"Sister, why do you call aunt mom?" "Blame me, blame me for not taking the lead."
"Dad." "Hey."
"Mom." "Hey, Mom heard me."
Halfway through the Spring Festival, the Chinese drama market, which had been experiencing a "drama shortage", has become lively again.
Yangba took the lead in "going out", first bringing a period youth drama "When Time Has Love", and then a period romance drama "Love in the Age of Innocence".
Period dramas are always indispensable during the Chinese New Year, but I always feel that there is still a lack of a genre suitable for all ages, period family life dramas.
When it comes to the most popular genre of period dramas in the past two years, period family dramas definitely occupy a place, and they are also the most popular ones.
For example, "In the World", which reintroduced period dramas to the table, or "Six Sisters", which was released during the Spring Festival last year.
Where are the period family dramas this year?
On February 23rd, tonight, another period family drama will be aired on CCTV's prime time series. It is "Good Time" directed by Liu Jiacheng and his son, starring Mei Ting, Tian Yu, and Chen Haoyu.
Two episodes every night from Monday to Saturday, broadcast online on Mango TV.
Being able to meet the audience on CCTV's prime time during the Spring Festival, this new drama certainly has something to offer.
Then let us take a look in advance to see what the highlights of this year's Yangyi Lunar New Year drama will be like, and we can accompany thousands of families to spend this wonderful time of the New Year full of human touch.
1. Story: Focus on reorganized families and show the tenderness and watchfulness over 30 years.
Period dramas are often set in the Northeast, but the story of "Good Times" takes place in a small town in the Southwest.
The story begins in 1978. Machinery factory worker Zhuang Xianxian (played by Tian Yu) and song and dance troupe actor Su Xiaoman (played by Mei Ting), one with two sons and a daughter, the other with a son and a daughter, formed a reorganized family.
From differences in diet, conflicts between children to common persistence under the restructuring of state-owned enterprises, the family began to watch out for thirty years of warmth, rice, oil and salt.
Judging from the trailer, the story of "Good Times" has at least three highlights:
One is to reorganize the warm bonds of family.
As a period family drama, this drama is not obsessed with depicting the grand narrative of history.
Instead, it depicts the story of a family of seven with lighthearted narrative and countless touching details.
Su Xiaoman and Zhuang Xianxian, who were each widowed, met unexpectedly in the second half of their lives. From setting off firecrackers and making sugar dumplings to walking together on rainy days and delivering New Year's dishes late at night, the two got closer and closer and decided to start a family.
But if you bring a bunch of careless kids together, it's all a show.
Before the marriage was even concluded, the two families started pushing each other on the street.
Su Xiaoman's daughter blames her for thinking about remarrying.
Zhuang Xianxian directly told his eldest daughter, Zhuang Haohao, that she would no longer have a biological father.
Zhuang Xian was angry, but despite all the difficulties, he still married Su Xiaoman.
Since Su Xiaoman married into the banker, a new round of chaos has begun.
From the farmer's eating habit of eating green onions, to the conflict over who is in charge of the family to solve the problem of eating for the family, to several children quarreling directly at the dinner table.
The family just warmed up in the daily necessities of life.
There’s also the emotional tug.
Zhuang Xuexue, played by Liu Yitie, and Wang Yuanyuan, played by Zhang Yue, were childhood sweethearts. However, after their parents remarried, the two became "brother and sister" in the household registration book, and they could only keep their budding love in their hearts.
The director did not use strong conflict routines, but used lighthearted narratives and life details to focus on the ups and downs of reorganizing a family.
From the rejection between children, financial pressure, and emotional running-in, to the words "Dad" and "Mom" melting away the barriers, the children of the two families finally truly recognized each other. The ups and downs during this period were enough to attract the audience.
The second is the strong feelings of the years.
The play is based on the life texture of an ordinary family and unfolds an emotional scroll that spans time. It is also a scroll that spans the years from the late 1970s to the early 21st century.
From the food stamp era to the millennium, the flying chickens and tender guardianship in the Tongzi Tower also reflect the changes of the times as the times move forward.
For example, Zhuang Xuexue and Zhuang Xianxian's apprentice Liu Cheng both took the college entrance examination, and Liu Cheng eventually became the first college student in the class.
Another example is that the bankers all experienced the restructuring of state-owned enterprises in the 1990s,
Under the impact of sea fever.
Zhuang Haohao supported his family's livelihood as a tram conductor in the early stage, showed his talent as a singer in a dance hall in the middle period, and later became a trend-setter in the individual economy by founding the "Haohao Haohai Goods" brand, which completely outlines the struggle of young people in the wave of the times.
During this period, some people succeeded, some were frustrated, and some lost themselves in the rush.
The story "seeing the big from the small" not only tells the ups and downs of a family over the past thirty years, but also a condensed history of the changes of the times. Every detail hides the collective memory of a generation.
This strong feeling of the years also allows the audience to recall the changes of the years in the light and shadow, and it is difficult not to be touched.
The third is the true age texture.
In order to bring a sense of the era, the style of the southwest small town from the late 1970s to the early 21st century was restored.
The crew built a real-life space at Changsha Shuguang Tea Factory, accurately restoring the style of a state-owned factory family home: mottled brick walls, enamel washbasins, 28 bicycles, blue cotton-padded jackets and other old objects create a vivid texture of the times.
From the red slogans in the machinery factory to the neon signs in the dance hall, every frame carries the youthful memories of the fathers, and can bring the audience back to the old days filled with fireworks in just one second.
This kind of craftsmanship and craftsmanship can create works with a strong flavor of the times.
2. Actors: Leading by Mei Ting and Tian Yu, with supporting roles by Li Xueqin and Wang Renjun, a gathering of talented actors
If you want to revitalize a period drama, the performance of the actors is also crucial.
How about the strength of the cast of "Good Times"?
First place, Mei Ting
Many people know Mei Ting because of An Jie in "Parents' Love". This drama also established Mei Ting's position in the hearts of period drama audiences.
Mei Ting, who has just performed outstandingly in two well-received dramas "The Year of Peace" and "The Tree of Life", this time is no longer the pampered young lady An Jie in "Parents' Love", but Su Xiaoman, a single mother with two children who works hard to run the house.
This character has the gentleness and agility of a dancer, as well as the forbearance and restraint that have gone through the ups and downs of life.
Especially the sentence in the trailer, "Although the two children are having a lot of fun together, my heart is warm", every look and every action is full of story-telling.
After years of honing her acting skills, Mei Ting is obviously more suitable for such an emotionally layered and difficult role.
What I'm wondering now is if this will be her new classic role.
Second, Tian Yu
In recent years, Tian Yu has been a prime supporting actor in Chinese dramas and has worked with Zhang Ruoyun, Jin Dong, Huo Jianhua, Qin Hao, etc. He can be called a versatile player, but he rarely plays the male lead.
This time, he finally played the role of a clumsy-tongued, warm-hearted eighth-level fitter in a machinery factory. He looked like an authentic master worker in every move he made.
Although he is stupid, he is brave and careful. The factory director was supervising the work so that the workers could not sleep. Zhuang Xianxian directly criticized: "You have to work a little bit, and you have to eat every bite."
He is also good at making love between his parents. He pursues Su Xiaoman. When he sees his sweetheart running out of coal, he helps to drag her away. When he sees a photo of Su Xiaoman dancing, he praises her very much. He also makes his own little "surroundings" for Su Xiaoman's dancing.
But it was he, holding on to the money to buy out his seniority, wandering absentmindedly at the deserted factory gate.
Tian Yu, who is recognized for his good acting skills, rarely wins acting awards. It remains to be seen whether he can get an acting nomination this time.
Third place, Li Xueqin
After seeing Li Xueqin, many people may still be impressed by her natural performance in films such as "The Aviator".
This time, I played the role of Ye Aihua, a Northeastern girl who falls in love with her master Zhuang Xianxian. She is a straightforward and enthusiastic Northeastern girl. She is also the comedy in the play. She is simply acting in her true colors.
In the trailer, her performance was already very funny, pretending to be Zhuang Xue's mother, and saying "what's your name? Just call me mom";
Attack the master with a direct ball and ask the master to stop looking at the sky and look around to make me smile.
Such a down-to-earth role is where Li Xueqin's acting reigns. A mouthful of dirt brings a sense of joy, so she is sure to excel.
Fourth place, Chen Haoyu
Chen Haoyu, who shined in Sister Lang last year, finally has a role that can be seen by the audience.
The eldest daughter she plays, Zhuang Haohao, is not only a trendy fashionista with big waves, bell-bottoms and high heels who sings, but she is also the "fixed star" of the entire family.
She is the one who heads the house, she is the one who helps her half-sister get through her period, she is the one who buys Walkmans for her younger siblings, and she is the one who talks business for her younger brother and drinks until he is hospitalized.
As the character introduction said, she is like a wild flower on the top of a mountain, growing tenaciously and carrying a whole family, but she was abandoned by her first love boyfriend.
But she is not a bitter heroine. Zhou Chengao left and Wang Renjun came.
The richness of the characters and the likability of the characters are very strong, it all depends on Chen Haoyu's own performance.
Fifth place, Wang Renjun
Wang Renjun, who has performed well in dramas such as "Ask the Cangmang" in recent years, plays a role close to that in "Do You Know", a true gentleman.
In the play, his character never leaves Zhuang Hao, who has experienced emotional ups and downs. He supports whatever his wife says, and he is most likely the most reliable of the brothers-in-law in the play.
Wang Renjun plays such a gentle and elegant character, and there is almost zero risk of overturning.
In addition, there are also powerful actors such as Su Xiaoding, Liu Yitie, Zhang Yue, Ke Lan, and Zhang Yujian to help out, and the acting skills of the group are stable.
3. Creative team: Directors Liu Jiacheng and his son, with rich experience in period themes
Period dramas cover a large time span, and to make a period drama well requires high demands on the creative team.
The directors of "Good Time", Liu Jiacheng and his son, are the directors of "All Things", one of the biggest hits in Chinese dramas last year.
Liu Jiacheng is the "Ding Hai Shen Pin" in the field of period dramas. His films "Love in the Courtyard" and "The Little Woman of the Zhengyang Gate" are recognized as masterpieces.
What he is best at is capturing the fireworks in life and creating portraits of characters with strong plots.
Screenwriter Hao Yan's representative works are "Wang Dahua's Revolutionary Career" and "Our Ten Years", etc., and his production is equally stable.
Judging from the trailer, the quality of the show is quite solid. Some of the scenes and atmospheres of the era look very real, and you can immediately be transported to that era.
There are no earth-shattering plot twists in the several versions of the trailer, but more about the lively and real life of the Zhuang family through their meals, words, and day-to-day interactions in the long and slow years.
In a word, it is stable.
write at the end
In the past year, a number of period dramas such as "All Things Are Born" have continued to dominate the screen. It can be seen that period dramas are a genre that audiences love very much at any time.
In "Good Time" there is the steady flow of "parental love", the younger generation chasing dreams and following the times, and the daily fireworks of two families becoming one family.
Judging from the story, main creative, cast and other configurations, it is obvious that the period drama has the potential to be a hit.
Elders who have experienced that era can see their own youthful years, while young people can understand the tenacity and difficulty of their parents' generation.
No matter how the times change, ordinary people are always trying to live a good life.
Just like the director's own works such as "The Little Woman under the Zhengyang Gate" and "All Creatures", this play also uses the lives of small people to reflect the changes of the big era.
In a small home, a good show going on for decades is going on.
The fun of life, the weight of time, and the various aspects of life are all integrated into it.
The best taste in the world is happiness, and the most beautiful life is ordinary.
The so-called good time is never the highlight moment that belongs to one person alone, but every ordinary day that the family walks through hand in hand.
And in the New Year, through a long drama spanning 30 years and the intersection of joy and sorrow between two generations, we can also relive the "good times" that have passed away.
Although time flies by, we have this moment and the family around us, so we are not afraid of the future.
