This director lacks vision.

Chapter 354 Down with Feng Xiaogang's Comedy Brand
At today's premiere, Jiang Yifeng kept a low profile and didn't participate in any red carpet events.

It's just a matter of entering properly, having your picture taken or being interviewed by reporters, then having a few performances to liven up the atmosphere, followed by a movie screening.

It's not that Jiang Yifeng is arrogant, but after the success of Lost on Journey and Lost in Thailand, the Lost series can be said to be the most valuable comedy IP in China.

The attention garnered by "Lost in Thailand" is naturally exceptionally high.

Given Jiang Yifeng's current popularity and reputation, this movie really doesn't need much promotion.

There were so many big names and celebrities at the premiere today, the event was star-studded, it felt like half of the entertainment industry was there.

Wang Sicong's performance was alright; his rendition of "Go to the Distant Place" truly captured the feeling of a loser yearning for something he couldn't have.

Some people are like that; even if they are very rich, they always give off a loser vibe.

Wang Sicong is like that. He is rich and successful now, but his words and actions are still very "down-to-earth", which is a bit like Zhang Chaoyang.

At 2:30 p.m., all the lights in the movie theater went out, and the room became completely quiet as "Lost in..." began to play.

Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da!
As the wedding march begins, a couple is holding their wedding ceremony.

Under the guidance of the wedding emcee, the newlyweds served tea and changed their address to each other on the spot.

The groom picked up his teacup and said to his father-in-law, "Dad, happy wedding!"

This remark caused a burst of laughter at the wedding.

The same was true in the theater; the audience laughed out loud. The slip of the tongue at the wedding was both joyful and funny.

However, things took an unexpected turn afterward.

The groom was so nervous that he mispronounced the bride's name, even saying several names incorrectly.

Things escalated, the bride lost her temper on the spot, and the wedding was thrown into chaos.

In this setting, the screen begins to display announcements—Producer: Fengxing Media…

Gao Yuanyuan stood up from among the guests, looked at the chaotic scene, and a smug smile appeared on her face.

"Today is my ex-boyfriend's wedding. This scumbag cheated on me with multiple women and deceived my feelings!"

But I know his weakness: he gets nervous when speaking in public and is prone to saying the wrong thing.

I mingled with the emcee team and quietly changed the bride's name on the teleprompter. Sure enough, he mispronounced the name, not only once, but several times in a row!
However, he got several names wrong, but he never mentioned me...

At this point in the narration, Gao Yuanyuan's smile vanished, replaced by sadness, and tears streamed down her face.

It must be said that Gao Yuanyuan's acting skills have improved a lot under Jiang Yifeng's tutelage.

The change in expression was very natural, perfectly conveying the emptiness after revenge and the heartbreak of heartbreak.

The camera zoomed in until it reached the large screen at the wedding venue, where the words "Lost in Thailand - The Greatest Embarrassment" were displayed.

The image freezes there, then goes completely dark.

When the lights come on again, it's time for Geng Hao's storyline.

His wife, Kang Xiaoyu, cheated on him with a man and was determined to divorce him. She wouldn't even show her face and even sent a lawyer to annoy him.

Geng Hao was extremely indignant and, armed with a hammer, prepared to fight the male mistress to the death.

In the previous life, the male third party was played by Li Chen, and this time it's Jiang Yifeng making a cameo appearance.

Geng Hao mustered his courage to hit the male mistress with a hammer, but Jiang Yifeng turned around with a cigarette in hand, smiled, and asked Geng Hao, "Hey buddy, got a light?"

Geng Hao: "???"

"Hey buddy, got a light? Can I borrow one?"

With trembling hands, Geng Hao took out a lighter and lit Jiang Yifeng's cigarette.

He was rather short, and had to reach to light a cigarette; Jiang Yifeng wasn't even willing to bend down.

This scene is both funny and heartbreaking, and it represents the reality for most ordinary men.

Splattering blood five steps away is exhilarating and can wash away humiliation, but most people don't have that courage and have too many concerns, so in the end they can only swallow their anger and let things go.

Not only did Geng Hao fail to get revenge, he also pathetically lit a cigarette for the male mistress, which completely eroded his dignity.

He started drinking heavily, and his good friend Hao Yi came to his rescue, taking Geng Hao to Dali to hunt for women and helping him find himself again.

On the other hand, Gao Yuanyuan also lost her job because she had the idea of ​​going to Dali after listening to the song "Go to Dali".

The dual storylines begin to unfold gradually.

Jiang Yifeng's "Big Embarrassment" has a faster pace than "Heart's Delight" and is more thoroughly mocking of Geng Hao, resulting in more hilarious scenes and a plethora of memorable lines.

"You're such a simp! Let me tell you, simps always follow dogs, hahaha!"

"I'm a scumbag, you're a simp, we're both just serving women, right? I provide emotional support, you provide the material support, isn't that great?"

"Don't let down good girls, don't waste bad girls, not every woman has to be your girlfriend."

"Whether you're a man or a woman, your charm comes from self-respect and self-love! Once you become a simp, even if you're Gao Yuanyuan, you'll become just an ordinary person!"

In the original version of "Breakup Buddies," Hao Yi was somewhat greasy, which might have made some women dislike him.

In "Lost in...", Jiang Yifeng enhanced the character.

Hao Yi is an average-looking guy who is very good at picking up girls. His skills are so strong that he can win over almost every girl he tries.

This design creates a stark contrast with Geng Hao's style.

At the same time, there can be more humorous scenes.

Every time the two of them went out to hunt for women, Geng Hao always ended up losing out while Hao Yi got his fill.

Qin Lan's Avatar, Song Zu'er's spiritual younger sister, Liu Yifei's highway beauty, Shu Chang's Little Hundred Box, and Ma Li's technician—every time a beautiful woman appears, it's a story of suffering for Geng Hao.

One hilarious scene after another filled the movie theater, with laughter echoing throughout the theater.

At the same time, it also allowed the audience to see various states of love, such as the love between Qin Lan from Avatar and her devoted lover Bai Ke, the love between the young woman and the young man, the love between the sisters of Baihe, and even the relationship between the older brother and sister-in-law like Ma Li.

As the saying goes, there are all kinds of people in the world, and everyone has their own preferences.

It seems that everyone has their own perfect match.

And Geng Hao's destined person should be Gao Yuanyuan.

As Gao Yuanyuan's storyline unfolds, she arrives in Dali and meets Shen Teng, the bar owner.

Shen Teng is a self-confident bar owner who is always overconfident but always ends up failing miserably. In his pursuit of Gao Yuanyuan, he makes quite a few laughable mistakes.

Shen Teng's comedic talent was first showcased in "Lost in...", making the audience laugh out loud.

The story unfolds along two parallel lines. Geng Hao sees a reflection of himself in the sycophantic Bai Ke, which leads to a huge argument with Hao Yi, resulting in a complete falling out.

He came to Dali alone.

At this point, most viewers thought that Geng Hao and Gao Yuanyuan would meet in Dali, and that the two wounded people would comfort each other and eventually get together.

However, some people noticed something amiss, because although Gao Yuanyuan had a lot of screen time, the character she played never had a name, and even when she showed her ID card to guests staying at the inn, she covered up the name on her ID card.

Geng Hao finally arrived at the Wutong Inn, but Gao Yuanyuan had already left, and it seemed the two were about to miss each other. Unexpectedly, Gao Yuanyuan turned back because she felt sorry for the stray dog.

After some twists and turns, the two finally met and had a very pleasant conversation. The poem "Go to Dali" that Gao Yuanyuan liked was written by Geng Hao.

At this point, the audience felt that this was a love destined by fate, and Jiang Yifeng ultimately told a rather clichéd story.

Although it's a bit cheesy, the movie is quite funny and doesn't have any major flaws.

But the ending quickly took a turn; it turned out that the character played by Gao Yuanyuan was actually Geng Hao's ex-wife, Kang Xiaoyu.

Gao Yuanyuan's storyline takes place five years ago.

This is a story set in two different time periods.

As the messages on the inn's message wall increased and changed, time began to pass and align, shattering the illusion of love.

What everyone thought was a beautiful love story actually had a predetermined ending from the very beginning—Kang Xiaoyu cheated on Geng Hao and divorced him.

This deceptive narrative technique, with its twist at the end, is particularly effective at drawing out emotions, leaving the theater in complete silence.

At the end of the movie, Geng Hao personally erased his and Kang Xiaoyu's names from the message wall, signifying that he had moved on from this relationship.

The song "Going to Dali" began to play.

Are you dissatisfied with life? Haven't laughed in a long time, and don't know why?
Since you're unhappy and don't like it here, why not head west to Dali?
……

Whose head isn't covered in dust? Whose shoulders haven't been marked with teeth marks?
Perhaps love is waiting by Erhai Lake, perhaps a story is already unfolding...

Many audience members shed tears as Geng Hao sang, and the list of those who took their bows began to roll.

One minute later, the list ended, and there was a surprise.

A swaying car appeared on the big screen.

The camera zooms in, and a woman dressed as an Avatar appears in the car.

She took a breath and said hurriedly, "Isn't this inappropriate? Your brother is getting married today!"

Geng Hao rolled over and pinned the Avatar down, revealing his face.

The theater erupted in laughter as Geng Hao also became an Avatar, and Huang Bai's Avatar look was quite comical.

He said, "It's okay, let him do his thing, I'll do mine!"

After saying that, he pounced on her.

The car continued to shake, and the camera continued to zoom in, returning to the wedding venue.

Hao Yi marries Avatar, played by Qin Lan.

Strangely, Qin Lan looked rather sour, while Hao Yi seemed quite pleased and tried to appease her.

Their positions seem to have reversed.

The camera pans forward to the large screen at the wedding venue.

The big screen was playing a video that Hao Yi and Qin Lan filmed in Dali. The video had a title: "Lost in Thailand: The Biggest Mishap".

Once a callback forms a response and closes the loop, the entire movie comes to a complete end.

The lights came on, and the entire audience stood up and applauded.

The applause was very enthusiastic, it seems that everyone really liked the movie.

Jiang Yifeng led the main cast and crew onto the stage to begin the audience interaction session after the screening.

Da Peng gave a eloquent speech on stage, then called on an audience member to ask a question.

This viewer is quite the troublemaker. He said, "Let me say this first: I really liked it after watching Lost in the Big Bang!"

Although I had high expectations for Director Jiang, this movie still surprised me a lot.

I also attended the premiere of Personal Tailor yesterday. To be honest, Personal Tailor was pretty good; director Feng Xiaogang demonstrated his talent.

So I want to ask Director Jiang, why are you so confident that you can definitely defeat Director Feng?

The question immediately sparked a commotion, with everyone clearly wanting to see what would happen.

Jiang Yifeng smiled and said calmly, "I'm a very confident person. Whether it's art films or comedies, I'm better than Feng Xiaogang."

That's the truth; there's nothing to be modest about.

Upon hearing this, applause erupted, clearly indicating that everyone agreed with the statement.

Jiang Yifeng paused for a moment, then continued, "I said a long time ago that my goal is to become a people's artist and to create works that the masses like to watch."

This is actually the root of comedy.

Good comedy must depict the lives of ordinary people and small characters.

Zhao Benshan has always portrayed stories of farmers, and Zhou Xingchi's films at their peak also told stories of ordinary people.

Feng Xiaogang's comedies, while retaining a touch of the common people in their early years, have become increasingly sophisticated and elitist in recent years, much like Zhou Libo's Shanghai-style stand-up comedy, exuding an air of elitism.

While the main characters in Feng Xiaogang's comedies were all drinking coffee, Feng Xiaogang himself forgot about the taste of garlic.

There may still be some viewers who like this type of movie, but it's definitely not the majority.

Therefore, the decline of Feng Xiaogang's comedies was inevitable, because they lost their mass appeal.

Even if Feng Xiaogang makes his "personalized customization" videos incredibly impressive, it won't resonate with the general public.

My comedies have always adhered to the perspective of ordinary people.

When filming "Lost in Dali," my biggest worry was that it wouldn't be grounded in reality, since in everyone's mind, Dali is a place that artsy young people love to go.

So I cast Huang Bai to play Geng Hao, and portrayed Geng Hao as an ordinary man whose edges have been worn down by the daily grind, who not only lacks any heroic spirit, but is also quite pathetic.

Initially, I planned to find a handsome guy to play Geng Hao, so that he could be better compared to Xu Zheng's Hao Yi.

A handsome man lost his charm after self-castration, was disliked by others, and eventually got divorced.

Another overweight middle-aged man, however, was able to party every night because he was shameless and despicable.

This contrast can make the plot more dramatic.

But I ultimately decided against it. Comedy needs to be funny, and Huang Bai's portrayal of Geng Hao is more relatable and funnier.

Jiang Yifeng's answer was direct and honest, revealing not only his creative ideas but also Feng Xiaogang's true colors.

If this were to spread widely, Feng Xiaogang's comedies would be finished.

In the past two years, Zhou Libo's coffee and garlic theory has become very popular, just like the future of Apple and Android.

If the audience truly agrees with Jiang Yifeng's remarks and feels that Feng Xiaogang's comedies have too much of an elitist feel.

Then the Feng-style comedy brand will really collapse.

(End of this chapter)