My Fair Gentleman 窈窕绅士

just finished watch this film today. i have heard of sun hong lei 孙红雷, knowing he's one of the best actors from mainland china. this is the first time i've seen his movie. it looks like an average rom-com standard commercial film, probably not the best film to start if i was to know what talents this guy has. BUT i was wrong! sure it's got all the standard rom-com storyline and cliches but his performance really saved it. sun was very effective at carrying comic reliefs throughout the whole film. his line delivery was great and his expressions/emotions were perfect in every scene. he single handedly elevated this formulaic rom-com to something quite special and entertaining to watch. i laughed so much from beginning to end.

the story goes like this, sun plays a really rich guy in shanghai but he has terrible manners. he wanted to pursue the girl of his dreams, a famous super model. even with so much money, there's no way he'll get the girl because of his manners. he's loud, rude, and very ignorant. he knows he has no chance after an incident with the super model at a party. he met an advertising guru one day who was trying to pitch her ideas to rebrand his business. he gets hooked on the idea of "style over substance", if the products are packaged and advertised well enough, they'll sell no matter of quality. so he accepted the deal but under one condition: he wants to be rebranded FIRST. the transformation begins and hilarity ensures.

the advertising guru is played by the gorgeous (surprise surprise) kelly lin and her performance is up to par with sun. the two makes the cutest pairing in chinese films this year. i'm sure everyone knows how the film would end but the acting really made this one of the better chinese films this year. here's the trailer for your viewing pleasure: