Be There or Be Square
Encyclopedia
Be There or Be Square is a 1998 Chinese romantic comedy
film
directed by Feng Xiaogang
, produced by Forbidden City Film, Beijing Film Studio, Zhongji Modern Commercial and Sleiman/Tyrol Films. It is a Feng Xiaogang hesui pian ("New Year celebratory film"), screened during the 1999 Chinese New Year
to boost box office
takings.
Ge You
and Xu Fan star as Beijing
natives working in Los Angeles
, whose paths constantly cross in a foreign city. They attempt to balance work with friendship/love in spite of mounting disasters each time they meet.
Liu Yuan (Ge You) is a carefree Beijing native eking out a living in Los Angeles
, working as an occasional film extra and part-time insurance agent. While helping a Beijing film crew
scout for a suburb
mansion, he encounters Li Qing (Xu Fan), a former acquaintance house sitting
for her friends. Liu convinces Li Qing she lack the requisite skills to survive in an American city, and buys her an air ticket
to fly back to Beijing. The two part at the airport, expecting never to meet again.
The couple meet a year later again in L.A. Li did not leave L.A.: instead, she now rents a cheap apartment
, working as a cleaner. Still his former carefree self living in a travel trailer
, Liu has turned to selling cemetery
spaces. Their relationship seems "jinx
ed" as the two encounter a hold-up
at a restaurant
, then the unlucky duo end up at the LAPD
after working for a Chinese travel agency which is in actuality smuggling illegal immigrants from China. Li Qing finds their relationship unnerving enough to stop contact, vowing never to meet Liu again.
A year passes. Liu Yuan puts an advert in the papers to trace out Li, who now has her own florist shop and is teaching Mandarin
part time
to Chinese American
s. Li remembers their relationship fondly and the two set up a Mandarin school for LAPD cops who patrol the LA Chinatown
area. Through various mishaps Liu makes no secret of his romantic interest in Li, but it is only after an elaborate hoax
from Liu that Li realizes she value him as well.
However news arrive from Beijing that Liu's mother has suffered a serious cerebral hemorrhage. Liu heads back to Beijing to fulfil his filial duties and parts with Li, not wanting to pressure her to follow him home as Li has just obtained a green card after years of hard work in the US.
On the airplane heading home, Liu has a troubled dream imagining he and Li Qing will never meet until their dotage at an old folks home. When he awakes he finds to his delight Li Qing sitting next to him. Just then, the airplane meets with technical mishap and seems to be heading for a crash – another mishap in their long line of "hexed" meet-ups. In the face of imminent deaths, the couple profess their love for each other, but miraculously, the technical problem is resolved just moments after their mutual love declarations. The two decide to get hitched
immediately on alighting - but only after Li discover Liu is sporting dentures
after their first kiss.
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Feng Xiaogang
Feng Xiaogang
Feng Xiaogang , in is a Chinese film director. He is famous in China as being perhaps the most successful "commercialized" filmmaker whose comedy films do consistently well in the box office, although Feng has attempted to break out from that mold by making drama or period drama films...
, produced by Forbidden City Film, Beijing Film Studio, Zhongji Modern Commercial and Sleiman/Tyrol Films. It is a Feng Xiaogang hesui pian ("New Year celebratory film"), screened during the 1999 Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
to boost box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
takings.
Ge You
Ge You
Ge You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland...
and Xu Fan star as Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
natives working in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, whose paths constantly cross in a foreign city. They attempt to balance work with friendship/love in spite of mounting disasters each time they meet.
Plot
FreelancerFreelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
Liu Yuan (Ge You) is a carefree Beijing native eking out a living in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, working as an occasional film extra and part-time insurance agent. While helping a Beijing film crew
Film crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...
scout for a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
mansion, he encounters Li Qing (Xu Fan), a former acquaintance house sitting
House sitting
House sitting is the practice whereby a landlord , leaving their house for a period of time, entrusts it to one or more "house sitters", who by a mutual agreement are entitled to live there rent-free in exchange for assuming responsibilities such as taking care of the homeowner's pets, performing...
for her friends. Liu convinces Li Qing she lack the requisite skills to survive in an American city, and buys her an air ticket
Airline ticket
An airline ticket is a document, issued by an airline or a travel agency, to confirm that an individual has purchased a seat on a flight on an aircraft. This document is then used to obtain a boarding pass, at the airport...
to fly back to Beijing. The two part at the airport, expecting never to meet again.
The couple meet a year later again in L.A. Li did not leave L.A.: instead, she now rents a cheap apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
, working as a cleaner. Still his former carefree self living in a travel trailer
Travel trailer
A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
, Liu has turned to selling cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
spaces. Their relationship seems "jinx
Jinx
A jinx, in popular superstition and folklore, is:* A type of curse placed on a person that makes them prey to many minor misfortunes and other forms of bad luck;...
ed" as the two encounter a hold-up
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
at a restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
, then the unlucky duo end up at the LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
after working for a Chinese travel agency which is in actuality smuggling illegal immigrants from China. Li Qing finds their relationship unnerving enough to stop contact, vowing never to meet Liu again.
A year passes. Liu Yuan puts an advert in the papers to trace out Li, who now has her own florist shop and is teaching Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
part time
Part time
A part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Workers are considered to be part time if they commonly work fewer than 30 or 35 hours per week...
to Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
s. Li remembers their relationship fondly and the two set up a Mandarin school for LAPD cops who patrol the LA Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
area. Through various mishaps Liu makes no secret of his romantic interest in Li, but it is only after an elaborate hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
from Liu that Li realizes she value him as well.
However news arrive from Beijing that Liu's mother has suffered a serious cerebral hemorrhage. Liu heads back to Beijing to fulfil his filial duties and parts with Li, not wanting to pressure her to follow him home as Li has just obtained a green card after years of hard work in the US.
On the airplane heading home, Liu has a troubled dream imagining he and Li Qing will never meet until their dotage at an old folks home. When he awakes he finds to his delight Li Qing sitting next to him. Just then, the airplane meets with technical mishap and seems to be heading for a crash – another mishap in their long line of "hexed" meet-ups. In the face of imminent deaths, the couple profess their love for each other, but miraculously, the technical problem is resolved just moments after their mutual love declarations. The two decide to get hitched
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
immediately on alighting - but only after Li discover Liu is sporting dentures
Dentures
Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental...
after their first kiss.
External links
- Be There or Be Square at the Chinese Movie Database