''Finding Mr. Right'' () is a

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

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 typica ...

film written and directed by

Xue Xiaolu Xue Xiaolu is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. She is considered one of the top Chinese female directors''.'' Her first major feature was '' Ocean Heaven'', (2010) which stars Jet Li, followed by '' Finding Mr. Right'' (2013) starring ...

. The film was a box-office hit, grossed nearly US$85 million in China. The title translates literally as "

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 ...

Meets

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

". A sequel was released in 2016, '' Finding Mr. Right 2''.

Plot

Wen Jiajia is pregnant with the child of her boyfriend, a corrupt businessman in

who is already married. She flies to

so she can have her child in an illegal maternity center because of legal issues with giving birth to the baby in China. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport she is picked up by Frank, a taxi driver who was a doctor in China, but came to Seattle in order to take care of his daughter, while his ex-wife, who works as a manager for a pharmaceutical company, has plans to immigrate to the United States. Later on Jiajia, listening to Frank's story, remembers the time when her father had a heart problem and recognizes him as a famous cardiologist. Off to a rocky start, she will gradually grow closer to Frank, his daughter and the women in the maternity center. Jiajia's boyfriend is involved in a lawsuit and his assets are frozen, so she has to live without his money. She and Frank gradually become closer, developing feelings for each other. However, they go their separate ways when her boyfriend, after getting out of the lawsuit and leaving his wife, sends his driver to bring Jiajia and the baby back to China. The relationship doesn't work: her life is filled with luxury, but also lacking the care and affection she experienced with Frank, who she finds herself thinking back to. Realizing she doesn't love her boyfriend, she breaks up with him and starts a cooking website to earn the money to take care of herself and the baby, while her ex, who has no intention of supporting them, ends up going back to his wife. In the meantime, Frank puts his life back together and eventually starts working as a doctor again. Two years after parting, Frank and his daughter take a photo on top of the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...

and send it to Jiajia, who replies with a photo of her and her son. Realizing they are in the same place, they meet on top of the

Empire State The Empire State is a nickname for the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, adopted in the 1800s. It has been incorporated into the names of several state buildings and events. The source of the nickname is unknown and has puzzled many his ...

building a la ''

Sleepless in Seattle ''Sleepless in Seattle'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nora Ephron, from a screenplay she wrote with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film follows a journalist (Ryan) who, despite be ...

'' and join hands, beginning a relationship.

Cast

Tang Wei use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

as Wen Jiajia () *

Wu Xiubo Wu Xiubo ( , born 5 September 1968), is a Chinese actor, musician and producer. He is most widely known as Xinjie Liu, the protagonist in the television series ''Before the Dawn'', for which he received several awards. Wu ranked 43rd on ''Forbes ...

as Hao Zhi ()/Frank *

Hai Qing Hai Qing (; born 12 January 1978) is a Chinese film and television actress who has appeared in such films as '' Finding Mr. Right'', ''Operation Red Sea'' and ''Sacrifice''. For her role in the 2009 television series ''A Beautiful Daughter-in-la ...

as Zhou Yi ()/Joe * as Chen Yue ()/Moon *

Elaine Jin Elaine Yan-ling (; born 15 December 1954), also known as Elaine Kam, is a Hong Kong–Taiwanese actress. She began her career in Taiwan in 1973 before moving to Hong Kong in 1981. She has been nominated seven times in the Hong Kong Film Award ...

as Mrs. Huang () a.k.a. Huang Mali/Mary * Monica Song () as younger Zhuli ()/Julie, Hao Zhi's daughter * Jessica Song () as older Julie ** Jessica and Monica Song, the actresses for Julie, were 12-year-old twins from

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a coastal city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the ad ...

. They were auditioned by Judy Lee, the casting director, and tutored by Michael Bean, a talent coach.Lewis, Nick.
UBC Film student is producer behind China’s 10th-highest grossing film

Archive
). artsWIRE,

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. Retrieved on April 3, 2014. "After expansive casting sessions across Canada, in Los Angeles and New York, we discussed and decided together to take a chance on 12-year-old Jessica and Monica Song of Richmond, suggested by our friends at Fairchild Television and auditioned by our casting director, Judy Lee. Thanks to some intensive tutoring by local talent coach Michael Bean, they charmed their way to the big screen. The twins were in China for the release, had a great time and became instant press darlings." *

Theresa Lee Theresa Lee is a Hong Kong-born Canadian actress. Career Lee started her acting career in Hong Kong after placing second runner-up in the 1994 Miss Hong Kong Pageant. Most of her acting career has been in Greater China, but she has also appea ...

as Dr. Tang * Liu Yiwei as voice of Zhong * Alex Dafoe as a doctor * Clayton Chitty as Club Guy * Michael Denis as Jose

Production

Except for the opening credits, the entirety of the film was shot in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. The filming in Vancouver occurred in late 2012.Shannon, Jeff.
‘Finding Mr. Right’: Pregnant and predictable in Seattle
" ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

''. November 7, 2013. Retrieved on February 28, 2014.

Release

The film premiered in Hong Kong on February 14, 2013. It had its theatrical release in China on March 21, 2013 and in Hong Kong on March 28, 2013. The film grossed ¥518 million yuan (US$84.4 million) in China. In November 2013 the film was released in selected United States theaters.Lupkin, Sidney (via

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).
Chinese RomCom 'Finding Mr. Right' Sends Romantics to Seattle
" ''

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

''. January 1, 2014. Retrieved on February 28, 2014.

Reception

Jeff Shannon of the ''

'' gave the film two stars out of four. Shannon wrote that the film is "blandly generic and predictable from the get-go", has a "boring" English title and that it has a "never less than obvious" setup. Shannon added that the film is "a tolerably cute showcase for

". According to Shannon, Seattle "gets the rainy-glossy, picture-postcard treatment" and that the film "does touch upon the notion of Seattle (and the U.S.) as a sensible escape from the garish materialism of Beijing and Hong Kong." Derek Elley of ''

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 o ...

'' gave the film a six out of ten rating, referring to it as an "Okay but unspecial rom-com is driven more by technique than its script or lead chemistry." The film's release caused an increase in Chinese tourism to Seattle, despite the entire movie being filmed in Vancouver, BC. Janet Christopher, the vice president of the tourism department of "Visit Seattle", stated "The phones started ringing and it hasn't stopped. We have been amazed at the response. This is bigger than 'Sleepless in Seattle.'" Due to the response,

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did a

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

live broadcast from Seattle in 2013, occurring in

Kerry Park Kerry Park is a small public park and viewpoint on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington, United States. It overlooks Downtown Seattle and is located along West Highland Drive between 2nd Avenue West and 3rd Avenue West. ...

. The film caused an increase in romantic comedy films made in China.

References

{{reflist Chinese romantic drama films Hong Kong romantic drama films 2013 films Films set in Beijing Films set in Seattle Films shot in Vancouver Films directed by Xue Xiaolu 2010s Hong Kong films