The protagonist, Xia Luo, is a completely failed male character. He can be described as utterly incompetent, relying on his wife (also his high school classmate) Ma Dongmei to support his entire life. However, for some reason, he feels that his wife is not worthy of him. He is crazily nostalgic and infatuated with the school beauty from his high school days, Qiu Ya.
After getting drunk at Qiu Ya's wedding, he travels through time in a dream, returning to his high school days. He seizes the opportunity to become successful by plagiarizing the works of a future musical genius (Jay Chou), and he wins the admiration of the school beauty, Qiu Ya. However, he quickly feels that life is incredibly empty, and beneath Qiu Ya's beautiful exterior lies a frivolous soul. Eventually, the version of him in the dream world is abandoned by everyone, while only Ma Dongmei remains faithfully by his side.
Back in reality, he's still a failure, but now he's become a failure who is (quite literally) hanging onto his wife, Ma Dongmei. What a touching story.
In the movie, there are two main female characters, Ma Dongmei and Qiu Ya.
Ma Dongmei, as a hardworking and capable woman, is only recognized and appreciated in the movie because of her baseless infatuation with Xia Luo. And Xia Luo's only form of repayment to her after waking up from the dream is his "love," as if this is all this woman expects from him. Furthermore, the portrayal of Ma Dongmei's love in the movie is also questionable. It suggests that a woman's love is only genuine when she tirelessly cares for a man, treating him like a giant baby in her arms.
The portrayal of the other female character, Qiu Ya, is even more malicious. Qiu Ya doesn't love Xia Luo. At the beginning of the movie, she marries a man who is as ugly as a pig (in Xia Luo's eyes). However, in Xia Luo's dream, Qiu Ya admires him deeply because of his (plagiarized) talent. In Xia Luo's eyes, the only reason Qiu Ya doesn't love him is because of his poverty. If he were to gain enough social resources and achieve a high enough social status, then Qiu Ya would marry him, just like she marries that ugly man. The movie uses this to illustrate the value of Ma Dongmei. Shouldn't it be that Qiu Ya simply inherently doesn't love Xia Luo, just as she wouldn't fall in love with any other random guy? The characterization of Qiu Ya deeply stigmatizes women.
I must admit that I found many scenes in this movie quite amusing. In fact, the creators have a great talent for comedy. However, the creators' talent cannot overshadow the sexist elements within the movie's theme. These sexist components turn this film into a chocolate-flavored piece of crap - perhaps enjoyable in the moment, but nauseating to think about afterwards.
After getting drunk at Qiu Ya's wedding, he travels through time in a dream, returning to his high school days. He seizes the opportunity to become successful by plagiarizing the works of a future musical genius (Jay Chou), and he wins the admiration of the school beauty, Qiu Ya. However, he quickly feels that life is incredibly empty, and beneath Qiu Ya's beautiful exterior lies a frivolous soul. Eventually, the version of him in the dream world is abandoned by everyone, while only Ma Dongmei remains faithfully by his side.
Back in reality, he's still a failure, but now he's become a failure who is (quite literally) hanging onto his wife, Ma Dongmei. What a touching story.
In the movie, there are two main female characters, Ma Dongmei and Qiu Ya.
Ma Dongmei, as a hardworking and capable woman, is only recognized and appreciated in the movie because of her baseless infatuation with Xia Luo. And Xia Luo's only form of repayment to her after waking up from the dream is his "love," as if this is all this woman expects from him. Furthermore, the portrayal of Ma Dongmei's love in the movie is also questionable. It suggests that a woman's love is only genuine when she tirelessly cares for a man, treating him like a giant baby in her arms.
The portrayal of the other female character, Qiu Ya, is even more malicious. Qiu Ya doesn't love Xia Luo. At the beginning of the movie, she marries a man who is as ugly as a pig (in Xia Luo's eyes). However, in Xia Luo's dream, Qiu Ya admires him deeply because of his (plagiarized) talent. In Xia Luo's eyes, the only reason Qiu Ya doesn't love him is because of his poverty. If he were to gain enough social resources and achieve a high enough social status, then Qiu Ya would marry him, just like she marries that ugly man. The movie uses this to illustrate the value of Ma Dongmei. Shouldn't it be that Qiu Ya simply inherently doesn't love Xia Luo, just as she wouldn't fall in love with any other random guy? The characterization of Qiu Ya deeply stigmatizes women.
I must admit that I found many scenes in this movie quite amusing. In fact, the creators have a great talent for comedy. However, the creators' talent cannot overshadow the sexist elements within the movie's theme. These sexist components turn this film into a chocolate-flavored piece of crap - perhaps enjoyable in the moment, but nauseating to think about afterwards.