The Mermaid (2016)

Too much of everything

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film is a romantic comedy. Lui Xuan is a real estate developer. He has sonars around his island, "The Green Gulf" to keep away protected species so he can develop it. Unbeknownst to him, it has trapped and is killing off the local indigenous mermaid (and men too) population. Shan has been assigned to lure Mr. Lui so she/they can assassinate him. Lui courts her as this turns into an odd Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet involving two different species. Shakespeare sells.The film has English subtitles. The comedy was good. It made me laugh out loud. The police scene was a riot. The sound track fit neatly into the film using mostly stuff we hear in American and old European films. The opening scenes of a side show scam artist sets the comedy mood. The film also has action. It hits on all cylinders.Guide: Quick male butt showing. Implied topless scene. Use of SOB and frequent "bitch." A large tentacle is where manhood should be. Shooting and killing. Even the music has subtitles.

The Mermaid, or Mei Ren Yu in Chinese, is not just any romance and fantasy film, it's a film that blends together it's elements into a mixture of smart writing, strange moments and brilliant performances from the cast. All to deliver its timely environmental messages as well as entertaining the audiences simultaneously. Although I have not seen many Chinese movies, this one is truly no ordinary Chinese film. I had a very good time with the film, not only did it cheer me up with its irresistible humor, but I learned so much from the film while I was enjoying myself and having a good laugh while watching the film.The film weaves together a funny, brilliant, sometimes violent, powerful, and timely story about protecting the environment. Rather than using just drama or seriousness to express its important themes, it also uses comedy to do so while entertaining us. I have to say that I am a person who never laughs at explicit and black humor, and therefore there were moments that I wouldn't laugh at when a piece of media or a line of words spoken by a person in reality (there is not much of pitch black rude humor in the film, but maybe just a little bit.). But, man, for a person who doesn't like comedy, this film's humor really let this boy have a great time while injecting an important lesson of environmental preservation and the significance of protecting marine life.Does anyone believe that there are Mermaids out there? I'm not sure of my answer to that question that I have just mentioned myself, but I was definitely a fan of the story of "The Little Mermaid" by Danish Author Hans Christian Anderson, as well as Disney's 1989 Musical Film Adaption of it. This 2016 film also features a story about mermaids, and it, like the original story by Hans Christian Anderson and Disney's 1989 film adaptation, has the key element of romance within. But this film used the romance element in its story as a catalyst to strengthen the timely messages that it wants to tell it's audiences.The story (which I shall not spoil at all and leave it to the new audiences to discover the film's "Treasures" themselves instead) is about a beautiful mermaid lady named Shan (brilliantly played by actress Lin Yun), who is sent by her kind to seduce a rich businessman, but falls in love with him instead. Love is a powerful thing, it can bypass many barricades. And I while I am aware of the dangers of it, I am even more aware of the even deeper dangers and consequences of violence, and this doesn't exclude violence against other animals besides us humans. As a vegetarian, I deeply appreciated and applauded the environmental messages that this strange but funny fantasy live action film wished to impart to me and the rest of its audiences.How much I laughed at the film's comedic moments, most of which was, pretty much, harmless. Except perhaps for the moments of animal bodies present I wouldn't appreciate it much. As I have told you, a vegetarian I am. Where did I tell you? In the paragraph above this one. Anyway, for Chinese audiences (I am one of them) I am certain that it would appeal very well to. No matter which kind of audience you are, you will definitely laugh at the film's irresistible humor and enjoy yourselves in the process. I had a lot of fun, and learned a lot of important lessons from the "Fun" that I had.I smiled a lot, and I think you would, too. Even if you're reading the subtitles written in English(The film's spoken language is Chinese). I watched it on DVD, and after completing my first viewing of the film I had the wish of visiting the film again in the future to view its important messages alongside of its entertainment qualities once again.

'Mermaid,' the new offering from director Stephen Chow is a breezy fantasy romantic comedy in which a group of mer-people (the sub-titles only refer to them as "Mermaids," even though some are clearly men) decide the only way to save their lives is to assassinate the mega-tycoon behind the exploitation and destruction of their undersea home. They teach one of their young, erm, school-members, how to walk like a human (sort of) in order to turn her into a honey-pot trap for the tycoon, and the plot is off and running. This movie features some hilarious slapstick comedy as you would expect from this director, some beautiful visuals, sets and locations, and not an especially subtle pro-conservation/anti-whaling message. However, it's still fun enough that you don't feel you are being preached at the whole time, at least.

One of the most visible traits from Stephen Chow is his lead female is always quirky and far from generic beauty, thus the mermaid here is definitely not your average princess. The style of mixing comedy and drama is incredibly and bizarrely compelling, often depicting light nuance and then jarring grim tone hand-in-hand. However, it works perfectly for the drama as well as delivering its eco-friendly message with approachable means.Liu Xuan (Chao Deng) is a businessman who ruins environment for profit, little did he know that a group of mermaid is hell bent on stopping him. It's a rather simple build up, although the simplicity is strikingly presentable. This is a love story that is littered with silly antics in expense of its own characters. It's nicely done without being too cheesy and having good female lead Yun Lin as Shan who is adorably unlike supermodel can be uniquely charming.The comedy is spot-on, as expected from Stephen Chow. His signature stupid series of unfortunate events are ridiculously infectious and effective in delivering laughter. Those wanting classic slapstick from Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu Hustle will not be disappointed. Its transition from comedy to drama and even slight horror can be jarring, but no one does it better than Stephen Chow. The mixed tone plays smoothly, sometimes having sad and funny moments at the same scene.Unfortunately, it's not without flaws. Its usage of CGI can be sketchy, Chinese film has a certain juvenile style of CG, which might fit some movies theme, but here it is often poorly done. Still, the movie plays its nature premise pretty well, using it as subplot and also an integral part of the movie.The unique fairy tale is attractive in its own way, with slapstick humor and oddly riveting drama.