controversy is a strange thing; a movie that you otherwise wouldn't have cared about suddenly becomes relevant without you fully understanding why (looking at you Da Vinci Code). in this case, it's China's meddlesome pro-nationalist censorship that drew my attention to 21 and Over; but now that i've seen it, all i can to say is…… eh not bad. it's got all the important ingredients: likable cast, raunchy humor, vehicular mayhem and a crazy Latina sorority that's out for revenge against our "heroes". but you can never shake the feeling that it was more entertaining when it was called Harold and Kumar, or Sex Drive, or American Pie, or The Hangover.
what makes this movie stand out is how it's being reworked for mainland Chinese audiences. rather than getting a raunchy comedy about old high school friends getting their asian buddy into every kind of drunken disaster imaginable on his 21st birthday, mainland audiences are being treated to the Chinese equivalent of REEFER MADNESS; a cautionary tale about the dangers of going to school in a debaucherous American university and how you should find strength and success in your family and your homeland.
I was going to make a smartass comment about uptight Chinese censors
but it feels like mocking a fat kid in a 10K race.... just no sport in it....
21 and Over is hardly a bad movie, it's actually quite entertaining but hardly necessary. sadly, it's hard to justify going to a theater for this one….. but rental worthy it is. now if only i can get my dirty American hands on the Chinese version of this film….. now that would be a real party :D
what makes this movie stand out is how it's being reworked for mainland Chinese audiences. rather than getting a raunchy comedy about old high school friends getting their asian buddy into every kind of drunken disaster imaginable on his 21st birthday, mainland audiences are being treated to the Chinese equivalent of REEFER MADNESS; a cautionary tale about the dangers of going to school in a debaucherous American university and how you should find strength and success in your family and your homeland.
I was going to make a smartass comment about uptight Chinese censors
but it feels like mocking a fat kid in a 10K race.... just no sport in it....
21 and Over is hardly a bad movie, it's actually quite entertaining but hardly necessary. sadly, it's hard to justify going to a theater for this one….. but rental worthy it is. now if only i can get my dirty American hands on the Chinese version of this film….. now that would be a real party :D
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