‘Never Say Die’ surprises with robust takings
BEIJING: Just after Wolf Warriors II’s record-breaking run in China, the laugh-outloud Never Say Die has also surprised industry insiders with robust takings of US$326 million (RM1.4 billion) to date.
It is now China’s highestgrossing homemade comedy.
Notably, its record run in the China market saw it outpacing the likes of Meet the Fockers (US$279 million), A Night at the Museum (US$250 million) and Kung Fu Yoga (US$250 million).
Starring Ma Li and Ai Lun (both from Goodbye Mr Loser), Never Say Die is a body-swapping comedy about a male mixedmartial arts boxer and a highprofile female journalist who mysteriously switch bodies after an electrically-charged kiss.
Some of its runaway success can be attributed to an avid, pre-existing fanbase in China, developed when it began as a popular Mahua FunAge stage play of the same name. Years of instantaneous audience feedback helped hone its robust humour to maximum effect.
Mahua FunAge, a leading theatrical troupe in China, known for its quirky humour and taking on timely issues, has staged over 1,200 performances of 15 plays and two musicals throughout China since 2003.
The play was adapted and directed for the screen by the successful writer-director comedy team, Yang Song and Chiyu Zhang, who’ve managed to create an adroit transition from stage to screen while displaying a firm grasp of the cinematic medium.
Comedy doesn’t usually travel well. What serves up guffaws for one culture can fall on deaf ears for another. Chinese comedies are usually bewildering ciphers to American audiences and vice versa.
But Song and Zhang’s layered situational-based humour and laugh-out-loud slapstick comedy give it a universal appeal that breaks those barriers.
Said American producer Alan Noel Vega, “I’ve been a fan of Chinese movies for over 15 years and am pleased to see how far they’ve come in that time. It’s great to see even their comedies finding a wider international appeal.”
The film follows Ai Disheng, a mixed-martial arts fighter accused of taking a nosedive for a hefty cash pay-off during a heated championship match.
His career-ending scandal, along with a damning video that catches him on camera opening a duffle bag chock-full of bribes, was exposed by Ma Xiao, his reporter nemesis, a famous, arrogant, ace journalist whose history of hard-hitting exposes has left her believing she can never get it wrong.
Naturally, they loathe each other.
Things take a bizarre spin when he and she collide by a swimming pool, accidentally lock lips, and fall into the water just as lightning strikes.
Naturally – as fantasies go – their consciousness mystically switches bodies, leaving his in her body and hers in his.
What follows is a parade of hilarious gendercrossed situations and misunderstandings that tug at your heart-strings while they tickle your funny bone.
And if you can roll in a “feel good” love story and an underdog sports triumph too, chances are you’ll hit a gland slam and take home the winning trophy.
Never Say Die did that in spades.
The directors reunited Chinese comedic stars, Ai Lun and Ma Li, the leads from Mahua’s previous blockbuster smash, Goodbye Mr Loser, whose experience in comedic theatre made them perfectly-suited for these roles.
“The film’s success owns much to the actors’ skill. They were professional and impressive and their body language really fit the story’s comedy,” commented filmgoer Yu Hong.
Allen Ai manages the difficult task of playing both a manly, though somewhat feckless, professional fighter and a slightly-hysterical girly-man without being too swishy or blatantly insulting.
Ma Li is equally adept at playing both a powerful, sophisticated female executive and a crotch-scratching, breastogling, beer-swilling guy.
Allen and Li’s on-screen chemistry builds nicely to an unsurprising, but still-gratifying romantic conclusion.
I’ve been a fan of Chinese movies for over 15 years and am pleased to see how far they’ve come in that time. It’s great to see even their comedies finding a wider international appeal. Alan Noel Vega, American producer