If a man wants to find the perfect wife, how many women should he
date? The answer is 12, according to New Year comedy
Call for
Love.
Middle-aged office worker Xu Lang (played by Xu Zheng) ends his
seven-year marriage and starts a new life dating 12 beautiful women
from each of the 12 horoscope signs. The man enjoys his dates as he
deals with the difficulties of marriage and the harsh realities of
life.
Chinese actor Xu Zheng, who plays the role of the Hong Kong
property developer in black comedy Crazy Stone, is the
lead actor in this film.
"Dating 12 beautiful women in the film has been fun but dealing
with 12 women has also been hard work," he joked at the Beijing
premiere last Thursday.
The 12 beauties include some of the most famous women in Chinese
showbiz, including TV hosts, actors, singers and models. Taiwan
actress Annie Yi and mainland actresses Fan Bingbing (Cell
Phone), Qin Hailu and Ning Jing (In the Heat of
the Sun) play some of the 12 women.
In the last few years veteran director Feng Xiaogang, who is
famous for his glib and ironic dialogue, has lead the field in the
production of lunar-new-year movies (hesuipian, movies to greet the
traditional New Year). Since Feng turned his focus other genres,
like his martial epic The Banquet (2006), the hesuipian
market has dried up.
Call for Love is the only Chinese comedy to be released
over this year's Spring Festival. Director Zhang Jianya says
that he hopes the movie will signal a return to the original
Chinese lunar-new-year movies.
Screenwriter Liu Yiwei, who is also a famous TV host, said he
would have liked to play himself in the film. "I regret missing the
opportunity to date these 12 women even if it is just a film," he
joked.
Call for Love will be officially released on DVD on
February 15 with English subtitles by CAV Warner Home Entertainment
Company.
(China Daily February 16, 2007)
