Remaking the Modern Family

Chapter 2 Remaking the Modern Family The case studies within this monograph begin with the examination of a pair of films that initially make the process of remaking a film across cultures look like a very straightforward situation of translation, whereby a narrative is copied and transferred to another language and location. In the case of the Hollywood film What Women Want (2000) and its Chinese-language remake (我知女人心) (2011), indeed, upon first viewing, the remake seems to have made no major changes to the actual plot of the source film. It is not, in fact, the differences between source film and remake which initially strike the viewer of these films, but the similarities. A product of collaboration between US and Chinese production houses, it is easy to assume that the remake is perhaps nothing more than a Chinese copy of the original film. While the film is now set in Beijing and characters speak Standard Mandarin, the Chinese-language remake readily seems to adopt the original Hollywood film’s plot. The film’s mise-en-scene is dominated by light, bright and shiny high-key lighting, with skies punctuated by tall, beaming skyscrapers, and spaces framed by sharp, clean lines, presenting a modern view of life in China today. Thematically, dysfunction, divorce, women in the workforce, and the sexual tensions of adolescence all make an appearance in the film. Scenes which seem very direct, including one where Andy Lau’s character walks in on his very young daughter, who can’t be much older than sixteen, and her boy- friend on the lounge room couch, perhaps indicate that this film might reflect liberal, modern Chinese attitudes towards gender, sexuality and the family. But is this actually the case? This chapter will compare and contrast representations of masculinity, femininity, sexuality and the family in the two versions of the film, with a view to better understanding the role of perceived cultural dif- ference in Chinese-language remakes, and how the representations of gender and the family seen in the remake might connect with current values on these critical social elements. The US film What Women Want (2000) directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei and Alan Alda, is set in Chicago, and tells the story of a chauvinistic male advertising executive, Nick Marshall, and his struggle to function within a society which is no longer con- trolled by men. Nick’s personal life is dominated by difficulties with his ex- wife and daughter, and he engages in a string of meaningless relationships. At © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004363304_003 Remaking the Modern Family 23 work, an advertising market increasingly dominated by the female consumer means a change of direction for his company, and Nick loses a big promotion to new female employee Darcy McGuire. While attempting to get in touch with his feminine side (part of a professional exercise in understanding the female consumer developed by McGuire), an accidental electrocution gives Nick the power to hear women’s thoughts. First seeing this as a curse, his (female) psy- chiatrist enlightens Nick to the power he could wield should he use this insider information to his advantage. Nick then sets about bringing down the woman who stole his promotion, copying her ideas and undermining her confidence and competence. The Chinese-language remake (我知女人心), made in 2011, is also a main- stream commercial film, and follows the same plot line, with the male lead Sun Zigang (孫子剛) (played by Andy Lau) directing his new-found mind-reading powers at Li Yilong (李仪龙) (Gong Li). Like the American film, the Chinese remake also features a number of secondary characters, including a male side- kick for the male protagonist, the male CEO of the advertising company, an emotionally unstable coffee waitress, and a female employee with low self- esteem. In both films, by listening to the thoughts of women, the male lead is able to transform himself into a man who understands and appreciates his daughter more, along with winning the love of the female protagonist. Filled with Frank Sinatra music, Chicago architecture, references to U.S. brands like Nike, and a plot which glorifies the endeavor of personal reinven- tion, the original film is “a very American movie,” according to director Nancy Meyers on the DVD’s commentary; “and the characters are very American” (Meyers, 2000). Given this description of the original film as being highly cul- turally specific, it could be reasonably inferred that it would be difficult to remake such a film in China, where there are different cultural, historical and social forces in action. However, upon viewing the remake, critics from media organisations such as Variety and the Los Angeles Times actually saw few differences in how the story was translated. Julie Makinen’s review leads with the title, “What women want translates easily now—in remaking the 2000 film for Chinese audiences, few details had to be changed” (Makinen, 2011). Variety’s reviewer Richard Kuipers evaluates the film as a “straightforward remake of Paramount’s 2000 money-spinner” (Kuipers, 2011), while Mark Olsen goes fur- ther to state that “Andy Lau and Gong Li are appealing leads, but this Chinese- language carbon copy doesn’t find a distinctive voice” (Olsen, 2011). Not only do these reviews identify a lack of substantial plot variation between the two films, but they also reflect the long-held notion that remakes are primarily commercial, sub-quality, unoriginal films with little substance, a myth which .

Load more