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Johnny Keep Walking!
2023 Chinese film From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Johnny Keep Walking! (Chinese: 年会不能停！, romanized: Nian hui bu neng ting) is a 2023 Chinese comedy film directed by Dong Runnian and starring Dong Chengpeng (Dapeng).[5] The film tells the story of a factory employee who is mistakenly promoted to the human resources department in the company headquarters.[6]
Johnny Keep Walking! was released on 29 December 2023, and was the tenth-highest grossing Chinese film of 2023, and had the third most box office-earnings of a New Year's Day film in Chinese film history.[7][8]
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Plot
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Hu Jianlin (played by Dapeng) is an honest and hardworking fitter with years of service at Zhonghe Standard Component Factory, who loves to perform in the company's talent show. One day, he unexpectedly receives a transfer order assigning him to Zhonghe Group’s head office. Believing it to be a recognition of his dedication and years of service, having been named an exemplary worker year after year, Jianlin accepts the transfer. Unbeknownst to him, the promotion was a mistake.
Ma Jie (Bai Ke), assistant head of Staff Affairs and Company Culture and also known as "Magic", is tasked by his boss Zhao Feiyu (aka Thomas) to handle the mix-up. Fearful that acknowledging the mistake could cost him his position, Ma Jie continues to cover for Jianlin and attempts to “make the best of a bad situation”. Zhuang Zhengzhi (Wang Xun), head of Distribution, is furious with the mix-up, having paid a bribe of 300,000 Renminbi via middleman Hou Chengshi (Yang Lei) to secure a transfer, Jianlin's accidental promotion threatens to expose the scheme.
Jianlin—renamed Johnny ("John") by HR to fit corporate norms of internationalised names—blunders through corporate life, his manufacturing background and unfamiliarity with corporate culture quickly attracting attention within the company. Employees across all levels speculate about his identity and connections. Ironically, the confusion leads to Jianlin being rapidly promoted again and again, as others assume he is a powerful insider or part of some top-level strategy. Pan Yiran (Sabrina Zhuang), a cynical temp in the admin department and also known as Penny befriends Jianlin, having been stuck on a temporary contract with a promise of full-time status for years but is wary of Jianlin's sudden rise.
Meanwhile, the company is facing a crisis, with major layoffs looming and the elaborate annual gala being prepared to project stability and success. As layoffs approach, tensions escalate: temporary staff fear for their livelihoods while execs drop hints of cost-cutting disguised as strategic restructuring and entire floors are laid off. Unbeknownst to Jianlin, he unwittingly signs off on the shutdown of his former Standard Component Factory, firing his friends and colleagues as part of the layoffs.
At the gala, Jianlin reveals scandals through a performance which reveals many employees, such as Ma Jie, being stuck at the same level without raise or promotion whilst bosses party, temporary staff such as Penny being kept permanently without the benefits of permanent contracts, that Zhuang Zhengzhi paid for the CN¥ 300,000 bribe through mixing parts manufactured by Standard Component Factory with cheaper, lower-quality parts and taking the difference in price, as well as a culture of laying people off whenever the company went through difficulties whilst spending millions on the gala. The company president commits to investigate the issues, that justice shall be done, and commits to rehiring everyone that should not have lost their jobs.
In the final sequence, Ma Jie is shown to have been promoted, those involved in the conspiracy are arrested, Jianlin is promoted, the Standard Component Factory is renovated, Pan Yiran is given a full-time contract to which she resigns from the company.
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Cast
- Dong Chengpeng as Hu Jianlin, a factory fitter, English name Johnny/Zhuangni
- Bai Ke as Ma Jie, the company's human resources manager
- Zhuang Dafei as Pan Yiran, a group employee
- Wang Xun as Zhuang Zhengzhi, a factory employee
- Sun Yizhou as Peter
- Li Naiwen as Xu Yunfeng, the group's general manager
- Ouyang Fenqiang as Chairman Hu
- Tong Mo Nan as Mark
- Da Mu as Thomas
- Huang Huang as Tony
- Yi Yunhe as Xu Yongsen
- Yang Lei as Lao Hou
- Lan Xiya as He Xuan
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Original soundtrack
- Promotional song
- Title: "Working hard"
- Singers: Dapeng, Baike, Zhuang Dafei, Sun Yizhou
- Lyrics: Lin Junmin
- Composer: Lin Junmin
- Title: "Pi Te Pi"
- Singers: Spylent
- Lyrics: Spylent
- Composer: Spylent
- Theme song
- Title: "My future is not a dream + Song of the workers"
- Singers: Dapeng, Baike, Zhuang Dafei
- Lyrics: Chen Jiali, Weng Xiaoliang, Tang Yidan
- Composer: Chen Jiali, Weng Xiaoliang, Guo Douzhi *Interlude
- Title: "Xiangjiang Middle Road"
- Singer: Zhuang Dafei
- Lyricist: Zhuang Dafei
- Composition: Zhuang Dafei
Release
- China: December 29, 2023
- United States, Australia: January 18, 2024
- United Kingdom, Canada: January 19, 2024
- New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau: January 25, 2024
- Germany: February 1, 2024
- Cambodia: February 15, 2024[9]
Reception
Box office
Within mainland China, Johnny Keep Walking! earned 1.292 billion yuan, making it the number 1 for the New Year's Day box office. The film was number 1 in the Chinese box office for weeks 1–4 of 2024.
Critical response
Johnny Keep Walking! was described by Sinocinema as "a pointed satire on corporate bureaucracy and office politics", with praise directed towards its ensemble cast, particuarly Dapeng and Bai Ke, although some criticism was given for the pacing in the second half of the film, spending too long on the subplot of the passed-over executive getting his revenge, diverting attention away from Hu Jianlin’s character, as well as the finale being too drawn-out. Additional criticism was given towards the contrast between the tone in the first half being abandoned for a more conventional corruption drama.[10]
The Straits Times described the film as a "heartfelt office satire", commenting that its box office success in China was likely a result of "striking a chord with the country’s current generation of aggrieved white-collar professionals".[7]
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Awards
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External links
References
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