If it had been released four or five years ago, "Happy Reunion" would probably have been a drama that topped the trending search lists as soon as it aired.
This was the most popular female group portrait drama a few years ago - there are female group portraits in the drama, there are all kinds of top scumbags, and it refers to various hotly discussed gender topics on the Internet; the cast is very attractive - Bai Baihe , Li Chun, and Wang Yuwen play three sisters; the series is adapted from the original novel "The Year of the Goddess" by Douban reading author Lang Lang. Chen Lang's last film and television adaptation was "Good Things Come in Twos". I have watched that movie Audiences of the show can definitely guess the narrative style of "Good Reunion": all kinds of dramatic conflicts can't stop...
"Good Reunion" poster
However, the recently aired "Good Reunion" has a bit of a hit in terms of playback volume and topicality. dull. It’s not just that there are many competitive dramas in the same period, but more importantly: after a few years, “Happy Reunion” is still the old formula of “top-notch characters + bloody conflicts + hot topics”. In recent years, not only female group dramas, but also various urban emotional dramas, have repeatedly performed this model in different ways. The audience's interest threshold has continued to increase, and no matter how bloody it is, there is no strong desire to discuss it.
Back to the plot itself, "Good Reunion" mainly tells the marriage and emotional story of the three sisters of the Xiang family: Qiang Xiang (played by Bai Baihe ), Xiang Zhong (played by Li Chun ), and Xiang Nan (played by Wang Yuwen ). TV series version of "Goodbye Lover" - three sisters met three excellent men and were in three excellent marriage relationships.
Qianqian is the eldest daughter in the family and a successful professional elite. She has keen market insight and is the core figure in the team. In the family, she is the backbone of her parents and the support of her sisters.
Xiangqian (played by Bai Baihe)
Her husband Gao Ping (played by Zhang Tao) is a Ph.D. who is about to graduate. He seems gentle and elegant, but in fact he is selfish and scheming. In a marriage where the woman is strong and the man is weak, he has a very low self-esteem, is jealous of his future work achievements, makes all kinds of tricks and sabotages his career development, and later cheats on his junior sister. It’s all about moving forward and realizing it later.
Gao Ping (played by Zhang Tao)
Xiangzhong is the second daughter in the family. When she was a child, she was sent to the countryside for foster care. This experience made her feel that she was not valued at home. It also led to her introverted and plain personality, which gave people a sense of distance. , strained relationships with parents and sisters. But in fact, she is very soft inside and longs to be understood and accepted.
Xiangzhong (played by Li Chun)
Xiangzhong works within the system, and her husband Deng Haiyang (Chen He) works in the same unit as her. He is a slovenly mama's boy who lacks initiative and responsibility. , and was even blackmailed for participating in nude chats, and all her family’s savings were extorted. This made Xiangzhong feel disappointed and frustrated, and Xiangzhong finally chose to divorce.
Deng Haiyang (played by Chen He)
Xiangnan is the youngest daughter adopted by the Xiang family. Her biological parents died in a car accident and she was adopted by her parents' friends Xiang's father and Xiang's mother. Xiang Nan was favored since she was a child and has a simple and kind personality. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and founded her own studio.
Xiangnan (played by Wang Yuwen)
Xiangnan fell in love with Jiang Hongbin (Yu Jinwei), a real estate boss who is more than ten years older than himself, and soon got married. Married life was not as beautiful as she imagined. Her sister-in-law repeatedly made things difficult for her, and Jiang Hongbin was entangled with her ex. Especially Jiang Hongbin's increasingly exposed possessiveness and controlling desire made Xiangnan feel more pressured and gradually became disillusioned with her marriage.
Jiang Hongbin (played by Yu Jinwei)
"Good Reunion" more or less continues the character model of female group dramas in recent years-happy families are all similar, and excellent families each have their own excellence; heroines with different personalities are all They are similar, they all have their own brilliance, and men with different personalities each have their own excellence.Xiang Zhong's husband is a cowardly, mediocre and greasy man; Xiang Nan's husband is a control freak who treats women as his private property... all kinds of dramas created by these top-notch men. The conflict was bloody and infuriating. When you are bored, you can keep watching it. Anyway, it is exciting enough and effortless. The shortcomings are also obvious. Everything is in rough lines, the characters are completely facialized, and the plot development relies on the constant superposition of contradictions but there is no logic. , nor can it withstand scrutiny.
Deng Haiyang is insensitive
To be strict, this is an extended luxury version of the short drama blessed by a big star. It is enough to pass the time, but it cannot provide the depth, connotation and watchability required.
Gao Ping broke the USB flash drive used for his promotion speech, deliberately ignored text messages and did not answer the phone, and wanted to make his wife's promotion pornographic.
In the past, this type of drama has a stable market, especially if it is found Actors who are more capable and popular with the audience can find some relatively new topics - such as "full-time mother" and "family division of labor" in Bai Baihe's previous "Our Marriage", and the previous film and television drama by the original author of " Good Reunion " The "wife and the mistress team up to fight the mistress" in " Good things come in pairs "... can still scare the audience. But judging from the market signs in the past two years, the influence of this type of drama is declining.
Short videos and short plays have divided up a lot of audiences, but the fundamental reason is the problem of the drama itself, that is, the lack of complexity of people under the "top-notch character design + bloody conflict + hot topic" mentioned above , a delicate depiction of the complexity of the situation and the complexity of reality. In the entertainment world where there is no shortage of bloodshed and conflict - short dramas are highly addictive and reality shows are crazy topics, the audience is eager to see stories in TV dramas that are close to reality and close to human nature - this is a long-form drama advantages, not just superficial dramatic conflict. If a play cannot touch people's hearts and cannot provide resonant content, it will be difficult to gain the audience's desire to discuss it.
Deng Haiyang talks naked
Although the narrative structure of "Good Reunion" is very similar to the TV series version of "Goodbye Lover", the fact is cruel: at least in the author's viewing experience, "Goodbye Lover" is more realistic and more enjoyable to watch than the TV series. . TV dramas that only sell topics and conflicts can no longer compete with reality shows.
It is true that among the three broken marriages in the reality show, the men generally have bigger problems, but at least it objectively presents the situation and dilemma of both men and women in marriage - there are some shortcomings, some pains, and some mutual differences. Attachment allows the audience to have a deeper understanding of marriage and sexual relations, and can promote self-reflection on the part of the audience, rather than the rhetorical pleasure or moral indignation of "defeat the scumbag".
In other words, only complexity can make the audience feel involved. The complexity of the characters means that they are no longer a simple opposition between good and evil, but full of contradictions, struggles and multi-facetedness. People in reality are three-dimensional and multi-faceted. When watching the drama, the audience can choose to take on the positions of different characters based on their own experiences and feelings, and understand their choices and behaviors. The conflict between "right" and "right" in the respective positions of the characters constitutes the complexity of the issue, and is also where the audience is touched and resonates.
This is true for reality shows, and it is also true for TV series. This year's urban topic drama "Mortal Song" did well precisely because although it had various topics and conflicts, it did not lose complexity. It's hard to say who is right or wrong between Xie Meilan and Shen Lei. From their respective standpoints, they both seem to be right. In the debate, the audience listened to their respective positions, and there was a possibility of understanding and reconciliation.
And "Happy Reunion" portrays men as the best scumbags. It is full of gimmicks and can easily arouse emotions. Scheming men, mama boys, control freaks, soft-boiled men, "Phoenix men", and Aquaman all appear in different combinations in dramas with different topics. As soon as they appear, all kinds of top-notch plots will continue, and the audience can just scold them.However, this kind of flat characters contribute zero to "complexity". The audience will get tired of scolding and find it boring one day - there is still "suspense" in reality shows, and all kinds of scumbags in TV series are scriptwriters. In "Five Finger Mountain", the scumbag will not end well anyway, and the three sisters will have a good harvest in love and career.
Jiang Hongbin gradually showed his desire for control
In short, it is not that the drama "Good Reunion" is bad, but we must face up to a trend: "The best characters + bloody conflicts + hot discussions" represented by "Good Reunion" The creative thinking of "topics" is becoming outdated. In the current era of explosive drama, it has become increasingly difficult for audiences to be attracted by the stereotyped and routine plots and topic stacking in TV series. After all, they are inferior to short dramas in terms of explosive points, and they cannot compare in terms of authenticity and complexity. On a reality show.
This is a warning to creators - it's time to get out of the comfort zone, and it's time to abandon the old creative thinking. It is necessary to carefully analyze the character's personality and destiny, and create a three-dimensional and full character, rather than a single label of the best character; the plot pays more attention to the credibility of the logic and the delicacy of the plot, rather than simply piling up bloody conflicts; in the relationship between the sexes, The portrayal should no longer be limited to traditional stereotypes and superficial conflicts, but should dig deeper into complex issues such as the subtle emotions, psychological changes and changes in social roles between the sexes...
This will be an unprecedented test of the screenwriter's ability in a long drama. The era - it must have the delicacy and realism of a reality show, and the complexity and depth of a short drama. There is no advantage over the two, and the audience is increasingly unwilling to waste time.
