This review may contain spoilers
took me in an emotional roller coaster
This was the first Chinese movie I watched in the theater and also my first-ever review on MyDramaList.Story: I LOVED IT! As someone who has been struggling with low self-esteem and losing weight all my life, this hit a little too close to home. Her growth in self-confidence and realizing that just because someone is nice to her doesn't mean that they have good intentions was beautiful to watch. It felt like I was along with her on the journey. I felt her happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, and also her helplessness. I was in tears when she was walking to the boxing match and you can see her past self in the reflection.
Acting: I think everyone did a good job. I didn't feel like anyone was doing a half-ass job.
Music: Connected well with the scenes and the background music was phenomenal. Loved the song they used when she was having her training montage.
Overall, loved it and is worth a watch.
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Supposed to be inspirational but falls flat
First - kudos to the actress/director Jia Ling for managing to lose 100 lbs in a year! I don't blame her for wanting to make money/get popular from it too in the form of a movie. I feel like fans seem to be divided on the whole weight loss stuff but good for her on getting more healthy. A Lululemon deal doesn't hurt at the end of the journey either, lol. So get that bag sis.For the movie itself:
PROS
❀ Character growth
In the beginning, we see Le Ying essentially get bullied by everyone in her life. She's a people pleaser and thinks about others before herself - even to her own detriment. Her sister walked all over her, her best friend and ex-boyfriend walked all over her (and cheated in the meantime), and even her lover/coach walked all over her in the end. Boxing was the one thing though that she genuinely wanted to do for HERSELF. Getting into that ring and having a sparring session. She stayed strong in that regard and eventually got her goal in the end. One might think that winning the boxing match is her goal, but I think a more subtle - and important - goal is the ability to say no. And I enjoyed how that manifested at the end of the movie.
❀ Decent cinematography
I really liked the filters they used - it almost reminded me of a Wes Anderson color scheme. The shots were done pretty well and the boxing match was great. I heard that they consulted with an actual famous female boxer on that scene and it shows.
CONS
✕ Anticlimactic ending
I know I went off about the character growth lol but I thought the results of the boxing match would have been more... inspirational, I guess. This is probably the American in me lol. You kind of end it with an "all that and for what?" thought. I mean, obviously for the MC's own internal growth. But it makes it less powerful when the physical reality doesn't match the mental. I think maybe, they were aiming for a match like in Rocky where the journey is what matters, not the outcome. Basically if you give it your all then it doesn't matter what happens. But for some reason it doesn't feel as satisfying. Yes, she discovered her self-worth in the end, but I feel like she was so abused/mistreated in the beginning that the trade-off doesn't really match.
OVERALL
YOLO is one of those movies where right after I ended, I was like "this all?" But after sitting with the message, I started to appreciate it more. Is it inspiring? It's supposed to be, yes. It didn't quite reach the mark for me, though, although I can still appreciate the intent.
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A journey to finding her own worth!
First of all, Hats off to the Female lead, Ling Jia, who's also the director of this movie. She showed her transformation like no one else. Her transformation inspired me so much. She gained weight and then lost it in a year, which shows really well in the movie. This movie isn't a Lalaland or delulu if someone didn't watch it. I like the ending where she wins in the end (ifykyk).Character analysis: I don't understand the reason for her not finding a job for all those years but that doesn't matter. She didn't get a job and did nothing in her parent's house, she was lazy and she was people's pleasure too. Her younger sister also didn't get along. She lost her confidence, she didn't have the guts to kick her cheated bf and so-called best friend, I lost my mind when she attended their wedding as a bridesmaid?♀️
Theme: IDK why it is in the comedy category but I didn't find it funny? It should be in the drama category. She also falls for her relative act and makes a fool of herself in front of the whole world. If that wasn't humiliating enough she tried to finish herself and jump, now this was so interesting that the fat that she hated saved her from getting unalive.
Her coach who she thinks is her bf was using her, since she didn't have any confidence in herself she accepted anything the way he treated her, he live off of her, in her house eating at her place, using her to do his work and she did all of the things because she thinks that at least she has him but damn he was the biggest loser.
This was not only her physical journey but also emotional, she finally had a goal in her life at the age of 32, she lost 50 kgs. Here, the pain not only changes her physically but also mentally. During the match, she was dedicated, and the result was quite real. I like that the focus wasn't on winning the match but on winning in life, her sister was speechless, her parents were proud of her, she proved herself, she gained what she wanted, and lost her old personality. Her former coach has the audacity to ask her out, wtf but you can find a man like this irl too. Finally, she was able to stand up for herself and confidently reject that loser.
Conclusion: This hit hard, and she finally started taking a stand for herself, her life didn't change overnight, not after the match, but she was dedicated. When her father came to meet her she said that she would give both apples to her friend was her old self but then she said it depended on her mood now, yk here she had changed, she finally knew her worth.
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Overhyped?
This movie is about the character development of the main character, Le Yin, portrayed by Jia Ling. It brings a good message about determination and perseverance, but overall, lacks plot as it's main selling point is Jia Ling's weight loss transformation of 50kg, which is amazing, but should not be the center of a movie, in my personal opinion.As a fan of Jia Ling, I expected some laughs and comedy, but if that's what you were anticipating, it's severely lacking, aside from a couple of jokes.
Overall, I cannot understand the hype around it: there's not much of a storyline and that's what a movie needs. It's quite disappointing; they are all capable actors and actresses, especially Yang Zi.
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