Hi, Mom (2021 Film)
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''Hi, Mom'' (; 'Hello, Li Huanying') is a 2021
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
written, directed by and starring
Jia Ling Jia Ling ( zh, s=贾玲, born Jia Yuling 贾俞玲; ) is a Chinese comedian, film actress, actress, and filmmaker. She rose to fame as a Xiangsheng, crosstalk performer at the CMG New Year's Gala, 2010 CCTV Spring Festival Gala and became a come ...
. It co-stars Zhang Xiaofei,
Shen Teng Shen Teng (born 23 October 1979) is a Chinese comedian, actor and director. He is known for starring in the films '' Goodbye Mr. Loser'' (2015), '' Never Say Die'' (2017), '' Hello Mr. Billionaire'' (2018), ''Crazy Alien'' (2019), ''Pegasus'' (20 ...
, and
Chen He Chen He (; born 9 November 1985), also known as Michael Chen, is a Chinese actor. Chen is noted for playing Zeng Xiaoxian in the romantic comedy television series ''IPartment'', which enjoyed the highest ratings in China when it was broadcas ...
. It is the first film directed by Jia Ling; a semi-autobiographical fantasy story about a young woman who is suddenly thrown back in time to the year 1981, where she meets her mother and develops a bond of sisterhood with her. The film's themes include
familial love Storge ( ; ), or familial love, refers to natural or instinctual affection, such as the love of a parent towards offspring and vice versa. In social psychology, another term for love between good friends is ''philia''. Extent Storge is a wid ...
, maternal love, and
filial piety Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian ethics, Confucian, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhist ethics, Buddhist, and Daoism, Daoist ethics. ...
. It was released on 12 February 2021 (
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...
). The film has grossed US$848 million at the box office, making it the third-highest-grossing film of 2021, the third-highest-grossing non-English film of all time, and the highest-grossing film by a solo female director until ''
Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...
'' in 2023. The film received positive reviews, with
word of mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...
contributing to its popularity. In addition, the film also won the honor of excellent film at the 36th China Popular Film Awards, and won the award for excellent feature film at the 19th China Huabiao Awards.


Plot

After her mother Li Huanying is fatally injured in a car accident in 2001, grief-stricken Jia Xiaoling finds herself transported back in time to the year 1981, where she becomes her mother's close friend. Jia Xiaoling feels that she has not been a good enough daughter in the present, so back in 1981, she does all she can to make Li Huanying happy, including setting her up with a factory manager's son, Shen Guanglin, in the hope of giving her mother a better husband, a better daughter, and a better life than she had the first time around.


Cast


Production

''Hi, Mom'' is
Jia Ling Jia Ling ( zh, s=贾玲, born Jia Yuling 贾俞玲; ) is a Chinese comedian, film actress, actress, and filmmaker. She rose to fame as a Xiangsheng, crosstalk performer at the CMG New Year's Gala, 2010 CCTV Spring Festival Gala and became a come ...
's directorial debut. She spent more than three years writing the script with her co-writers, and production started on 25 September 2019. It was filmed on location at factories in Jia Ling's hometown of
Xiangyang Xiangyang is the second-largest prefecture-level city by population in northwestern Hubei province, China. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River (Hanshui), Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city n ...
,
Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
. The film is adapted from Jia Ling's 2016
comedy sketch Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
of the same name, "Hello, Li Huanying", from season 1 of '. It is also based on stories of Jia Ling's own mother, also named Li Huanying, who died in 2001 shortly after Jia started college. Jia made the film as a tribute to her mother. The film's Chinese title literally means "Hello, Li Huanying" rather than "Hi, Mom". When asked about this difference, Jia Ling said that a mother is not just a mother, but her own person too.


Advance publicity

On 25 September 2019, Jia Ling published a post announcing the launch of the movie ''Hi, Mom''. On 7 January 2020, the film was announced. On 29 October, the film was announced to be scheduled for release on Lunar New Year's Day (12 February) 2021. On 16 December, the studio released a trailer titled "What kind of family is this?" On 24 December, the studio released posters of Jia Ling, Shen Teng and Zhang Xiaofei. On 25 December, the film released a promotional video titled "Where are you going, Dad". On 31 December, the studio released the music video for the promotional song "Little Girl Under the Street Lamp".


Reception


Box office

''Hi, Mom'' was released on 12 February 2021, and in its first weekend it grossed
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
195 million (
RMB The renminbi ( ; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of Chin ...
1.26 billion). The film's popularity grew through
word of mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...
, and on 15 February its single-day box office total was US$80 million, surpassing ''
Detective Chinatown 3 ''Detective Chinatown 3'' () is a 2021 Chinese comedy mystery buddy film directed and written by Chen Sicheng, starring Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran. It is a sequel to ''Detective Chinatown 2'' (2018) and is the third installment in the ''Dete ...
''. By 16 February, the film had grossed more than RMB 1.8 billion, making Jia Ling the highest-grossing woman director in Chinese box office history (the previous record was RMB 1.36 billion for '' Us and Them'', directed by
Rene Liu Rene Liu Ruo-ying (; born 1 June 1969) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actress, director and writer. In the Sinophone world, Liu is widely known by her affectionate nickname "Milk Tea". Her music often focuses on love stories and has built an ...
). On 21 February the film's cumulative box office total surpassed ''Detective Chinatown 3'', making it the highest-grossing film of the 2021 Chinese New Year holiday period. On 6 March, its gross reached 5.04 billion RMB, surpassing 2019's ''
Nezha Nezha (, Nézhā) or sometimes Nezha the Crown Prince (, ), is a protection deity in Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folk religion. His official Taoism, Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prin ...
'' to become the second-highest-grossing film of all time in China. In late March, the film's gross surpassed ''
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...
'' (2017) to become the highest-grossing film by a solo female director of all time. This record would be surpassed by ''
Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...
'' in 2023. At noon on 10 March, the total box office exceeded RMB 5.15 billion, equivalent to more than US$785 million, surpassing ''
Deadpool Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is ...
'' (US$783 million) and officially entered the top 100 at the global box office. On 20 March, the box office revenue exceeded 5.3 billion, making Jia Ling the highest-grossing female director in the world. Though it was originally planned to be shown in theaters until 15 March 2021, the film's run was extended to 11 April 2021 and then later to May 2021.


International release

On 14 March 2021, the film's crew announced plans for international release.


Critical response

The film received positive reviews and higher ratings from viewers than the other major films released at the same time. As of 16 February 2021, the film's rating out of 10 is 8.2 on
Douban Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese ci ...
, 9.5 on
Maoyan Tianjin Maoyan Weiying Culture Media () is a Chinese company that owns the largest online movie ticketing website in China, maoyan.com, with 30% share of the market in 2015. In 2016, Wang Changtian of Beijing Enlight Media offered to buy a contro ...
, and 9.3 on
Taopiaopiao Tao Piao Piao (, lit: 'hunting for tickets'), or Taopiaopiao, is an online movie ticket distributor and film promotion service. Together, Taopiaopiao and its main rival Maoyan control approximately 80 percent of movie ticket sales in China. Forme ...
. It has won praise for its authentic emotions and its portrayal of 1980s Xiangyang. Audiences found the film moving; many were moved to tears, and some called their families soon after leaving the theater. According to critic Lim Yian Lu, "despite this being Jia Ling’s directorial debut, it is on par with the work of an experienced director". Cai Jianya wrote that the film's release had resonated with viewers. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, many people had not traveled home to see their families for
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...
in 2021, and some chose to watch a film about family as a result. Han haoyue wrote that ''Hi, Mom'' has become a representative of emotional resonance during the Spring Festival thanks to Jia Ling's sincere mother-daughter relationship and warm atmosphere. As a cross-border director, Jia Ling touched the audience with her original intention and truth, gained high box office and audience love, and demonstrated the unique charm and sincerity of a new director. At the same time, the success of this film also means that in the future Jia Ling needs to continue to explore new creative directions while maintaining her original intention.


Accolades


References


External links

* * *{{Sinaweibo, 6884685995
''Hello, Li Huanying''
(in Chinese), 2016 sketch that the film is based on Films set in 1981 Films set in 2001 2021 directorial debut films Chinese comedy films 2021 comedy films 2021 films Films about mother–daughter relationships 2020s films about time travel Films about dreams Films shot in Hubei