The plot that followed was even more thrilling.
Explosions followed by monsters, monsters followed by colossal objects, with all sorts of special effects thrown in like they were free.
In the film and television industry, there's a specific term called "spectacle shot," which is commonly known as a "grand scene."
Humans are visual creatures. No matter how good or bad the plot is, when we see something huge or a magnificent scene, the first emotion our brains react to is still "Wow!"
In "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," Laura Mulvey says, "'Seeing' itself is a source of pleasure."
Numb sensory nerves are activated, and regardless of your rational thoughts, your vision and hearing are already involuntarily immersed in the beauty and grandeur of the behemoth.
Bigger is better, bigger is more beautiful. This is an ironclad rule of film. While a constant barrage of audiovisual stimulation can be tiring, it's still better than becoming drowsy!
By this standard, "Happiness Street, Please Come In!" can be described as absolutely beautiful.
Qingping Entertainment's meticulous budgeting paid off, and Shang Yechu's advance payments were indeed put to good use. Although the story never strayed from this street, large-scale scenes were seamlessly and cleverly incorporated.
Moreover, the film is very good at controlling the pace. Unlike some blockbuster popcorn movies that just keep going on and on without any regard for the audience's ears or heart, this one doesn't suffer from the problems of some other popcorn movies.
After each major scene or plot development, a short, lighthearted segment is inserted to ease the audience's tension. Sometimes, the approach changes, with the main characters creating unexpected laughs during tense and exciting escapes. Surprisingly, after several tens of minutes, the film doesn't leave the viewer feeling too mentally fatigued.
At the same time, the film also made use of each protagonist's identity and distinctive characteristics to break the deadlock.
For example, at the "Frozen Mailbox" ice cream shop, the clerk, wearing a creepy smile, is about to scoop out a dollop of "sad" flavored ice cream for the main characters. Eating such bizarre ice cream on this street is, in a best-case scenario, certain death.
In a life-or-death situation, Sister Hong stepped forward and, drawing on her years of experience battling wits with unscrupulous vendors in the market, immediately noticed that the ice cream clerk was weighing it several tens of grams short. She then accused the ice cream shop of shortchanging her customers. She then threw a tantrum, threatening to report them to the Consumer Protection Bureau and the Market Supervision Bureau.
Finally, the owner of the "Frozen Mailbox" shop had to step in, bowing and scraping as he begged Sister Hong not to report him. He even offered to let the entire main cast sample the food for free. And incidentally, he turned the employee who had cheated on the customer into an ice cream.
For example, in the dessert shop episode, since the fat guy hadn't been able to contribute much to the team, he volunteered to go inside for an adventure when they passed by the dessert shop. This was a way of putting his only talent to use.
As a result, the dim-witted fat man triggered a taboo in the dessert shop, creating a rushing river of desserts. The scene was quite spectacular, and the little boy next to the fast-talking Lao Liu was ecstatic; if his mother hadn't covered his mouth, he probably would have started screaming.
According to the dessert shop's rules, the fat man cannot leave the shop until he finishes all the desserts along the river. This is a rule that is simply impossible to fulfill.
In this critical moment, Huang Feizhang even had the leisure to tease the fat man: "Now, you'll be set for life!"
Of course, as a family-friendly Lunar New Year film, the fat guy can't possibly die here. Through continuous research, the main characters discover a loophole in the dessert shop's rules: when the fat guy utters sweet words, the desserts in the shop will devour each other in a competition for those sweet words.
However, the same sweet words can only belong to one dessert. If a fat person dares to repeat them a second time, his mouth will crack.
In other words, as long as you say a thousand or two different sweet nothings, the fat man still has a chance to escape.
Everyone was worried because there was no signal inside the Rules Street, so they couldn't connect to the internet to help Fatty cheat and come up with all those sweet nothings. Fatty wasn't Shakespeare reincarnated; where did he get so many sweet nothings from?
Just when everyone was at a loss, the fat man suddenly cleared his throat and started spouting cringeworthy, chuunibyou (delusional) quotes from anime and manga!
"Fight! Fight to the last moment! Let my body become the last bastion of this land!"
"There's only one reason you lost: you became my enemy!"
"Great Lamp God, please listen to the chants of your followers..."
Amidst a burst of high-energy background music, a non-stop stream of cringeworthy, cheesy lines poured from the fat man's mouth, and the desserts in the dessert shop began to devour each other in a frenzy. The scene was a blend of the bizarre, the dazzling, and the comical. The director even borrowed a classic composition from an anime, making the fat man standing amidst the sugar pile look like a creator god.
Xiao Ye, Huang Feizhang, and Sister Hong stood to the side, completely dumbfounded.
The lines the fat man spoke at this moment were mostly from "migrant worker comics" (works with an extremely wide audience, familiar even to busy migrant workers), containing many well-known memes, as well as some that have become relics of the past. In any case, many middle-aged and young people present immediately felt a sense of familiarity.
Even Lao Liu forgot his original purpose of making money. He was suddenly filled with excitement and recalled the passionate days when he poured his sweat and tears into creating virtual characters...
Who hasn't been young?
People tend to always feel a sense of nostalgia for the things they loved in their youth. Coupled with highly evocative music and the stark contrast in the fat man's appearance before and after, it was truly a stroke of genius.
That initial beauty buried deep in my heart...
The film *Happy Street*'s use of relatable, character-driven methods to break through barriers is a major highlight. This approach was subsequently imitated by numerous similar films and novels. So much so that by the time this genre reached its peak, audiences and readers alike complained that they could predict how a character would break the rules simply by seeing their profession—of course, that came much later.
The actor who played the fat man suffered a lot for this scene. The reason was simple: he thought it was too silly.
What's burning? What exactly is burning?
This scene was reshot 26 times, and Ye Chu and the others watched in stunned silence alongside the fat man 26 times. Ye Chu was very professional and didn't get angry; Huang Feizhang, however, couldn't hold back and almost got into a fight with the fat man.
Gu Wenhua flew into a rage, even threatening to replace the actor. The actor playing the fat man had been working in the entertainment industry for many years, knowing how rare an opportunity was. Finally, he worked hard, casting aside all pride and shame, and with immense pride and passion, finished the scene.
Gu Wenhua's insistence was indeed not without reason. Although this scene seemed quite foolish during filming, it was remarkably effective in the movie.
That's the charm of light and shadow games.
Fast-talking Lao Liu was suddenly filled with enthusiasm, and his hands trembled slightly as he typed on his phone. He had intended to criticize the stereotypes movies held about anime and manga fans, but when his fingers touched the keyboard, he typed—
"Where the leaves dance in the air, the fire will never be extinguished!"
That's enough, that's enough.
The quick-tongued Lao Liu stopped his hand from cursing.
This is his youth too!
Furthermore, even amidst the raging flood, the film didn't abandon its humor. As Xiao Ye and his friends ran for their lives, Huang Feizhang, while running, kept picking at the corner of his mouth, exclaiming, "I'm crying tears of joy! Crying tears of joy!"
Of course, a decent commercial film also needs emotional moments. Through continuous teamwork, the main characters are also growing rapidly.
Xiao Ye gradually opened up and confessed to everyone that her dream was to become an astronomer, rather than follow her grandmother's wishes to get into a good university and become a high-paying accountant.
The fat man laughed and said, "An accountant? A high salary is not guaranteed, but prison food is plentiful."
Hongjie also poured out her troubles to everyone. Her tendency to be greedy wasn't due to inherent stinginess, but rather because she had no income and could only scrape together money from her husband's meager savings. She wanted to save up enough money to open a small breakfast stall and become a self-reliant woman…
Huang Feizhang said casually, "I only need to eat my fill, so my whole family isn't hungry. But actually, I also have dreams."
Everyone asked in surprise, "What?"
Huang Feizhang said proudly, "I want to be a great hero, like Huang Feihong."
Everyone burst into laughter and teased him.
These scenes involving Xiao Qiao, whether satirical or poignant, bring the main characters to life and make the audience feel more empathetic.
Although "Happy Street" is positioned as a mind-bending, action-packed film, Qingping Entertainment's internal report can write it that way, but the impression left in the audience's minds must not be that. It needs to elevate its themes appropriately, prompting deeper reflection.
This technique can add depth to a film, and it sounds better to say it that way. After all, everyone loves to add value and sophistication to their favorite works—that's another kind of satisfaction.
The main characters, relying on their wisdom and various quirky reasons, overcome numerous obstacles on Happiness Street. This allows the audience's emotions to smoothly transition from tension to "exhilaration" and "reassurance."
Films thrive in motion, and perish in stillness. After a brief moment of reassurance, a sudden turning point arrives.
The main characters rented a DVD at a video store. After the DVD was played, everyone was astonished.
The disc contained images of five people dying!
Instantly, peace and stability vanished. Sister Hong panicked first, wanting to return to the bookstore to find her daughter. Fatty also lost his fighting spirit, collapsing to the spot and refusing to move. Huang Feizhang and Xiao Ye had a huge argument, and the two went their separate ways.
The main characters, who had been working together as a team, suddenly scattered like birds and beasts, causing anxiety to rise again.
Xiao Ye became a lone wolf, embarking on her solo adventure on Happiness Street. Meanwhile, Fatty and Sister Hong, having lost Xiao Ye's leadership, were quickly swallowed up by the rules of Happiness Street.
Hongjie's sacrifice was deeply moving. This woman, who had never read many books in her life, somehow managed to find a loophole in the rules and used her own life to save Lingling's, sending her daughter out of the Guyue Bookstore.
Night was approaching; if they didn't escape now, it would be too late.
Meanwhile, after overcoming numerous obstacles, Xiao Ye not only retrieved her tickets to the astronomy competition but also found a way to leave the pedestrian street from the underground shopping mall. She could have simply left, but having experienced the entire movie, Xiao Ye had grown. She gritted her teeth, retraced her steps, and went to find Sister Hong and the others, intending to lead them away together.
At this moment, Xiao Ye was unaware that Sister Hong and the others had already been swallowed up by the pedestrian street. After going through countless hardships, Xiao Ye only found Lingling, who was crying incessantly. She had no choice but to take Lingling's hand and head towards the exit.
It's too late.
Xiao Ye led Lingling along at a brisk pace, with only a few dozen seconds left on her phone.
It's too late.
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