''Breakup Buddies'' is a 2014 Chinese

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

and road film directed by

Ning Hao Ning Hao (; born 9 September 1977) is a Chinese film director. Ning studied at the Taiyuan Film School, where he majored in scenic design. He later transferred to the Art Department of Peking University. Ning eventually graduated from the Beij ...

. It stars Huang Bo and Xu Zheng as buddies on a wild 3,000-kilometre cross-country journey from

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Dali City Dali City () is the county-level seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan. Dali City is administered through 12 township-level districts, two of which are also commonly referred to as Dali. Xiaguan () formerly ...

(via

Zhangjiajie Zhangjiajie (), also known in Tujia language as ''Zhangx jif avlar'' /dzaŋ˩ ji˥ a˩.la˥/, is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan Province, China. It comprises the district of Yongding, Wulingyuan and counties of Cili ...

). The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014, and was released domestically on September 30, 2014. It grossed over $195 million to become one of the highest-grossing films in China.

Plot

Womanizer Hao Yi ( Xu Zheng) takes his best friend Geng Hao ( Huang Bo) on a road trip to

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

* Huang Bo as Geng Hao * Xu Zheng as Hao Yi * Yuan Quan as Kang Xiaoyu *

Zhou Dongyu Zhou Dongyu () is a Chinese actress, who gained recognition after appearing in Zhang Yimou's film '' Under the Hawthorn Tree''. She was also chosen by '' Southern Metropolis Daily'' as one of the " Four Dan actresses of the post-90s Generation ...

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 Ma Su (190–228), courtesy name Youchang, was a military general and strategist of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. Ma Su had conspicuous talent in military theories and was admired by the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang. ...

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 Lei Jiayin () is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his role as Chen Junsheng in drama '' The First Half of My Life''. Lei ranked 62nd on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2019, and 61st in 2020. Early life Lei Jiayin was born in Tiedo ...

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

Derek Elley Derek Elley (born c. 1955) is an American film and music critic and author, best known as the resident film critic for '' Variety'' until his departure in March 2010. With over 1200 reviews to his credit as of December 2014 on ''Rotten Tomatoes'', ...

Film Business Asia ''Film Business Asia'' was a film trade magazine based in Hong Kong. The magazine was created in 2010 by Patrick Frater, former journalist for '' Variety'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and '' Screen International'' and Stephen Cremin, co-founder ...

gave ''Breakup Buddies'' a 7 out of 10, calling it "Ning Hao's maturest film so far" and praising the performances as "strong".

Box office

The film grossed ¥1.16971 billion at the Chinese box office and a total of US$195.3 million internationally. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

s Phil Hoad mentioning the film as one of "a few, giant, isolated local hits".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Breakup Buddies 2014 films 2010s Mandarin-language films Chinese comedy-drama films Films directed by Ning Hao Films scored by Nathan Wang Films set in Beijing Films shot in Beijing Films set in Hunan Films shot in Hunan Films shot in Yunnan Films set in Yunnan IMAX films