Big Red Envelope (2021)

Big Red Envelope (Chinese: 大红包) is a 2021 Chinese romantic comedy film written and directed by Li Kelong and starring Bao Bei'er, Clara Lee, Jia Bing, Zhang Yiming, Xu Juncong, Wang Xiaoli, Liao Weiwei, and Yue Yueli. It is a remake of director Li Kelong's own 2014 film Cash Gift. It was released in China on 22 January 2021.

Plot

Office workers Chen Zhong and Da Rui trick British Chinese actress Ellie into playing the part of Chen Zhong's bride at a fake wedding, so that they can collect red envelopes full of cash from their co-workers. But Chen Zhong's ex-girlfriend Du Ying realizes that their marriage isn't real and tries to expose their deception.

According to director Zhao Ji, the film is intended as a commentary on modern Chinese society, where gifts of red envelopes have become so frequent as to be stressful.

Cast

Bao Bei'er as Chen Zhong

Clara Lee as Ellie

Jia Bing as Qian Haoshi

Zhang Yiming as Da Rui

Xu Juncong as Gangzi

Wang Xiaoli as Ellie's fake father

Liao Weiwei as Du Ying

Yue Yueli as Ellie's real father

Release

In December 2020, a promotional poster was released and the film's release date was announced as 29 January 2021. On 17 January 2021 it was announced that the release would be moved up a week, and the film was released in China on 22 January 2021.

According to data from Maoyan a few days after the film's release, more than 60% of people who expressed interest in seeing it were from third and fourth tier cities, and nearly half of viewers were from fourth-tier cities. 70% of customers who rated the film were male.

On its first day, Big Red Envelope made RMB 12.47 million at the box office. It grossed a total of RMB 235 million.

Reception

The film received a rating of 4.8 out of 10 on Douban, 8.4 out of 10 on Taopiaopiao, and 8.5 out of 10 on Maoyan.

Viewers criticized the sexualization of Clara Lee's character, saying that she is portrayed through the male gaze as a form of male wish fulfillment. Critic Yuan Shan described the film as a sex comedy that values lust over love, and argued that the film's focus on sexuality detracted from its attempts at social critique. Viewers also complained that the romantic plot line, in which Ellie falls in love with Chen Zhong because they kiss, was unrealistic.

Derek Elley wrote that "the droll tone of the first half gets thinner and thinner during the over-long wedding sequence and the lengthy shenanigans thereafter, with the characters evoking no real emotion by the end."

Nonetheless, there were some positive reviews. Rhinoceros Entertainment wrote that while the film wasn't highbrow, it satisfied most of its audience with a story grounded in their everyday lives.

Sequel

A sequel, Big Red Envelope 2: Get Rich (大红包2：龙凤呈祥), was released in January 2025.

References

External links

Big Red Envelope at Douban (in Chinese)

Big Red Envelope at Mtime.com (archived) (in Chinese)