Love Is Hard

情圣3

China, 2025, colour, 16:9, 97 mins.

Director: Dong Xu 董旭.

Rating: 4/10.

Despite energetic playing by a strong cast, this comedy on a husband’s sudden impotence is sunk by a desperately unfunny script.

STORY

Bangkok, the present day. The romance has gone out of the marriage of Tian Shaoji (Xiao Yang), creative directot at a commercials agency, and Shao Meizhen (Tan Zhuo), an online broadcaster about relationships. On Valentine’s Day, Shao Meizhen makes a big effort to revive his interest but he still finds he cannot make love to her. To cure his impotence, Tian Shaoji does various exercises he sees online and discusses the matter with his womanising friend Gan Huowang (Qiao Shan), the agency’s in-house commecials director. Shao Meizhen goes with her friend Luo Peiwen (Dai Lele), a surgeon who is also Gan Huowang’s wife, to an exotic flower garden run by Caicai (Chang Yuan), an old school friend, who advises her on how to re-arouse a husband’s interest. Tian Shaoji finally gives in and buys some Man Power 屡不瘘 tablets, while Shao Meizhen, to arouse her husband’s jealousy, pretends she’s fallen in love with Caicai. The only advice the womanising Gan Huowang can offer Tian Shaoji is a good talk with Shao Meizhen and an open marriage – both of which have served him well. When Shao Meizhen invites Tian Shaoji to see a film at a drive-in cinema famous for one-night stands, he goes along, expecting to catch her in flagrante with Caicai; but the evening ends in chaos, with two policemen (Da Suo, Feng Man) involved. Then Luo Peiwen deliberately drops a rumour via her husband that Shao Meizhen is to meet her lover in a hotel room the next afternoon. When it comes to it, Tian Shaoji can’t bear to open the door of the room; and he’s suddenly called away to help save save Gao Huowang from the boyfriend (Ai Lun) of his current mistress Lai Wangwang (Manow Sophisa Subhen). Inspired by his wife’s amorous antics, Tian Shaoji finally decides to cheat on her. By chance he bumps into Su Tan (Zhang Xiaowan), an actress he recently helped while filming a commercial.

REVIEW

Technically the third film in the 情圣 (“Love Saint”) series centred on sad-faced comedian Xiao Yang 肖央 – except that the second was never released due to “technical problems” – Love Is Hard 情圣3 is a flop on almost every level. Written by a new team and, unlike the previous two, not adapted from an existing hit, it maintains the series’ focus on sexual problems and deceitful pranks and has an experienced, generally strong cast. The problem is, it’s achingly unfunny, despite all the energy expended on screen. Blame that mostly on the screenplay (by no less than six hands); but also blame Xiao, whose credit as creative producer 监制 is the final one to appear in the main titles, after that of the director. Box office was a majorly limp RMB43 million – not even close to the RMB660 million for the hit first film, Some Like It Hot 情圣 (2016).

Hot was a super-slick rom-com, with Xiao and comedienne Yan Ni 闫妮, adapted by the husband-and-wife team of Yu Miao 于淼 and Li Xiao 李潇 from the 1976 French comedy Pardon Mon Affaire Un éléphant ça trompe énormément, directed by Yves Robert and starring Jean Rochefort. (It had earlier been remade by Hollywood – not very well – as The Woman in Red, 1984.) The second film in the 情圣 series was also written by Yu and Li, this time adapting the Argentinian hit rom-com A Boyfriend for My Wife Un novio para mi mujer (2008), directed by Juan Taratuto, centred on a fed-up husband who hires a professional lover to seduce his complaining wife. The film had already been remade in South Korean, Italian, Malay, Mexican, Chilean and Vietnamese versions when it went into production under the title A Boyfriend for my Girlfriend 情圣² (see poster, left), directed by Hot’s Song Xiaofei 宋晓飞 and Dong Xu 董旭, with actress Bai Baihe 白百何 and actors Wu Xiubo 吴秀波 and Xiao, and a projected release date of early 2019. However, by the time of release, Wu was embroiled in a major personal scandal, so the film was shelved, losing the whole of its reported RMB400 million production budget.

For some reason set in Bangkok – though the city and its people are simply portrayed as exotic and silly – Love Is Hard spends much of its first half-hour with one-after-another joke about the sudden impotence towards his wife of 40-year-old Tian Shaoji (Xiao), creative director at a commercials agency. Taking its cue from the double entendre in the film’s English title as well as its poster (see above), Our Hero tries everything to put some lead into his pencil while his wife Shao Meizhen (Tan Zhuo 谭卓) also tries to re-engage his libido by getting an old friend (Chang Yuan 常远, also from Hot) to pose as her lover. Meanwhile, his womanising best pal (Qiao Shan 乔杉, ditto) encourages him to have an “open” marriage and Shao Meizhen’s best friend (Dai Lele 代乐乐, wife of said best pal) helps her in arranging various scenarios to stir Tian Shaoji’s jealousy. That’s about it – more a situation comedy than a relationships one and with no surprises or twists. In addition, the film basically finishes around the hour mark, with a third act that feels very tacked-on.

In geeky spectacles, Xiao, 45, hardly exudes much leading-man screen presence, and is consistently out-acted by the supporting cast: Qiao doing his usual over-confident schtick, Dai (now much more of a film actress than in the past) quietly forceful as his wife, and even campy comedian Ai Lun 艾伦 contributing an o.t.t cameo as the jealous boyfriend of one of Qiao’s mistresses (Thai beauty queen Manow Sophisa Subhen). To complete the link with the cast of Hot, comedian Xiaoshenyang 小沈阳 pops up in a cameo near the end.

However, the biggest waste of talent is Tan, 42, one of the Mainland’s most under-rated actresses (Mr. Tree Hello! 树先生, 2011; The Mahjong Box 三缺一, 2016; Dying to Survive 我不是药神, 2018); the boxer-mum in Shallow 出拳吧妈妈, 2021) who gives of her best whenever she has a strong screen partner. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get one in Xiao, which often leaves her lively, sexy performance looking stranded. Technical credits, from the clean photography by Du Jie 杜杰 to the smooth editing by the experienced Kong Jinlei 孔劲蕾, are fine.

CREDITS

Presented by New Classics (Shanghai) Film & TV (CN), New Classics Media (CN), Horgos Excuse Me Film (CN), Beijing Be Fun Films (CN), Blooming (Chongqing) Pictures (CN). Produced by Blooming (Chongqing) Pictures (CN), Beijing Be Fun Films (CN), Horgos Excuse Me Film (CN), Chongqing Biaodian Cultural Communication (CN).

Script: Dong Xu, Zhou Jizhi, Zhu Erke, Wang Xiao’ai, Fei Dawei, Yuan Chun. Photography: Du Jie. Editing: Kong Jinlei. Music: Hu Xiao’ou. Art direction: Wang Kuo. Costume design: Luo Peisha. Styling: Zhang Shijie [Stanley Cheung]. Sound: Zhang Jia. Visual effects: Zhang Guanling. Executive direction: Qu Jin.

Cast: Xiao Yang (Tian Shaoji), Tan Zhuo (Shao Meizhen), Qiao Shan (Gan Huowang), Chang Yuan (Caicai), Zhang Xiaowan (Su Tan), Dai Lele (Luo Peiwen, Gan Huowang’s wife), Ai Lun (Wu Di, Lai Wangwang’s boyfriend), Wang Chengsi (Yashua), Fan Tiantian (cleaning lady), Li Sibo (Yao Sibo, Tian Shaoji’s boss), Da Suo, Feng Man (policemen), Xiaoshengyang (handsome guy at end), Wang Xun (Shao), Manow Sophisa Subhen (Lai Wangwang), Li Haiyin (pharmacy cashier).

Release: China, 27 Dec 2025.