Lian lian bu wang

It's got all the nasty stuff – the heroine-turned-celebrity, the mother-turned-fury, the hatred beyond the grave that came from a misunderstanding. Sometimes it's downright obvious that the actors are overacting and you can't even trust the nose between their eyes, the dialogue at times is like something cut from a 50s novel. The twists and turns are predictable, basically one big pile of clichés. Plus they are all beautiful, rich, successful, ultimately moral, and full of love and forgiveness. Just typical Beijingers. On the other hand, I'm a sucker for this type of story: two people have a baby together, don't even know how, and it brings them together. I guess we all have our fetishes. I found the main character oddly likeable and easy to relate to, because he wasn't just a head of stupid talk and ideas. For the most part the characters had interesting portrayals and clear character development, all except for the main character, because you can't really get much more out of a saint. Another plus was the mischievous relationship between the main character's assistant and the young indiscreet girl – somehow those two always lifted my spirits. It has a lot of minuses and a smattering of pluses, yet I enjoyed it on the whole and watched it in three days (I'd say the rehearsals gave it more charm than it really has). A weaker 3 stars. (2015.01.29)