Among the big-budget films on the National Day schedule, "It Doesn't Look So Passionate" is really inconspicuous. Since its release, there has not been much popularity to speak of, and many viewers have even habitually ignored the film. It's no wonder that the quality of several Happy Twist comedy movies in recent years has been less than satisfactory, which has also damaged the reputation of Wei Xiang, Wang Zhi and others who are "familiar faces" in Twist's works. Although they are really a little unjust, because "It doesn't seem that passionate" they starred in is not a happy twist work.
"It doesn't seem that exciting" poster
Speaking of Happy Twist, another negative factor about this film is that it is a remake. Although the film has made it clear from the beginning that it is a remake of the Spanish film "Basketball Champions", the audience is not too convinced - these days, when they hear about a remake, they can argue that it lacks originality and relies on IP. Attracting attention equals the sign. This cannot be blamed on the audience. Who has made many remake movies overturn over the years?
"Basketball Champions" was released in mainland China in 2019
However, coming back to "It Seems So Hot", maybe you don't have to make preconceptions, because this film is really okay, and it even has a little surprise. Compared with many blockbusters that are trying hard to grab the box office and gain reputation, this film knows that plainness is the real thing - there are not so many fancy tricks, but Wei Xiang and others finally found the meaning of comedy.
What is the meaning of comedy? If you interpret it simply and crudely as comedy and fun, which means that the audience must be forced to scratch their armpits for a certain number of minutes, then sooner or later you will go astray. Think about Happy Twist's movies in recent years. Almost all of them are made up of various jokes. It can't be said that there are no funny jokes, but they are far from real comedy movies.
Stills from "It doesn't seem that exciting"
Thinking back again, the few movies that made Happy Twist famous, whether it is "Charlotte Trouble" or "The Richest Man in Xihong City", all have a clear core, that is, the frustrated protagonist regains his life through a series of events or adventures. I got to know myself and re-understood life. If the protagonists of dramas are always higher than the average person, then the protagonists of comedies are often lower than the average person. The perspective of looking from the bottom up is not only a kind of self-mockery and self-explanation, but also an attitude of courage to face the truth of life.
This is why the films of Chaplin, Stephen Chow and others can always impress the audience - not only because they always focus their cameras on "little people", but also because they can deeply and meticulously observe the people at the bottom of society through exaggerated camera language. Every move, and the ups and downs behind it. Of course, "It's not that exciting" is still far from reaching such a state, but at least this time, the position is right, and it doesn't treat vulgarity as fun like farces such as "Super Family" and "Li Cha's Aunt" , casually consuming the suffering and pain of little people.
Although the subject matter involves basketball for people with disabilities, the film treats them from a "head-level" perspective from beginning to end. Whether it is the training of the "House of Humanity" players by the coach played by Wei Xiang, or their competition with ordinary basketball players, they all highlight the importance of treating everyone equally, especially when countless spectators in the basketball park shouted "Get it" in unison. The scene of "the ball talks" is still very touching.
Stills from "It doesn't seem that exciting"
As for the foreshadowing laid down from the beginning of the film, it is not only a reversal of the routine, but also a very reasonable explanation for why Wei Xiang can understand these disabled team members and why he is willing to pour enthusiasm and love into them (herein, it is No spoilers). It can be seen that this time at least some care was taken in polishing the script. This is a long time coming for audiences who like Chinese comedies.
The "anti-inspirational" theme of this film is also a rare novelty in Chinese comedies - although it is also "borrowed" from the original film. Coach Wei would rather let the players play singles at the last moment of the final than use more utilitarian tactics to win. The players of "House of Humanity" really enjoyed the fun of basketball.
Stills from "It doesn't seem that exciting"
When Coach Wei and the team members said goodbye reluctantly, choked with sobs that they could not speak, we finally understood the true meaning of the title "It doesn't seem to be that exciting" - how can there be so many ideal happy endings in life? As long as you work hard and struggle, even if the result is unsatisfactory, you will still be "bloody" after all. Needless to say, when the movie started, there were people on the left and right playing with their mobile phones and chatting quietly. When I saw this, I actually heard faint sobbing. Anyway, this is also the success of this film.
Of course, the film has many flaws. The most prominent problem is the swing in the focus of the narrative. One moment it is about how the utilitarian Coach Wei overcomes his inner demons and lets go of his obsessions, and the next moment it is about the different attitudes of Wei Xiang and Wang Zhi towards children with disabilities. The root cause of this phenomenon is that Chinese comedies seem to be unable to get rid of the vicious cycle of leaving some "education" and "enlightenment" to the audience. In fact, looking back, "Charlotte Troubles" didn't have any high "intentions" back then, right? Perhaps, like Coach Wei in this film, Chinese comedies should also travel lightly.
Another problem is the misunderstanding, that is, since it is a comedy, it cannot make the audience too "bad". Therefore, in this film, we can actually see a basketball team composed of disabled students playing back and forth with normal athletes. What's even more outrageous is that all the disabled team members have special skills, like a superhero league waiting to be discovered. They seem to be careful even when describing the difficulties of disabled people in daily life. In fact, these settings highly weaken the practical significance of the film, making it seem suspended and distorted, which is regrettable.
Stills from "It doesn't seem that exciting"
In fact, just like the character played by Wei Xiang, we all have the obsession to prove ourselves in daily life, and we all realize our own limitations and powerlessness due to various setbacks and difficulties. In a sense, this is why all audiences need comedy movies - through joking and self-deprecation on the big screen, we invisibly complete the reconciliation between ourselves and life.
In this case, film creators should not simply understand comedy as the catharsis of emotions, but should have a deeper understanding of its inseparable and close connection with real life. Chinese comedy movies do not necessarily have to be "bloody", but they should be a little more liberal.
