Another example of the two countries, one system approach to film making, this largely Hong Kong/Taiwan-staffed, BJ-based ‘romance’ fails at every level as a group of ‘young’ (that’s born in the 80s) people struggle to look young and/or like they are striving to survive in Beijing..
Set in a clean and shiny Beijing, the film intertwines a number of stories. There are Elements nightclub hosts Allen (Taiwanese Chen Bolin) and Mengjie [Taiwanese Amber Kuo] who used to be in a relationship and now spend all their time fighting (though we all know they are still in love). Then we have wannabe singer Shangjin [singer Win aka Wei Xun]. And, finally, spiky Xiao Ai [Erica Xia-Hou who also wrote the screenplay but unfortunately gets to say nothing for the first third of the film]. Then barman Azhi [Li Li Zonghan] turns up to help her recover from a broken heart.
There is absolutely nothing new or original or worth saying in this film. Product placement is more prominent than plot. It’s not very funny and utterly unrealistic. All the characters wear expensive clothes, live in large apartments and spend more on their hair than the average monthly wage of a real Beijinger. But the film still has the nerve to bang on about how hard it is to survive in Beijing. On a more serious note, the treatment of alcohol abuse is highly dubious – we’re not in the 1950s anymore.
Chen and Guo have reasonable chemistry and both look much younger than their real ages (mid-late 30s) but both look like film stars pretending to be people. Cameos by Jackie Chan (all of 90 seconds) and Nicholas Tse add nothing. An ode to a city that doesn’t exist.
Directed by debut directors Jaycee Chan (son of Jackie) and Zhang Xiaolei (although Chan is uncredited presumably because of his previous drug conviction) and written by Hunan-born Erica Xia-Hou who has worked mainly in Hong Kong. No score yet on Douban but reviews are generally – and understandably – bad.
Update: Indeed, it has now got a derisory 2.7 on Douban with 68% of voters opting for the lowest possible score.
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