Marketing success does not attest to a movie's quality

When I went to the gym recently, I was not surprised to see a coach approach me asking me to try out their boxing class. It is all because of the hit movie YOLO, which was released on the first day of the Chinese New Year. The film features a 30-something NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) woman taking up boxing to balance her sad life and inject some aggression into her please-all personality. The film raked in an impressive 3 billion yuan ($417,45 million) at the box office, while actor-director Jia Ling's remarkable 110-pound transformation for the role is triggering a rush to the gym as losing weight is trending.

Even before I entered the movie hall, I was being bombarded with all sorts of promotional videos luring me to watch the film. But having sat through the two-hour movie inside a dark hall, I feel sorry for the money and time I wasted. The film can at best be called an ideal motivation for losing weight. The story line is tacky, there are logical inconsistencies. Besides, every now and then some second-rate song plays in the background, not to forget some distorted values. For instance, why should the heroin, Du Leying, who has been an NEET for 10 years, suddenly take up boxing and even decide to participate in a boxing match just because her family and friends hurt her feelings? Even the sudden transformation of her cousin from a kind-hearted relative to a vicious TV station intern out to tarnish her cousin's image and life, and that of her former boyfriend from a simple boxing coach to one who despises her, all seem forced. All the plots are twisted just to ensure the spotlight remains on the heroine, as she loses weight and becomes stronger physically, devoid of any natural flow.

I find it uncomfortable that the film actually equates becoming slimmer and good-looking to becoming stronger and better. If there was something deeper the director wanted to convey, I missed it. The clumsy and far-fetched narrative of the film certainly does not show empowerment.

However, there were a few things I liked about the film — such as Leying not winning the match, which was logical, or when she turned down her former boyfriend in the end. But these don't do enough to rescue the film. By all means, YOLO is a successful film, but not a quality one. All the extravagant marketing gimmicks employed to make the film a success cannot conceal how weak the plot is.

The author is a writer with China Daily.