This summer, we have to watch Shen Teng and Ma Li!
Last summer, movie theaters were extremely popular, with a box office of 20.6 billion, breaking the historical box office record.
This summer, movie theaters are very cold. Halfway through the summer season, the overall box office is only 4.8 billion.
According to this level, the final summer box office will be only half of last year.
How can only Shen Teng relieve worries?
The "Shenma Combination" took action again after two years, creating a box office miracle and saving the summer of movie fans.
Not long ago, " Catch a Baby " starring Shen Teng and Ma Li was released.
had 40% of the films scheduled on the first day and received more than 72% of the box office.
The film started large-scale screenings as early as July 13. The screening schedule has reached nearly 30%, and the box office alone has exceeded 500 million.
At present, the box office of "Catch a Baby" has exceeded 800 million, but this is far from its end.
Maoyan’s final box office forecast is 3.75 billion, which is still low.
According to past rules, a summer schedule can produce two blockbuster movies worth over RMB 3 billion. This year, there is a chance that they will become blockbusters. Apart from "Catch a Baby", only Xu Zheng's " Retrograde Life " is left.
If "Retrograde Life" doesn't do well, "Catch a Baby" will attract that part of the box office and easily break through the 4 billion mark, and even have a chance to knock on the door of 5 billion.
"Eight Hundred" was withdrawn in 2019, and "Nezha: The Devil Boy Comes into the World" lost its biggest competitor, and it took three months to reach 5 billion.
must have a good reputation behind its high box office.
Brother Pi immediately went to see "Catch a Baby" and commented in one sentence: It's been a long time since I've seen such a good movie in a cinema.
came back and searched for comments and found that Han Han also watched this movie.
His comments are even more disgusting.
He said that he is a person who laughs a lot, but "Catch a Baby" was the happiest time in his life that he laughed in a movie theater.
Han Han and Shen Teng have collaborated on " Flying Life ", " Flying Life 2" and "Four Seas". They are somewhat related, and he will definitely say words of support.
But to make him say such praise as "ever in his life" is definitely not a show of words.
In fact, 9 years ago, when "Charlotte Trouble" was released, Han Han once posted a post praising the film as a "tap water", which was also an important opportunity for him to cooperate with Shen Teng.
Of course, after laughing and calming down, "Catch a Baby" still has many obvious flaws.
objective evaluation, it is slightly worse than "Charlotte Troubles", far better than "The Richest Man in Xihong City ".
At present, the Douban score of "Catch a Baby" is 7.5, "Charlotte Trouble" is 7.9, and "The Richest Man in Xihong City" is 6.6. The audience's scores are basically in line with this judgment.
Brother Pi has three feelings about this movie.
is the first, Shenma combination yyds.
Let’s talk about Shen Teng first. Whether you admit it or not, Shen Teng is already the king of comedy in this era.
We upload the data directly.
In 2015, "Charlotte Troubles" was 1.444 billion;
In 2018, "The Richest Man in Xihong City" was 2.547 billion;
In 2019, "Crazy Alien" was 2.213 billion;
In the same year, "Flying Life" was 1.728 billion;
In 2022, " Walking Alone on the Moon " 3.103 billion;
In 2023, " River Red " 4.544 billion;
In 2024, "Flying Life 2" 3.398 billion.
In the same year, "Catch Baby" currently has 3.2 billion+.
The movies he has starred in have received mixed reviews, but they have never been a box office hit.
At present, his total box office has exceeded 34.2 billion, surpassing Wu Jing's 33.4 billion and Huang Bo's 23.3 billion, ranking first among all Chinese actors.
In the past two years, Shen Teng has been a bit lazy and has not starred in many movies. He often makes guest appearances for others because he can't save face.
He is willing to accept many bad movies, and has been exploited by the promoters of bad movies.
In many movies, Shen Teng obviously doesn't have many roles, but he is still promoted in the most prominent position.
The most exaggerated one is "The Hotel The Sun Never Sets". Shen Teng participated in the performance in the form of a kt board, so there was a saying of "containing Teng volume".
"Han Teng quantity" means that the quality of a film is directly proportional to Shen Teng's role.
was a complimentary term at first, but later Shen Teng ruined his popularity with a series of bad movies, and the word became a derogatory term.
This gives people the illusion that Shen Teng is dead.
In fact, the opposite is true.
In the past two years, it is true that Shen Teng has guest-starred in a large number of bad movies, but the movies he starred in are still strong.
"Walking Alone on the Moon", "Man Jiang Hong", "Flying Life 2" and "Catch a Baby", the combined box office is 15 billion.
There are only 12 actors in the Chinese film industry who can reach the 15 billion mark. Shen Teng did it in 2 years.
Shen Teng is not dead, he is even stronger.
The last person to have this kind of box office dominance was Stephen Chow in 1992. That year was called the Year of Stephen Chow.
2024 can be called the year of Shen Teng.
’s box office dominance is one aspect, and its terrifying national popularity is another aspect.
In "Catch a Baby", Shen Teng appeared for the first time. He sat on the earthen bed without saying a word, and the whole audience was already laughing.
The last person with this kind of audience popularity was Zhao Benshan around 2000.
Shen Teng is already the king of comedy in this era.
Many people look down on Ma Li in Shenma, saying she is Shen Teng's strongest partner. People go to see Shenma mainly because of Shen Teng.
This statement is biased.
Ma Li got out of the show because of Ma Dongmei in "Charlotte", and now the "Ma Mei Mei" meme is still popular on the Internet.
But in recent years, she has been ruining her popularity for two reasons.
First, he has acted in a large number of bad movies, even worse than Shen Teng. He has acted in bad movies that scored 2 points on Douban.
Secondly, she is obviously a comedian, but she always plays the role of a stunning beauty, which feels very inconsistent.
She played the role of a popular goddess in " This Killer Is Not So Calm " and "Walking Alone on the Moon", which gave people a very inconsistent feeling.
In the past two years, she realized her shortcomings and began to correct herself.
In " Article 20 " released during the Spring Festival this year, she starred opposite Lei Jiayin, playing a tough wife and talkative character similar to Ma Dongmei, which was very brilliant.
In "Hot and Spicy", Wei Xiang and Wei Xiang guest-starred as a pair of happy enemies, proving that Shen Teng can still shine without him.
In "Catch a Baby", Shen Teng and Ma Li are evenly matched.
The combination of Shenma and Shenma is by no means just Shen Teng. The whole film has many flaws, but they are all supported by the gags of the two old partners.
If it were played by someone else, it would definitely collapse. "Catch the Baby" is a typical human protection drama.
Ma Li is also the first Chinese actress to have a box office hit of 20 billion with this film.
Shenma combination has become the number one ace in the film industry.
In Brother Pi’s second sentence, Yan Fei and Peng Damo became gods again.
Many people regard "Catching Dolls" as a happy twist work.
is both correct and incorrect.
Happy Twist was once synonymous with new comedy.
They worked hard on the drama stage for ten years, accumulated a group of good actors and good scripts, and then they soared to the sky with "Charlotte Troubles".
It’s a pity that I didn’t want to make progress in the future, and I tried my best to eat it all over the world.
Their routine is nothing more than: the homophone title + the contrasting laughter caused by identity misalignment.
"Charlotte's Trouble" is about time travel, "The Shameful Iron Fist" is about gender swapping, "The Richest Man in Xihong City" is about a poor man suddenly getting rich, "This Killer Is Not So Calm" is about a second-hand actor playing the killer, and "Super Family" It is mortals who gain superpowers.
Almost every happy twist movie can fit this formula.
It’s refreshing to watch it once, but it will make you aesthetically tired after watching it too much. Now it’s physiological disgust.
But the difference between "Catch a Baby" and other twist movies is that its directors are Yan Fei and Peng Damo.
These two people are from Happy Mahua, and they are born with the Mahua gene. However, the number of works is not large, and the quality rate is extremely high.
In the past ten years, they have made a total of three movies, all of which were in collaboration with Shenma.
The first one is "Charlotte", which has become recognized as the best comedy in the past ten years;
The second one is "The Tomato Man", which was high-energy in the early stage and was a bit unfinished, but it generated countless memes and was also successful. This gave birth to the "Xihong City Universe".
The third film is this "Catch a Baby", which is also a hit now.
The story of "Catch a Baby" is very simple.
Shen Teng and Ma Li play the roles of a wealthy couple. The eldest son has failed in training. In order for the second son to have a future, the couple lived in a shabby courtyard and acted out a poor man's version of "The Truman Show" for their son.
"Rich people pretend to be poor" is another well-worn identity mismatch of Happy Twist, but the effect is completely different, because this is a work that took eight years of hard work.
Strictly speaking, "Catch a Baby" should be the second film of the two directors.
In 2015, after "Charlotte" became a big hit, the two directors started a new movie project the following year, and the original title was "Capital Successor".
During the creative process, they received the task of adapting "Brewster's Millionaire", which later became "The Richest Man in Xihong City", and the new film production was put on hold.
"The Richest Man in Xihong City" is a work for reference and a rush work. The first half is full of surprises because it is stepping on other people's shoulders, but the second half has a serious sense of fragmentation. Overall, it is a semi-finished product.
In 2023, the two directors restarted their previous film plan and renamed it "Catch a Baby". The plot outline is basically the same as the previous "Capital Successor".
The filming of the film was completed last year. When the official announcement was made, it was changed to "Successor Plan", and when it was about to be released, it was changed back to "Catch a Baby".
's constant changes and adjustments made people very worried about the future of this film. Some time ago, there was even news that the film would be temporarily withdrawn.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, the film crew stood up and said that not only would they not withdraw the film, but they would also start advance screening, so that the film could finally meet the audience.
An idea has been gathering dust for 7 years, and has been continuously polished in the minds of the two directors. Even a piece of rotten wood can be carved into the sharpest sword.
Although the idea of "Catch a Baby" is old-fashioned and can be traced to classic movies such as "The Truman Show" and "Starting Line", the overall degree of completion is very high. It is equivalent to putting new wine in the old bottle of Happy Twist. The taste Familiar, but more aromatic.
Brother Pi’s third sentence is that "Catch a Baby" is not a vulgar comedy.
Let’s go back to the movie itself. Putting aside all kinds of gimmicks, this is actually a comedy with a solid script and full of details. It is the most scarce one in the current movie market.
The film has a familiar twist at the beginning, with the rich pretending to be poor to educate their children.
This setting is very funny, but the problem is that the first part lasts for half an hour, and all the laughter is focused on the contrast caused by "the rich pretending to be poor".
The most typical example is that Mr. Jia, played by Jia Bing, came to Shen Teng's house to express condolences. It turned out that the Shen Teng family smoked fine cigars and drank imported coffee beans.
Jia Bing accidentally folded the stool when she sat down. This clip was an unexpected situation on the scene and was cut into the main film by the director.
The audience burst into laughter.
But the subsequent plots are all continuations of this type of laughter.
contrasting jokes are used back and forth, and the audience quickly gets tired of watching it. This is where most twist comedies fall apart.
The turning point of "Catch a Baby" happened when his son Xiaoma grew up. The comedy effect improved a lot and the stamina came out.
Credit here goes to two actors.
One is Shi Pengyuan, who plays the son, Yan Liang in "The Hidden Corner", and Su Mu in "The Octagonal Cage".
The biggest difference between a comedy and a farce is that in a farce, everyone goes crazy, and the plot is off at first, but then it falls apart.
There must be a straight person in a comedy. The plot also went off the rails at the beginning, but the straight person can bring it back.
Shi Pengyuan is this straight person.
He played his son Xiaoma according to the performance method of a drama.
He frowned, looked serious, had almost no smiles, and was even a little melancholy. We once saw his shadow in "The Hidden Corner".
When Shen Teng and Ma Li act crazy and act stupid in the film, this pony is painfully trapped in the mystery.
Frankly speaking, the best comedy effect is based on the pain of others. The collision between weirdos and straight people makes comedy stand up.
"Catch a Baby" was able to improve a lot in the later stage, relying on Shi Pengyuan's "unhappiness".
The other one is Teacher Sarina’s superb acting skills.
Sarina previously played a loving mother in "The World", and many people worried that she would not be accustomed to acting in a comedy.
But in fact, comedy is the touchstone of a good actor. Real top actors, such as Tony Leung, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and Leslie Cheung, can all shine in comedies.
The same goes for Sarina.
Her character has a dual identity.
One is Xiao Ma’s grandma, and the other is Mr. Li, an education expert.
Grandma is actually a straight person, and Teacher Li is a weirdo. Sarina blends the two roles together, performing scheming and kindness. The contradiction is the source of the laughter.
Shenma combination is responsible for controlling the overall comedy rhythm of the film, and the three biggest hilarious points in the film all come from Sarina.
The most hilarious point in the video is the scene of her getting up and running away with her wheelchair. The loving grandmother was embarrassed, which directly caused the whole audience to burst into excitement.
The second hilarious point was when Xiao Ma bumped into her playing basketball, and the two of them had a chase scene.
This scene directly opened up the pattern of the film. The laughter of the whole film expanded from language to action scenes. Xiao Ma's sentence "I saw my grandma playing basketball" directly made everyone laugh like crazy.
The third hilarious point is that the old lady faked her death to cooperate with the acting.
At the funeral, she was moved by Xiao Ma and sat up again. The fake farce collided with true feelings, and the atmosphere in the theater reached its climax.
The other actors are all wonderful in their own way, but the soul of the whole film is still Shen Teng.
Everyone always says that Shen Teng has no acting skills and has never won any significant Best Actor award. It all depends on his popularity with the audience.
At least in this film, he proved himself that his most amazing acting skill is the last sensational scene.
If anyone else had performed this scene, it would have turned into a "making dumplings" plot. Only Shen Teng performed both Zhuang and Hue.
In the tunnel, Xiao Ma collapsed emotionally after knowing the truth, and his father went up to comfort him.
After Shen Teng talked a lot about chicken soup, he suddenly shouted the line "the great love" at the top of his voice. The yin and yang tone directly made the audience laugh, and also eliminated the didactic feeling of the lines.
After the audience laughed, he continued to pour chicken soup. Xiao Ma did not listen to his father's words and left alone.
Shen Teng said from behind, don't forget to go home for dinner at night, and made the audience laugh again.
He can switch smoothly between humor and affection. This kind of capture makes the ending of the film wrap up well.
In addition to the repetitive comedy structure, the film also has other details well laid out. There is a twist in
. The director deliberately misled the audience at the end. The eldest son threatened to buy the sharpest weapons, making everyone think that he would kidnap Xiao Ma on the day of the college entrance examination, ending with a family drama.
But in fact, the real purpose of the eldest son is not to kill people, but to follow the Sherpas to climb Mount Everest and complete self-salvation.
The one who really kidnapped Xiao Ma was himself.
Eggs are broken from the outside in and are food.
Breaking from the inside out is life. Director
used this little reversal to reveal this theme.
There is also irony. Many people mistakenly think that the ending of the film is the kind of happy family ending.
The family resumed their happy life after performing a farce.
The eldest son completed his self-salvation by climbing Mount Everest, Xiao Ma was admitted to his favorite sports university, and the couple also cleared up their previous suspicions and planned to have a third child.
But the irony is that Chinese families, no matter how bad their education is, will always whitewash peace together, and behind the happiness is alienation from each other.
At the end of the film, Shen Teng told Ma Li that he wanted to have a new child, and Ma Li laughed.
This smile is horrifying to think about. Its essence is that the two people's succession plan failed, and they do not want to regret it. They plan to make another one to continue this ridiculous action. Director
stops here and lets the audience taste it themselves.
Finally, Brother Pi wants to say that many people can’t stand the Happy Twist movie. In the past two days, Lu Chuan spoke on his personal social media, saying that low-quality and strong-base comedy films like Happy Twist dominate the movie market, which is a tragedy for the culture.
In my opinion, this is because he did not watch the film carefully. The film has made a good balance between laughter and thinking, and the audience has already made the choice with their feet.
In the current economic downturn and the movie slump.
God-like comedies like "The Long Season", although high-profile and far-reaching, are somewhat highbrow.
A hilarious movie like "Catch a Baby" with its thin skin but big filling, dense laughter, and a little twist and reflection is the salvation of the movie market.
4 years ago, Chen Sicheng once said that there will be two types of theater movies that will be successful at the box office in the future.
One is to conquer the audience with an unparalleled audio-visual feast.
One is to impress the audience with fascinating stories.
"Catch a Baby" is the latter.
Chinese comedies should be made like this!
Text/Pippi Film Editorial Department: Yi Li Ji
©Original丨Article copyright: Pippi Film (ppdianying)
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