Reunion Dinner (Chinese: 团圆饭) is a 2022 Singaporean, Mandarin-language, Chinese New Year comedy drama film. It tells the story of a soon-to-be-married couple who arrange for their parents to meet for the first time over Chinese New Year reunion dinner. But as the boyfriend is estranged from his mother, he fakes a family to impress them instead.
The film was released on 20 January 2022 in Singapore and 31 January 2022 in Malaysia during the Chinese New Year period.[1][2][3] The film stars Lawrence Wong, Cya Liu, Mark Lee, Xiang Yun, Guo Liang, Zhu Houren, Mimi Choo and Das DD.
It was one of the five 2022 Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese New Year films, including Ah Girls Go Army (Singapore), Nasi Lemak 1.0, Kongsi Raya and Small Town Heroes (Malaysia).[4]
It is also not related to the 2009 Chinese New Year drama Reunion Dinner in any way despite sharing the exact same title and both starring Zhu, and another difference is that he was playing the one of the main protagonists in the drama and the main antagonist in this film.
Synopsis
editA couple who works in an advertising firm, Chaoyang (Lawrence Wong) and Zihong (Cya Liu) have a marriage on the cards, but both have not met each other’s parents. At a client's request, they have to do a livestream of their own reunion dinner to promote the company's products, and their parents will officially meet for the first time.
Estranged with his mother Yanling (Xiang Yun) and embarrassed by her occupation as a mama-san, Chaoyang decides to fake a family with the help of his mother's boyfriend Wei (Mark Lee) and two freelance actors, who pretend to be his mother and "fake relatives", resulting in a series of mishaps and hilarity. With Zihong's father flying in from China, and a fake family assembled, can the reunion dinner go smoothly? Can Chaoyang fix the broken relationship with his mother?[5]
Cast
edit- Lawrence Wong as Li Chaoyang
- Cya Liu as Liu Zi Hong
- Mark Lee as Wei, Yan Ling's boyfriend and part-time actor
- Xiang Yun as Li Yanling, Chaoyang's estranged mother
- Ferlyn G as young Yanling
- Guo Liang as Liu Lanting, a Chinese war veteran and Zi Hong's father
- Zhu Houren as Huang Hailong, Yanling's ex-boyfriend
- Joel Choo as young Hailong
- Mimi Choo as Zhang Ai Jia, a part-time actress hired to play Chaoyang's mother
- Das DD as AK, a part-time actor hired to play Chaoyang's cousin
- Henry Thia as a police officer
Release
editThe film was directed by Singaporean director Ong Kuo Sin; his previous film was Number 1 (2020), which also starred Mark Lee and Henry Thia. Filming was completed in July 2021 in Singapore.[6]
It starred Malaysian-born Singaporean actor Lawrence Wong and Chinese actress Cya Liu, and its cast includes well-known Singaporean actors and actress Mark Lee, Xiang Yun, Guo Liang, Zhu Houren, Hong Kong-based Malaysian veteran actress Mimi Choo and multilingual comedian Dasa DD, as well as special appearances by Ferlyn G, Joel Choo.[7][8][9]
The film was released on 20 January 2022 in Singapore and 31 January 2022 in Malaysia during the Chinese New Year period.[10] It was also released on iQIYI for the China market on 27 January 2022.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ "Mark Lee plays Xiang Yun's boyfriend in CNY movie Reunion Dinner: 'I'll ask Edmund Chen if we can have intimate scenes'". AsiaOne. 2021-07-22. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "Mark Lee's bathtub scene in movie Reunion Dinner not as relaxing as it seems". AsiaOne. 2022-01-21. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "Film review: Reunion Dinner (2022)". Moviexclusive.com.
- ^ "Malaysia CNY 2022: 7 Exciting Chinese New Year Movies To Catch In Cinemas". Hype Malaysia. 2022-01-21. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "Official Main Trailer of Reunion Dinner". Youtube. 31 December 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "Actor Lawrence Wong wants to give S$3,000 red packets to staff this CNY". Mothership SG. 2022-01-26. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "Reunion Dinner's Mark Lee says he is 'too old to do slapstick'". The Straits Times. 2022-01-19. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "Mandarin-Speaking Indian YouTuber Das DD Makes Movie Debut In Reunion Dinner, Says PM Lee Texted Him After Seeing His 'Magic Cup' Video". 8 Days. 2022-01-26.
- ^ "Film Fanatic: Local CNY comedy film Reunion Dinner marks opening with star-studded premiere at Sands Theatre". Bakchormeeboy. 2022-01-19. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "Film review: Reunion Dinner, A CNY farce that hits home the meaning of family". Yahoo Singapore. 19 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ^ "爱奇艺电影《团圆饭》正式上线 解锁欢闹团圆密码". biz.ifeng.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ^ "李国煌《团圆饭》中国上线 网友佳评:无尿点 | 早报". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.