Lightning striking – both literally and figuratively – is the narrative key around which the most popular comedy of the year revolves. Released in theatres during the October national holiday, Never Say Die was a huge hit, taking 2.18 billion CNY at the box office and becoming the most successful commercial comedy to date in the history of Chinese cinema.
The film is the adaptation of a 2014 theatrical comedy by the Mahua Fun Age group, and was written and directed by the same two directors who wrote and directed it for the stage. The popular Beijing group had already used the same formula of turning a theatrical piece into a movie with their previous film 2015’s Goodbye Mr. Loser which was a hit with both critics and audiences alike, and for Never Say Die, they capitalized on Mr. Loser’s success and the use of a similar narrative ploy involving an exchange. But while the exchange in Mr. Loser is a temporal one – a man going through a mid-life crisis finds himself miraculously travelling through time and reliving his youth and the decisive choices he made back then – in Never Say Die the exchange is one of sexual identity, and is caused by a bolt of lightning that strikes the two protagonists while they are arguing at the edge of a swimming pool. The two are Edison, a corrupt boxer who, at the end of his competitive career, seems to be on the verge of failure, and Ma Xiao, an high-minded young journalist who wants to bring to light the corruption in the sport and who never backs down. But Xiao is also the girlfriend of one of Edison’s opponents and the daughter of his agent – a man willing to accept any compromise that will make him a profit, and for this reason estranged from Ma Xiao.
In a hotel, Ma Xiao records a compromising conversation between her father and Edison, but as Edison chases her to try and get hold of the cell phone containing the recording, the pair fall into the hotel pool when they are struck by a sudden thunderbolt, which unites them in an unintended kiss. When they wake up in hospital they find that each is now in the other’s body. Shocked but determined to regain possession of their sexual identities, the two are forced to collaborate to try to resolve the situation themselves, aware that no one else will ever believe what has happened. They try giving themselves repeated electric shocks, but the situation seems hopeless, so Edison decides to train Ma Xiao for the fight he’s been preparing for. In a series of plot twists, the truth about Edison’s moral integrity, the true nature of Ma Xiao’s boyfriend, and the power of a kiss are gradually revealed...
The film’s success derives less from the story itself than from the breathless succession of side-splitting scenes and hilarious dialogue, as well as the irresistible physical comedy which is characteristic of stage actors. Some of the scenes showing the two protagonists attempting to get used to living one in the other’s skins – the modest Ma Xiao asking Edison not to look at her body while he is taking a shower and Edison enjoying the opportunity of going to a women-only sauna – are very funny, but even more amusing is the episode where Ma Xiao’s father – the only person who is aware of the situation and who tries to help them – takes them to a monastery where a famous martial arts master submits them to a training session consisting of bizarre challenges. Considering the success of the first two films produced by this theatre group, it is reasonable to imagine that their cinematographic career will not be stopping here.
Song Yang
He studied at the National Defence University. A historical member of the Mahua Fun Age group, he has appeared as an actor in ten of the group’s shows – of which three written and directed by himself – including the theatrical version of Never Say Die.
FILMOGRAPHY
2017 – Never Say Die
Zhang Chiyu
Zhang Chiyu is a member of the Ma Hua Fun Age group and Never Say Die is his debut film as director.
FILMOGRAPHY
2017 – Never Say Die
Maria Barbieri