"Is this drama funny, or is it bloody?"
In 2024, in this drama world where new and old dramas are competing for money, a domestic drama called "Old Guy" has wildly fought its way out of the encirclement and became an instant hit.
But its contradictory nature of the plot also made the audience and film critics shout "what the hell does this show want to do".
Originally, the show just started as a sketch cross talk drama.
Screenwriter Zhao Dongling has classics such as "Red Sorghum" and "Police Honor", but he is still a novice in the face of comedy.
She invited Zhang Tielin, Zhang Guoli, and Wang Gang, the old actors of the "Iron Triangle", who have passed their prime, to play the starring roles, and strive to fully reflect the comedy elements of cross talk on the screen.
Who knew that as soon as he made a move, he went crazy, not only giving the three of them a very satirical and comedic character, but also arranging a bloody family plot line for each of them.
The collision of comedy and family drama is sometimes absurd, sometimes tangled, and sometimes joyful in the whole play, making the audience's viewing experience as if they are bumpy on a roller coaster, and it is impossible to distinguish whether they should cry or laugh.
The background is indiscriminate, and the tacit understanding of the Iron Triangle is praised
As soon as the series opens, it spends a lot of money to lay out the backstory of the three main characters.
Chen Xincheng, played by Zhang Tielin, was originally the chairman of Xincheng Group.
However, the company's administration changed, and he was ruthlessly abandoned in a dilapidated factory in the suburbs.
The typical plot of "leaving the ancestral house" echoes his arrogant character of "emperor" in the play.
Xiao Changqing, played by Zhang Guoli, was originally the chairman of the trade union of Xincheng Group, and after his retirement, he was appointed by the new boss to lead the renovation of the factory into an activity center for the elderly.
After the vicissitudes of the world, he has a gentle temperament, excellent popularity, elegance and generosity, and is the embodiment of "Ji Xiaolan".
As for Sun Qiancheng played by Wang Gang, he is a real estate businessman with a net worth of hundreds of millions, who is cunning and suspicious, and has a typical image of "He Shen".
The entanglement between him and Chen Xiao alludes to the intricate relationship between "Taishang Laojun" and "Emperor and Ji Xiaolan".
"Old Guy", which has a golden drama lineup in the 90s, has a full of old drama bones from the beginning, and the three of them staged a wonderful cross talk performance full of tacit understanding, which immediately gave the audience a sense of "high expectations".
The comedy plot is unexpectedly reversed and bizarre
After the opening session, screenwriter Zhao Dongling steadily pushed the laughter to a climax.
Originally, Sun Qiancheng only planned to secretly hype this land into a pension real estate project for profit in the name of "rebuilding the elderly activity center".
But Chen Xiao and the others cunningly deceived him, resulting in him being deprived of control of the project although he took out 5 million start-up funds.
So Sun Qiancheng played "Little Jiujiu", not only hiring people to pretend to be superior leaders to fool himself, but also inciting retired employees to make trouble and force Chen Xincheng to retire.
In just a few episodes, the "battle of wits and courage" between the three made the audience laugh.
The screenwriter's use of comedy elements can be described as superb, not only creating hilarious characters, but also the plot design is close to reality and has a bizarre novelty, which makes people can't help but want to see how the next episode turns defeat into victory.
This is undoubtedly the biggest highlight of this show.
But just when the audience couldn't stop wanting to cheer for this wonderful "new version of Ji Xiaolan", the plot of the bloody family drama suddenly came out of the air and gave everyone a slap in the face.
The family plot is overflowing with dog blood and lacks a sense of reality
is a comedy, but the absurd and exaggerated family bloody plot is obviously a mistake of the screenwriter when conceiving.
Take Xiao Changqing's family as an example, as the eldest son in the family, he not only has to support his daughter-oriented sister and her children alone, but also has to serve his in-laws who died young.
During this period, he suffered from his sister-in-law's vexatious trouble, his mother's favoritism and oppression, and his in-laws' treatment of each other, which can be described as "dog-blooded".
Looking at Chen Xincheng's family again, Chen's wife is a virtuous and virtuous wife, but her only son is a typical rich second-generation rebellious teenager, who drives horses and whips all day long.
This pair of characters are so clichéd and lack a basis in creativity and reality that it is obviously difficult to arouse the audience's resonance.
The most astonishing thing is Sun Qiancheng's family.
His wife is a shrewd strong woman with a successful career.
But what is unbelievable is that their son-in-law was a poor boy before,
actually became a company executive by marrying a daughter, and what is even more terrifying is that his character and behavior are really filthy, greedy for beauty and lust all day long, and obedient to his wife.
The exaggerated and bizarre degree of similar plots is obviously far beyond the cognition and acceptance of ordinary audiences, and it cannot resonate with people, which makes the laughter of the comedy part greatly reduced, and can no longer arouse the audience's laughter.
Film critic The term "bloody comedy theory" was praised
On major video websites and social platforms, discussions about the contradictory plot elements of the show's "comedy" and "dog blood" have been boiling.
"It's really a comedy, the plot is full of laughter, and the family plot is bloody!"
"When my family and I watched it, it was definitely a scene of laughter and tears."
"How do you feel that the screenwriter works too hard when writing comedy, and is tired when writing family dramas?"
The most convincing is probably a comment posted by film critic Gu Jialun on Weibo:
"The violent collision between the high-energy comedy jokes and the bloody family plot in the play has constituted a new type of comedy art form - 'bloody comedy'. This kind of contradictory blend of laughter and tears made the audience laugh and couldn't help but burst into tears, experiencing an unprecedented experience of watching the drama. "
This statement sparked a wide resonance, and soon there was a buzzword on the Internet about "bloody comedy theory".
Many viewers have said that although this innovative attempt is a bit jerky and unsophisticated, it is ingenious and refreshing.
Screenwriter Zhao Dongling herself generously admitted this: "My original idea was indeed a bit sloppy, and the integration of comedy and family drama was not good enough.
However, the audience's 'bloody comedy says' have benefited me a lot, and I will definitely handle the balance between the two in more nuances in the next work. "
Iron Triangle has borrowed too much from the character design and has been questioned
Another place that has been widely questioned by the audience is the character creation of the three protagonists.
Chen Xincheng played by Zhang Tielin is noble, short-tempered, and commanding, a typical "emperor" character; Xiao Changqing, played by Zhang Guoli, is gentle, diligent and kind, and accommodating everywhere.
is "Ji Xiaolan": and Sun Qiancheng played by Wang Gang is cunning, suspicious, cunning, and insatiable, which is a copy of the old "He Shen".
"Is the screenwriter afraid that we won't be able to see which character it is, so we have to shoehorn in the characters of the 90s?"
"When I looked at it, I felt like I was revisiting Ji Xiaolan with iron teeth and bronze teeth."
"I'm a little aesthetically tired, and I'm looking forward to some innovation in the next one."
In this regard, screenwriter Zhao Dongling said frankly: "The character design is indeed a mistake of mine.
When I first invited the three teachers to join, I always had their iconic image in the classic series in my mind, and the three of them also have many years of experience in cross talk and comedy interpretation, so the character design naturally borrowed from the old characters in the past.
This is indeed my inadequacy, and hopefully the next work will really get rid of these imprints. "
"Vulgar" and "trendy", how to grasp both in a drama
Overall, the show "Old Guy" is undoubtedly a bold and meaningful attempt at innovation.
It skillfully integrates the elements of traditional cross talk comedy and dog-blooded family dramas, bringing the audience an unprecedented "dog-blooded comedy" experience, which can be described as unique.
But unfortunately, in terms of specific artistic treatment, the crew is not fine and familiar enough, from the character design to the plot, there are more or less jerky and flaws, so that the whole work does not fully achieve the perfect balance of "comedy" and "dog blood".
However, as netizens said, although this drama is a little "vulgar", it is also "trendy" and widely popular because of this, which is enough to become a dark horse-level domestic drama in 2024.
It provides a new path for future creation, what other "bloody comedy" masterpieces can be expected in the future? Let's wait and see.