The Open Door
人生开门红
China, 2025, colour, 2.35:1, 113 mins.
Director: Yi Xiaoxing 易小星.
Rating: 5/10.
Despite some notable performances, this satire on the online-influencer world has no surprises and ends up glorying in the excesses it supposedly critiques.
STORY
Chengzhou city, somewhere in China, 2022. In the city of 12.3 million that calls itself “the capital of online broadcasting”, Qin Tianlong (Wang Yaoqing), the womanising CEO of Good Fortune Media 良幸传媒, is accidentally caught double-timing one of his female friends by Zhou Dajiang (Chang Yuan), a grilled-sausage seller with a roadside stall. Among his many girlfriends, Qin Tianlong has also been involved for two years with his top influencer, known as Xiaohaimo (Deng Jiajia), but has kept their relationship secret in order not to affect her internet traffic. When they meet for sex one evening at a hotel, they are secretly photographed by Xiaohu (Xiu Rui), personal assistant of Xiang Feihu (Tian Yu), CEO of Chengxin Media 呈信传媒, Qin Tianlong’s chief rival. In the room Xiaohaimo tells Qin Tianlong she can’t see any future in their relationship, so she’s leaving him. As she’s leaving the hotel, Xiaohaimo sees Zhou Dajiang accidentally knocked down by a car and goes to help him. Qin Tianlong recognises Zhou Dajiang and drags her away, scared of any publicity. But then one of Xiaohu’s photos appears online, seriously threatening the financing of Good Fortune Media. In response, Qin Tianlong has the idea of manufacturing a relationship between Xiaohaimo and Zhou Dajiang, and puts his PR chief, Yu Jiajia (Yu Yang) in charge of the operation. Zhou Dajiang eventually – but only if Good Fortune Media manages via its influencers to sell 45,730 grilled sausages – the number Zhou Dajiang needs to sell to afford to buy a piano for his young daughter, Manman (Zhang Xiran). Qin Tianlong’s whole team swings into action but Xiang Feihu thinks the whole story is a set-up. Several stunts arranged by Qin Tianlong’s team – including a meal together at a fancy restaurant and the pair attending the glitzy Chengzhou Influencers’ Fest 成州溢彩红人之夜 – don’t exactly go to plan, but their online fanbase likes the combination of the glamorous Xiaohaimo and the awkward, grounded Zhou Dajiang. When Xiaohaimo gets drunk at the Influencers’ Fest after seeing Qin Tianlong getting friendly with another female influencer (Liu Ruiqiao), Zhou Dajiang takes her back to his home, wher she spends the night. Xiang Feihu ends up thinking they are a real couple and are living together. Meanwhile, Qin Tianlong is becoming jealous of the pair’s relationship, and the way Xiaohaimo likes spending time with ordinary people. He decides to call off the whole stunt, but then is told by his grovelling personal assistant, Wang Qingyun (Li Zongheng), that Good Fortune Media’s most popular supplier wants to work with Chengxin Media. Qin Tianlong is forced to up his game, and make Zhou Dajiang and Xiaohaimo a celebrity influencer couple. But in the process Zhou Dajiang has his eyes opened to some truths about the online world.
REVIEW
A satire of the online-influencer world that starts well but gradually ends up glorying in the excesses it supposedly critiques, The Open Door 人生开门红 has some individual performances to recommend it but is at least 20 minutes too long and poorly constructed at a script level. Hunan-born writer-director Yi Xiaoxing 易小星, 41, who rose to fame in the online world himself via a series of short films, knows whereof he speaks but is unable to mould his ideas into a cohesive movie that doesn’t rely on over-kill to make its point. After the surprise hit of his previous comedy, family road movie Godspeed 人生路不熟 (2023; RMB1.18 billion), Door performed feebly with a mere RMB140 million, even less than his earlier two features, Journey to the West 西游记 spoof Surprise 万万没想到 (2015; RMB300 million) and his best movie so far, Bath Buddy 沐浴之王 (2020; RMB405 million).
Tucked away in the end credits is the fact that the film is based on the 2006 French comedy The Valet La doublure, written and directed by Francis Veber (Les compères, 1983), with Daniel Auteuil as a wealthy business executive who bribes a parking valet (Gad Elmaleh) to pretend to be the lover of his mistress, a top model (Alice Taglioni), in order to pacify his controlling wife (Kristin Scott Thomas). Yi’s script, co-written as usual with a host of others including regulars Jiang Kun 姜坤, Hou Jintao 侯锦涛, Zhong Xiaoxiang 钟骁翔 and Wang Chaoran 王超然, transfers the whole idea to the online world, with a womanising CEO hiring a grilled-sausage seller to pretend to be the lover of his girlfriend, a popular influencer, who’s threatening to walk out on him unless he goes public about their relationship (which he reckons would be bad for business). A few other minor details make the journey into Yi’s script but in all other respects the plot is very different – and much more reliant on goofy sketch comedy (Yi’s background) than the well-turned screenplay by Veber.
The setting in the dog-eat-dog online world, which is so influential in contemporary Mainland life, is a convenient stage for all sorts of exaggerated behaviour – from the super-smooth, womanising CEO (entertainingly played by Wang Yaoqing 王耀庆), through his fawning assistants (Yu Yang 于洋, Li Zongheng 李宗恒), to his not-so-clever business rival (Tian Yu 田雨) and his own creation of a determined, top-influencer lover (Deng Jiajia 邓家佳). Taiwan’s Wang, 51 – so good in the recent Behind the Blue Eyes 不能流泪的悲伤 (2023) and scamming comedy Honey Money Phony ‘骗骗’喜欢你 (2024) – steals all the scenes he’s in, but he’s run a close second by Sichuan-born Deng, 42 but looking 22, who not only dominates the screen with her blonde hairdo and influencer attitude but also finally gets a role of some substance after a decade-or-so of largely iffy film parts.
Deng partners well with comedian Chang Yuan 常远, 44, who played the show-off resort owner in Godspeed. The problem is that Chang is a good character actor but not a leading one, and is simply not strong enough as the kind-hearted, easygoing sausage-seller to carry a broad satire of this kind. Yi stacks the cast with plenty of colourful roles – including a wild cameo by Wang Xun 王迅 as a crazed film director, veteran actress Li Ping 李萍 (the kindly mother in SoulMate 七月与安生, 2016) as the lead’s lusty mother, and child actress Zhang Xiran 张熙然 (Sheep without a Shepherd 误杀, 2019) especially notable as his knowing young daughter – but there’s a void at the centre of the film that needs a bigger actor than Chang to fill. Several supporting characters, such as the daughter’s teacher (played by Dai Lele 代乐乐) who has a thing for the sausage-seller, and Xiaohaimo’s loyal assistant (Lan Xiya 兰西雅), are frustratingly underwritten.
The resolution can be seen a mile off, and there are no major surprises in the plot – two more reasons why Door doesn’t need to be almost two hours. Prefaced with the famous Andy Warhol quote about how, in the future, everyone will have the opportunity to become famous for 15 minutes, and ending with on-screen reminders to “Keep Real”, Door runs on predictable lines as a Mr Ordinary meets the online world and gradually realises how fake and exploitative it is. Some really snappy, ironic dialogue would have helped give Door some bite, but the six writers have come up with only functional stuff, moving the plot along with plenty of gags but no more.
The Chinese title, which means “A Good Start in Life”, has more irony that most of the movie – which climaxes in a lengthy, o.t.t. segment, set during an online-shopping festival, that lacks any subtlety whatsoever. Even during the end credits the gags are still coming.
Technically, the film, shot in Chengdu and Beijing, is very smooth, thanks to d.p. He Shan 何山 (Fireflies in the Sun 误杀II, 2021; Lost in the Stars 消失的她, 2022) and experienced editor Tu Yiran 屠亦然.
CREDITS
Presented by Wanda Pictures (Chengdu) (CN), Chengdu Mint Pic (CN), Beijing Poke Culture Films (CN), Shanghai Ruyi Film Production (CN), Ningbo Cheer Entertainment (CN), Zhijiang [sic] Film Group (CN).
Script: Yi Xiaoxing, Jiang Kun, Xu Han, Hou Jintao, Zhong Xiaoxiang, Wang Chaoran. Photography: He Shan. Editing: Tu Yiran. Music: Shuo Fan. Art direction: Bai Furui. Costumes: Chen Chen. Styling: Liu Qian. Sound: Feng Yanming, Lin Xuelin. Action: Wang Feng, Chen Wu. Car action: Du Zihao. Visual effects: Xu Mingjun. Arena show direction: Shi Jangning. Executive direction: Xizi.
Cast: Chang Yuan (Zhou Dajiang), Deng Jiajia (Xiaohaimo/Tang Weiyu), Wang Yaoqing (Qin Tianlong), Tian Yu (Xiang Feihu), Yu Yang (Yu Jiajia, Qin Tianlong’s PR assistant), Li Zongheng (Wang Qingyun, Qin Tianlong’s personal assistant), Lan Xiya (Lele, Xiaohaimo’s assistant), Li Ping (Zhou Dajiang’s mother), Dai Lele (Ma, Manman’s teacher), Xiu Rui (Xiaohu, Xiang Feihu’s assistant), Cai Guoqing (Caizi), Zhao Haiyan (No. 1 Big Sister), Guan Le (Quanquan, influencer), Liu Yang (Chengzhou local gangster), Wang Xun (Hou Dezhu, film director), Fu Jing (Huo Ni’ni, film actress), Tudou [Guo Hongze] (marketing director), Lv Yan (Qiu, designer), Tao Liang (Liangzi, Zhou Dajiang’s friend), Li Dong (Lili, chef), Xie Zecheng (Xiexie, chef), E Jingwen (Jingjing), Yi Xiaoxing (bald chauffeur), Zhang Xiran (Manman, Zhou Dajiang’s daughter), Ma Weiwei (pretty waitress), Yu Yang (western restaurant customer), Liang Guorong (white-haired old gentleman), Du Kang (imbecile on red carpet), Li Zhiliang (Lin Xiaolong, Lele’s boyfriend), Liu Ruiqiao (Miss Yang, influencer).
Release: 1 May 2025.