley" is back with classic jokes, not to collect the jokes of netizens like "picking up rags", but to return to the audience's sight with its own style and characteristics.
The story is novel, and the picture is also quite impactful, the drama "Laughing Old Alley", watching the trailer can make people go directly into the pit, not to mention the several fascinating actors in the play, which is the magic weapon for the success of the show.
All-hands comedian
When watching comedy, I am most afraid that the actors will find it funny, and the audience will not find it funny. A really good comedy performance should be that the actors are funny and unknowing, just like the "Wulin Gaiden" back then.
And the drama "Laughing Old Alley" is full of sincerity, and every actor can make the audience laugh immersively.
The first place, Yang Haoyu.
Yang Haoyu, a powerful faction in the Mesozoic Era, is an old acquaintance of the audience, in "Dragon Gate Dart Game", "Laughter in the Medical Hall", and "Flowers", he has contributed excellent acting skills, as an "old comedian", his performance is relaxed.
In the new drama "Laughing Old Alley", Yang Haoyu plays Mr. Zhao, in the trailer, he is wearing a black top hat and black glasses and standing in the dark, with a smile on the corner of his mouth and a deep look in his eyes.
It can be seen that as the screenwriter of the drama script in the play, Yang Haoyu's character in the script is not simple, even if he travels into the script, he is also a ruthless character, and his expectations are full.
second place, Deng Jiajia.
Deng Jiajia, who is well-known to the audience from the "Love Apartment" series, has a wide range of dramas in the entertainment industry, whether he is a decent villain, he can full of acting skills and play the character characteristics to the fullest.
In the new drama "Laughing Old Alley", Deng Jiajia plays Feng Pitt's boss Zeng Xiang, dressed in professional clothes bright and atmospheric, looking at the person opposite with sharp eyes, she looks like a strong woman.
And traveled to the script of the Republic of China, incarnated as Zeng Xiang's sweet girl A Xiang, dressed in a cheongsam, beautiful and elegant, with a slender figure and beautiful eyebrows, and a stunning shape.
With Deng Jiajia's strength, there is no need to worry about acting skills at all, looking for her to take the lead, the director has a vision.
third place, Sun Yizhou.
Sun Yizhou is also a well-known funny actor to the audience, from "Love Apartment" to "Solid as a Rock", Sun Yizhou has continuously enriched his acting experience and proved his strength to the audience with his excellent acting skills.
In the new drama "Laughing Old Alley", Sun Yizhou plays Feng Pitt, and when he returns to comedy, he is obviously like returning to his home field, and his line performance is natural and vivid, allowing the audience to dream directly back to "Lu Ziqiao".
Traveling to the script of the Republic of China, Feng Pitt looked at Zeng Xiang sitting next to him, and the whole person "took off" directly on the spot, as if he was frightened, his expression was shocked, his eyes were glaring, his eyebrows were raised, and his state was real and funny.
It seems that Sun Yizhou is still suitable for urban comedy, at least in this drama, he looks neither bloated nor "ugly". I hope that this time the "little aunt" and the "big nephew" will join forces to create another glory of urban comedy.
Fourth, Fan Xiangyan.
Do you still remember Lu Meilin, who left the scene lonely in "Flowers"? She's here too! In fact, in addition to "Flowers", Fan Xiangyan has excellent performances in "Love Apartment 4", "I Am Yu Huanshui" and other dramas.
In the new drama "Laughing Old Alley", Fan Xiangyan plays the role of Hu Manli, with a more classical charm, a cheongsam and exquisite makeup, and this sharp temperament makes people dream back to Jin Meilin's imposing boss lady.
With Fan Xiangyan here, I am afraid that there will be no shortage of jokes in this drama.
In addition, the play also invited powerful actors such as Li Dianzun, Huang Ling, Xu Yulan, Sui Yongliang, etc., all of whom have superb acting skills, and this "Laughing Old Alley" is very interesting.
epilogue
The most praised point of "Laughing Old Alley" should be that its plot is not suspended.
The whole story revolves around the daily life of the young tenants of the old alley, and tells the dreams and persistence of these young people through humorous and witty style content.
Almost all the characters in the play are comedians, from the plot to the characters, all of them are not brainless.
Some people may say that comedy is just for fun, and what is it all brainless?
But a really good comedy not only has a brain, but also a heart.
Like Zhao Benshan and Zhao Lirong back then, many sketches have the meaning of acupuncture, funny but not superficial.
Of course, if comedy is just blindly pursuing funny and has no spiritual core of its own, it is actually no problem. You can't expect all comedy to be that high.
The problem is that many domestic comedies can't even meet the basic requirement of being funny, the jokes are all copied on the Internet, and the performances are all hard and funny.
And the best thing about "Laughing Old Alley" is that it is funny and natural enough. Its story takes place in the old alleys of Shanghai, but it relies on unbridled imagination to bring the audience an adventure in the Republic of China, a play within a play.
It's funny with no heart, and the audience can see it.
Making the audience really laugh out loud is the right way to open comedy.