The Break-Up Artist

分手达人

China/Taiwan, 2014, colour, 16:9, 86 mins.

Director: Zhang Zili 张自立.

Rating: 5/10.

Average rom-com centred on the cynical head of a separation agency who falls for a client.

STORY

Beijing, the present day. Ren Xinping (Lin Peng) runs Breakup Express, an agency specialising in separations for couples who can’t bring themselves to do it face-to-face. One of her regular clients is her own sister, airheaded golddigger Ren Xinli (Lin Wan), who recently left her latest fiance at the altar; Ren Xinli has just discovered that her latest boyfriend, Taiwan artist Lin Zidong (Fan Yichen), isn’t as rich as she thought and in fact teaches painting to children. Meanwhile, smooth entrepreneur Ma Youbo (Yu Seung-jun), who owns dating company Yongai.Net, takes a liking to Ren Xinping and gets his assistant, Xueli (Tao Jia), to do some research, posing as his distraught girlfriend who wants to break up. Under the guise of being a client, Ma Youbo tries to court Ren Xinping, though she is suspicious of him. Meanwhile, he has his staff hack into her client base so he can set up his own company, Sincere Break-Up, and even poaches her two staff, Minmin (Jiao Jiao) and Xiaofen (Li Xinru). Furious, Ren Xinping flies off to Taibei to personally handle a break-up between an old client, Anji (Zhou Hui), and a veteran actor, Jie (Gao Jie). Back in Beijing, she continues handling the problem between Ren Xinli and Lin Zidong, and starts smartening Lin Zidong up so he can win back her sister. Ren Xinping’s objective is to get even with Ma Youbo, who is now romancing Ren Xinli. But as Ren Xinping and Lin Zidong spend more time together, they find themselves falling for each other.

REVIEW

The cynical head of a separation agency – for couples who can’t bring themselves to do it face-to-face – finds herself succumbing to Eros’ arrow after a rival ruins her business in The Break-Up Artist 分手达人. An undemanding rom-com that’s not especially good and not especially bad, it manages to pass the time agreeably thanks to smooth production values, plus a classy performance by Mainland actress Lin Peng 林鹏 in her first leading role and an acceptable one by Taiwan actor-singer Fan Yichen 范逸臣.

The film has been sitting on the shelf for over three years. It was shot in late 2010 when Lin, then 24, had just started her career with a peripheral role in the Cheng Long 成龙 [Jackie Chan] vehicle Little Big Soldier 小兵大将 (2010); she’s since gone back to supporting parts, in films like A Chinese Ghost Story 倩女幽魂 (2011) and The Viral Factor 逆战 (2012), which is a pity considering her assured performance here. Fan, who sprang to fame as the musician in Taiwan hit Cape No. 7 海角七号 (2008), has also had a wobbly movie career since shooting Break-Up Artist, though he pairs well enough with Lin as the scruffy art teacher who pierces her professional armour. He’s certainly more charming than the other male lead, Korean American Yu Seung-jun 유승준 | 刘承俊 [Steve Yoo], who’s okay playing nasty action villains (Little Big Soldier; He-Man 硬汉2  奉陪到底, 2011; The Wrath of Vajra 金刚王  死亡救赎, 2013) but is hopelessly miscast here as a smoothie businessman.

One of a growing list of Chinese films with “break up” 分手 in their original titles – Break-Up Club 分手说爱你 (2010); A Wedding Invitation 分手合约 (2013); The Breakup Guru 分手大师 (2014); Break Up 100 分手100次 (2014) – Artist never gets down to the nitty-gritty of its cynical subject-matter (making money from failed relationships) or fully realises its comic-romantic potential. But it keeps moving thanks to smart editing, almost wall-to-wall music, some cute animation in the second half, and its m.o. of short scenes with rapid fade-outs and fade-ins. All of these – plus a running time of less than 90 minutes – hint at major postproduction surgery. Whatever the case, the result is pleasant enough to raise a few smiles, and includes a mass of cameos, including Taiwan’s Gao Jie 高捷 [Jack Kao] as a veteran actor.

It’s also far more polished than its source material – a US-Canadian production with the same title that marked the directing debut of Hong Kong-born, US-based Hu Xuelin 胡学林 [Steve Woo], whose background is in visual effects. Written by Patrick Andrew O’Connor and starring Canadian actors Amanda Crew and Ryan Kennedy, The Break-Up Artist was released direct to video in 2009.

The China re-make follows the original fairly closely, with a script credited to Ying Zi 樱子 and the story to Hu. Though Hu was named as the director at the time of shooting, the film is now credited to its production designer, Zhang Zili 张自立. The name of Cheng, originally announced as the producer, is nowhere on the film. Scheduled to be released on Valentine’s Day 2011, the movie was finally released in China in summer 2014, three weeks before the similarly titled and much higher-profile The Breakup Guru.

CREDITS

Presented by Beijing Dragon Garden Culture & Art (CN), Beijing Universe Starlight Culture Media (CN), Beijing Shangkeshi International Culture Media (CN), M’Stones International (TW/CN), One House Production (CN).

Script: Ying Zi. Story: Hu Xuelin [Steve Woo]. Photography: Xie Chunzhang, Pan Zhen. Taiwan photography: Zhang Dalong. Editor: Li Boda. Music: Zhang Shilei, Zhao Zhao. Songs: Zhao Zhao. Vocals: Lin Peng, Fan Yichen, Zhao Zhao. Choreography: Luo Jialing. Production designer: Zhang Zili. Art direction: Li Xinhong. Costume design: Wei Dafei. Sound: Zhou Lei, Chen Chen. Animation: Li Xinlu, Chen Mingtian (didelidi). Postproduction co-ordination: Gao Jingxin (Lightbox). Postproduction direction: Lin Jiangbin (Lightbox).

Cast: Lin Peng (Ren Xinping), Fan Yichen (Lin Zidong), Yu Seung-jun [Steve Yoo] (Ma Youbo), Lin Wan (Ren Xinli, Ren Xinping’s younger sister), Jiu Kong [Lv Kongwei] (Wang Jingying, Ma Youbo’s sidekick), Jiao Jiao (Minmin, Ren Xinping’s assistant), Li Xinru (Xiaofen, Ren Xinping’s assistant), Luo Haiqiong (Mei’er), Li Lin (Lin Zidong’s landlady), Cao Defei (driver), Gao Jie [Jack Kao] (Jie/Jack, Taiwan actor), Tai Zhengxiao (Pigeon), Huang Zijiao (Zijiao), Zhou Hui (Anji/Angie), Chen Xuanyu (reporter), Asano Nagahide (Breakup Express employee), Li Siyu (clothing shop salesgirl), Guo Jiaming (Da Xiong), Zhou Weitong (Xiaoyu), Zhang Junning (teacher), Zhang Xiangxiang (restaurant customer), Xing Aowei (waiter), Ai Wei (middle-aged boss), Wu Guichun (Taiwan film director), Mao Di (Taiwan teacher), Tao Jia (Xueli), Li Yan (Xiaoshi), Liu Yanxi (Breakup Express receptionist), Pang Nan (Breakup Express male client), Li Wanyi (makeup artist), You You (car salesman), Liu Wei (Xie), Wang Huan (Zhu Zhu), Wang Shengli (King Kong), Wei Xiaoyu (bride), Wang Wei, Zheng Yang (muscular guys).

Release: China, 6 Jun 2014; Taiwan, tba.

(Review originally published on Film Business Asia, 4 Aug 2014.)