Breakup Buddies is a 2014 Chinese romantic comedy and road film directed by Ning Hao.[2] It stars Huang Bo and Xu Zheng as buddies on a wild 3,000-kilometre cross-country journey from Beijing to Dali City (via Zhangjiajie).
| Breakup Buddies | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Chinese | 心花路放 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xīn Huā Lù Fàng |
| Directed by | Ning Hao |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Song Xiaofei |
| Edited by | Du Yuan |
| Music by |
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Production companies |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Box office | US$195,300,000[1] |
The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014,[3] and was released domestically on September 30, 2014. It grossed over $195 million to become one of the highest-grossing films in China.
Plot
editWomanizer Hao Yi (Xu Zheng) takes his best friend Geng Hao (Huang Bo) on a road trip to Dali City in Yunnan — China's unofficial capital of one-night stands — to help him recover from a devastating divorce. Years before, Kang Xiaoyu (Yuan Quan) had traversed the same route to Dali where she met her future husband.
Cast
edit- Huang Bo as Geng Hao
- Xu Zheng as Hao Yi
- Yuan Quan as Kang Xiaoyu
- Zhou Dongyu as Zhou Lijuan, a.k.a. "Christina"
- Tao Hui as Avatar girl
- Yue Xiaojun as an innkeeper
- Shen Teng as a bar owner
- Zhang Li as a Si Qing
- Jiao Junyan as Xiao Bei
- Ma Su as Shasha
- Liu Meihan
- Xiong Naijin as Kang Xiaoyu's best friend
- Liu Yiwei as a cop
- Wang Yanhui as a crime boss
- Lei Jiayin as a gangster
- Yong Mengting as a cosplay girl
- Liang Hao as Li Maomao, Zhou Lijuan's boyfriend
- Guo Tao as Kang Xiaoyu's attorney (cameo)
- Li Chen as Kang Xiaoyu's new lover (cameo)
- Xia Yu as Kang Xiaoyu's ex (cameo)
Review
editDerek Elley of Film Business Asia gave Breakup Buddies a 7 out of 10, calling it "Ning Hao's maturest film so far" and praising the performances as "strong".[4]
Box office
editThe film grossed ¥1.16971 billion at the Chinese box office[5] and a total of US$195.3 million internationally.[1] The Guardian's Phil Hoad mentioning the film as one of "a few, giant, isolated local hits".[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Nancy Tartaglione and David Bloom (January 10, 2015). "'Transformers 4′ Tops 2014's 100 Highest-Grossing International Films – Chart". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
- ^ "CNing Hao Gets His Apatow On With New Comedy BREAKUP BUDDIES'". Archived from the original on 2014-10-04. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ "Toronto Film Festival Lineup Includes Denzel Washington's 'Equalizer,' Kate Winslet's 'A Little Chaos'". 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ Elley, Derek (2014-11-20). "Breakup Buddies review". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 2016-01-10. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
- ^ 心花路放（2014）. www.cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ^ Phil Hoad (December 31, 2014). "Transformers 4 – machine-tooled for domination: 2014 global box office in review". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2015.