What is the most scarce thing about domestic movies?
sir wants to be a comedy.
Although there are too many movies that are clearly meant to scratch your armpits:
But these movies just mistake ugliness and farce for comedy.
There are very few movies that can really make people laugh every year. Even one movie only comes out every few years, and a hit movie can become a top-notch movie.
Huang Bo in "Crazy Stone", Wang Baoqiang in "Thailand", Shen Teng in "Charlotte".
Why are there so few domestic comedies?
How can we make the audience laugh?
sounds like laughter at first glance.
But if you listen carefully, the laughter of the Chinese audience is clearly filled with tears:
Finally someone understands me.
01
Lunar New Year file "The annual meeting cannot be stopped!" ", Douban 8.2, the domestic comedy with the best reputation in the past five years, with a current box office of 494 million.
beats workers on a daily basis, talks nonsense about big factories, and is a dog leader.
Young people finally saw a domestic film that made them feel bad.
Comedies that truly resonate are always tapping into the issues that matter most to the public.
It may not solve it.
But what the audience needs is not a solution, just:
The hardships I endured have not been ignored.
In "Annual Meeting", the young version of Hu Jianlin sang "My Future is Not a Dream". It was 1998 under the golden filter.
But what about 1998 in reality?
is more violent than the wave of layoffs at the "Annual Meeting": the wave of layoffs.
This is also the opportunity for the launch of "Party A and Party B".
The then director of Beijing Film Studio was Han Sanping. He found Feng Xiaogang, the most oblique talker among the fifth generation, and invited him to make a New Year's comedy about re-employment with the theme of "laid-off wave".
But Feng Xiaogang couldn’t understand:
I said: Does anyone read a subject like ? Not all social hot spots can become the selling points of movies. Laid-off workers are not in the mood to go to the movies, and people on the job cannot understand the mood of laid-off workers.
Reemployment is a "comedy" that the country hopes to see.
But is this the story that really makes people, especially those who have lost their jobs, laugh?
The success of Feng's comedy lies in his ability to think about problems from below.
is also an entrepreneurial story:
A few idle young people from Beijing started the "Good Dream One-Day Tour" company. No matter you are a celebrity boss or a cook, as long as you have a dream, we will help you realize it.
can tinker to the end, turning entrepreneurship into charity.
I don’t know how much money I made, but I got a wall full of banners and almost gave up my house.
You said, such a film would be made today.
No one can say anything about suspension.
But in that era, the audience felt:
In an era when society was becoming utilitarian and people were becoming impetuous, "Party A and Party B" was so sincere and gentle.
It's so taboo-free.
can secretly make jokes about authority and poke fun at the real people's livelihood that everyone cares about.
It is so memorable.
When the mainstream context sings the high-pitched tone of "If I don't get laid off, who will get laid off?"
Feng Xiaogang actually left a colorful ending to a poor couple who suffered from an incurable disease but could not find a comfortable home and were forced to live apart in two places.
Today we all complain that domestic comedies don’t have enough laughs and we have to make up for it with tears.
But in "Party A and Party B", Feng Xiaogang has the ability to make you cry without being pretentious after making jokes.
"1997 has passed, and I miss it very much."
Many people had a difficult time in 1997, but what kind of mentality is it like to still feel nostalgic for a tortuous year?
Because it was an era of losing and creating at the same time.
Everyone’s confidence in the future is: there will definitely be more creation than loss.
The barriers between classes are not so insurmountable, and the magic of society is far from incomprehensible.
We will really believe that:
A Beijing native who owns a house is willing to lend his house to a stranger.
A group of young people who have just graduated are not in a hurry to take the public examination and take pleasure in helping others realize their dreams.
sang from the heart, "Our future is not a dream, my heart is moving with hope."
02
Today "the annual meeting cannot be stopped!" Among the positive reviews, the most supported voice is:
They all say that the core of comedy is tragedy, but the core of this film is me!
In the past, domestic comedies created dreams for migrant workers and complained about their grievances. They were all basic operations.
is available now.
This is already a rare "ceiling".
After "Party A and Party B", Feng Xiaogang filmed the Lunar New Year comedy in 2004.
The black prophet "Big Shot", reflecting on the ethics of technology "Mobile Phone", and criticizing the times and human nature "A World Without Thieves".
Until 2005, he followed the trend of costume blockbusters and went to work on "The Night Banquet".
At this time, a new comedy star emerged.
Ning Hao's "Crazy Stone".
3 million investment, 23 million box office.
Ning Hao grafted Guy Ritchie's western style narrative onto the local flavor of Chongqing, creating a sensational chemical reaction.
Ning Hao used the crime story of seeing the big things from the small to capture the madness of the era that is still lingering.
An emerald that represents wealth.
There are a few groups of people who do whatever it takes to get rich. They are smart and suffer for themselves.
The only person who benefited was an honest man with no wrongdoing, the security guard played by Guo Tao.
But you can't laugh.
Because this is more like a counterproductive trick than a gift to kindness and integrity.
Is jade true or false, important?
is not important.
Because this is not what Bao Shihong wants.
What he wants is a valuable job, a job where wages will not be owed and where talents will not be wasted.
is the key that clangs around the waist when catching a thief, which represents the protection of responsibility, dignity and morality.
It's like the person who least wants to get the Ring is the best guardian of the Ring.
But Ning Hao burst this bubble in "Crazy Stone":
Even if good luck comes from heaven and good people get the Lord of the Rings, they can't tell whether it is true or false.
And those with inflated desires, even without the Lord of the Rings, can still possess the skills to cause chaos in the world.
from Feng Xiaogang to Ning Hao.
At that time, domestic comedy was not a booming business that easily exceeded 100 million yuan.
You can say that they are smart, generous, cynical, and focus on one thing that is aimed at the public and is enjoyable to watch.
But even so.
They still put what they believe in, what they doubt, what they like, and what they hate into their works.
But soon, the author's era was completely abandoned by the desire to be fed.
In 2012, after "Crazy Racing" exceeded 100 million, Ning Hao stopped his crazy pace and turned his head to study a black "No Man's Land".
In the same year, Feng Xiaogang also got tired of it. He suddenly remembered that he had never filmed serious subjects, so he chose the famine, which was full of suffering and hatred, and spent a lot of money to film "1942".
As a result, "No Man's Land" was backlogged due to scale.
Although "1942" was successfully released, it lost all its money.
When they are at a loss, they are full of complaints.
is a shrewd bald man, but he is very busy.
03
What are you busy with?
counts money.
In the 2012 Lunar New Year release, "The Journey to Thailand" has a box office of 1 billion.
This is the first time that a Chinese-language film has exceeded 1 billion (it also defeated the 3D "Titanic"), ranking first at the annual box office.
It was also this year that the size of the Chinese film market surpassed that of Japan for the first time.
Check out Douban’s historical reviews.
You will find that the audience unanimously agrees:
"囧" is a brainless popcorn.
is popcorn, why is it so popular?
Because of the market at that time, popcorn was contracted by superhero special effects blockbusters such as "Avengers" and "Transformers".
But the directors of domestic films are so ignorant:
Action, fantasy, disaster... They are filming all kinds of exciting themes.
movies are busy creating huge dreams.
ignores that what the audience needs is more intimate emotional comfort.
Xu Zheng's "囧" series represents the new trend of domestic comedy:
criticism of society, personal expression, and aesthetic upgrade are no longer needed.
In a wolf-like society where acceleration is all that's left, let's let the Chinese people who can't stop gorge themselves on a meal of egg-fried rice.
The jokes in "囧囧" inherit the Hong Kong-style nonsensical shell.
Speaking of this movie now, most likely what you will remember are these low-life jokes.
But in Xingye's movie, Xiasanlu is just the starting point. The satire of the powerful and the exposure of the human heart are his highlight.
But the Chinese audience is too busy at this time.
They are busy starting businesses, buying stocks, and returning to their hometowns in glory.
is just like Cheng Dongqing in "China Partner", who is trying his best to achieve the Chinese dream and give those who once looked down on him a slap in the face.
So "囧囧" is very interesting.
It allows Wang Baoqiang, who makes scallion pancakes in a big city, to see a goddess, and let everyone wander in the dream that as long as they work hard, migrant workers can also have spring.
also caused Xu Zheng to lose the project he had worked so hard on, but he saved his marriage and started a new career, catering to the exciting melody of successful learning.
The injustice and pain caused by wolf nature are digested in the sweetness of popcorn.
But this kind of digestion is essentially a conspiracy between creators and audiences in an era when capital is rapidly expanding and upward channels are opening.
This is just speculation, which also laid the foundation for the collapse of the "囧" series.
In 2015, the original cast of "囧" appeared and continued to earn 1.6 billion at the box office.
However, there are quite a lot of bad reviews pointing out:
has no new ideas and sells feelings.
In the end, the Douban score was below the passing mark, far lower than the 7.5 of "囧囧".
However, in the same year, another seed player has appeared.
is just different from the past.
It's not a director, it's not an actor, it's not even a person.
is a "brand".
04
has accumulated more than ten years of happy twists on the drama stage and is finally beginning to build its movie territory.
The team discussed for a long time which stage work should be adapted for the first film.
But in the end, they decided to start over and tailor it for the big screen.
So, there is "Charlotte Trouble", which has an unreliable name but has a huge volume of 1.4 billion.
Although Shen Teng and Ma Li are indeed actors who make us laugh. There are many jokes in
's film that still make me laugh three times once I watch them.
But if you think about it carefully, what is it that can make Mahua famous?
A diaosi counterattack dream that is more unrealistic than "囧".
In Stephen Chow’s movies, diaosi counterattacks often appear, and are even an eternal theme.
But when Stephen Chow talks about his dream, what he means is that you have to be like Ah Xing, who has been humiliated on the set and experienced the ups and downs of the world before you can qualify for the ticket to the King of Comedy.
But what is "Charlotte's Trouble" about?
A middle-aged frustrated man is dissatisfied with the current situation of life, but has never taken action to change it.
Fantasy about reliving old dreams with the goddess.
But in his dream, the fabrication of fame, success, and success actually all came from plagiarizing the results of other people's labor.
The greatest pleasure is not the confirmation of self-worth, but stepping on the heads of the once privileged class and letting out a bad breath.
If we say "囧囧" is from the perspective of the urban middle class, it will give audiences who believe in success studies a popcorn-style spiritual massage.
Then "Charlotte Troubles" directly uses the refreshing mode to let the audience's emotions drain smoothly.
The same goes for "The Richest Man in Xihong City" in 2018.
A "daydream" about money:
The loser Wang Duoyu, who is not a good goalkeeper, became rich overnight by relying on kindness and luck.
But what makes the movie memorable is its precise satire on the economic bubble.
Wang Duoyu, a pig, can fly in the wind. From the goalkeeper of a third-class team to a conscientious capitalist who drives market prosperity, all he needs is a billion dollars of good luck.
He obviously doesn’t understand anything.
But whatever you invest in will rise, and having a meal with Buffett can stir up the stock market.
Although the characters in "The Richest Man in Xihong City" are relatively shallow.
But in a sense, it is a comedy version of "Big Time" with mainland characteristics.
However, with Douban 3.6's "Super Family" last year, whether Happy Twist can still accurately capture the audience's laughter has become a question again.
Compared with Happy Mahua's masterpiece "The Count of Wulong Mountain", it is not Tu Yile who is isolated from reality.
They also focus on marginalized people, such as homosexual topics, and also include realistic satire: the cemetery in a big city is as high as 48,000 square meters.
It’s just that the creators at that time had already tacitly understood:
had some things that were only available offline.
Because no matter how minor a joke it is, when it becomes a mass product, it will probably not escape the fate of extinction.
So, back to "The Annual Meeting Can't Stop!" 》.
Even though it made Sir laugh from beginning to end, it is the only domestic comedy that can be called a masterpiece in the past five years.
but sir is still not satisfied.
As a Lunar New Year document, we don’t expect it to be a good medicine for the fucked up reality.
For example, bullying in the workplace, homomorphic involution, and layoffs in large factories. These are topics that you and I have to be careful about when they are brought up. Naturally, they have their own scale requirements when placed in a movie.
sir is just feeling lost.
Why can the current audience only believe:
The systemic injustice we encounter is just the result of a power struggle between one or two villains. It is "a good group always has bad people secretly sabotaging it"?
The "Blue Sky Grand Master"-style reunion in the second half made the movie stop where it couldn't stop.
can’t take pictures anymore because of it.
: Further down, there is a reality that cannot be exposed.
Regarding such hidden dangers, the creators dare not even create memes, and the audience cannot even laugh.
Then my future is not a dream, it is no longer a passionate melody.
is just a joke that adds insult to injury.
Today, the audience gives "Annual Meeting" high marks, not because it touches people's hearts, nor because it manages to make people laugh and curse.
just because.
Only in this cunning comedy can we find a little hope in life.
believes that as long as you scold the capital that does evil, you can get a share of the pie;
believes that as long as you follow the correct line, you will have a chance to break through.
Just like when Feng Xiaogang believed that grassroots people were self-deprecating and diaosi people were self-deprecating.
This is actually not difficult to understand, and it is not his "daddy style".
Because of the era when he grew up.
Grassroots, there is still a chance. When
was filming "Party A and Party B", Han Sanping told him emphatically that the country now needs to focus on prosperity and creation, so don't worry.
So in the movie, Feng Xiaogang also responded to this painstaking effort very humorously:
In order for your creation to prosper, the country will make way for you.
This was the voice of creation back then and the vitality of the grassroots.
quoted the "rebellious" lines of outsourced employees in the "Annual Meeting":
"In this era, black and white are divided, and being yourself, has become idealism? So, is the threshold of idealism a bit too low?"
this I'm talking about big factories.
But why, isn’t it our society where the fault tolerance rate has become lower?
Perhaps "The annual meeting cannot be stopped!" 》There are still too many shortcomings.
But it doesn't matter.
Because the real advanced black humor is:
We know that it is not a top comedy and has a strong desire to survive.
But we can only do this, pretend to be cured and breathe a sigh of relief.
woke up.
continues to face the world with a smile.
The pictures in this article come from the Internet
