July 14, 2020

Happy Camp | Variety Recap and Commentary

I'm recapping this particular episode not just because it has some of the most relevant and hottest stars in the entertainment industry but also because it gave them a spotlight that highlighted so many of their qualities. If you like any of these actors, do check out this episode. I swear I'm not recapping this just because of Ding Yu Xi  

Guests
Ding Yu Xi (Ryan Ding)
Lin Yun (Jelly Lin)
Wang Da Lu (Darren Wang)
Hosts
He Jiong aka He Lao Shi
Li Wei Jia aka Jia Ge
Chinese Title
快樂大本營
Episode 
2017-07-04


[Highlights]
  • Ding Yu Xi clarifies him valuing Intense Love over The Romance of Tiger and Rose
  • Qin Hao scaring every guest and host after his The Bad Kids
  • Wang Da Lu eating kids
  • Lin Yun's hate comments
  • Qin Lan's AMAZING acting (+ Ding Yu Xi winning hearts)
  • Wei Da Xun being funny as always
* I linked YouTube videos because they were easier to find but it’s better to not watch this episode via YouTube because there are missing audio files at key moments (the performance and acting segment). It's not only that it turns silent sometimes, but it'll also play loud Chinese patriotic songs... It completely ruins the mood

[Introduction]
Ding Yu Xi
Ding Yu Xi says he’s a fan of Xie Na’s husband, Zhang Jie, so he starts singing his song (明天以后) to her but hilariously messes up the lyric. He’s supposed to sing 山明和水秀比你有看头 but he sang 山明和水秀比你有看头. That one word changes the entire meaning of the sentence. From saying the beautiful “mountain and water are not as attractive as you,” our cutie Ding Yu Xi changed it to “more attractive than you”. The funniest part is how quick Xie Na caught on to it. The second after he sang the lyrics, her eyes widen and she asks him back “what is more attractive than me?” Hahaha. It becomes Xie Na’s running joke with him. She teases him whenever she gets a chance. My poor and cute Ding Yu Xi. 

He’s crowned as May Boyfriend because of his two successful dramas in May: The Romance of Tiger and Rose and Intense Love. There’s a clip of him asking the reporter back what’s going to happen to me in June? Ha. He also talked about the infamous incident between his drama fans blaming him for promoting one drama and not the other. Read more about it in The Romance of Tiger and Rose under Remarks. Here, he clarifies that because IL aired first, he filmed the post-promos for it but the promos aired when T&R was airing. The cute part about his explanation was the whine he did at the end that catches the hosts off guard. Having watched the clip where he almost teared up because of those “fans”, I think the cute whine he did here was to control himself from crying. Ding Yu Xi seems to be quite the emotional one ^^


Qin Hao
He’s been a hot commodity since The Bad Kids swept China. To the general public, prior to this drama, he’s more well know for his marriage to Yi Neng Jing, a famous Taiwanese singer and the fact that she’s ten years older than him and a divorcee with a child. It’s easy to tell their marriage didn’t have the best wishes from netizens. Recently he’s been on a variety show with his wife and mother-in-law where he’s also known as a “直男”, which describes men who are misogynistic and chauvinistic. In all seriousness he tells everyone on set he is anything but that. He claims he’s romantic. He’s very serious at this point. You can call him anything but unromantic. The hosts tell him to describe one of the most romantic things he did and so Qin Hao starts telling them when he took his wife mountain climbing. LOL. And then he took videos. And then he sang a song for her “小白船”. If you’ve watched The Bad Kids you’ll know how chilling this “romantic” event was. The way he describes it is also very Zhang Dong Sheng like. Everyone on set runs away from him. There’s one host (Jia Ge) who finds him particularly scary, haha. For the entire introduction Jia Ge can’t even look at him. 

Wang Da Lu
He’s famous for his big mouth. Poor guy. He can’t even laugh freely now without being conscious of his mouth. He’s got these two pictures that prove just how enormous his mouth is: first on is him having fun on the roller coaster; second one is him eating a baby. 

[Performances]
Most of the guests had performed a dance (not sure if Qin Hao and Wang Da Lu did because theirs wasn't aired). I only chose to cover Wei Da Xun and Lin Yun's because they had an interesting talk segment. 

Wei Da Xun
He’s more a variety star than he is an actor. He is the unofficial member of Happy Camp. Always so funny. I love him. To me, he's like the Kwang Soo in China. He’s got such an easy going character and has a knack for making people laugh with him or at him. His dance performance had the hosts laughing. While he's on stage it's his chance to clarify why he's always "bullied". To him it's not really bullying, it's just how he interacts with his friends (I love how he mentions Bai Jing Ting). He recalled how Xie Na would tell him that her teasing him is giving him more screen time so he doesn't think it's a negative thing at all. He Lao Shi asks him who would he choose between himself and Hai Tou on who is easier to bully. Wei Da Xun is modest and says it's himself but Hai Tou takes the baton from him saying he's easier to bully. Hearing that, Wei Da Xun automatically agrees that it's probably Hai Tou. Hahaha. Nice comeback, I'd have to say.

 
Lin Yun
She has an innocence to her. She totally doesn't care about ruining her visuals to make all sorts of weird expressions. Her performance was amateurish but it was cute. My jaw dropped at how she could perform to a song that kept repeating "What do I do, I'm so pretty!" Even the hosts don't know how to respond to this. After the performance, she had one earnest complaint. She trained all night for this and then arrived on set to learn she has to sing. That blank cute look she gave made me laugh. It's quite hard to hate her. She's so honest about her celebrity life e.g. how her manager has to approve of all her posts first. Thus she just gave up on Weibo because she can't be herself. It's a sad statement but the way she complains about it makes it humourish as well. 

She stays pretty aloof the whole time until she makes the one comment about how she used to search herself every day. However, now she's scared to. The look on her face pains me. She was so carefree up until this point until she looks like's on the verge of crying. That broke my heart. This poor girl has been receiving so much hate since the back to back failure of Beautiful Reborn Flower and Symphony's Romance. This needs fact checking but both these dramas have one of the record lowest ratings and she gets all if not most of the hate for it. I am not a fan of hers but I have to defend her for these dramas. Beautiful Reborn Flower was destined to utterly flop whether or not she starred in it. She may have overacted in it but that wasn't even a problem in light of the drama itself. No one could have saved that mess. As for Symphony's Romance, I can only vouch for her acting in the first eleven episodes. I didn't find her overacting a problem because the Japanese version had the female character just as eccentric. Honestly, watching Lin Yun almost cry for this makes me really want to finish Symphony's Romance for her IF I have time. 

Ding Yu Xi and Qin Lan also had performances. Ding Yu Xi was cutely balancing the two bowls of water on both hands. It’s a throwback to him balancing his IL and T&R fans. 

[Acting Segment]
In this segment, He Lao Shi reads them a scenario and the guests have to act it out. It was only supposed to be for Qin Lan and Qin Hao but because it was so fun, other guests joined in too. 

Qin Lan
Just wow. She was SUBLIME. The moment He Lao Shi gave her the story for her to act out her eyes just changed. The story: She is an introverted girl and her crush calls her from the stairwell. The moment He Lao Shi said she was introverted, you could see it in her eyes. She even acted behind the curtains. This wasn't even a sad scene but the interpretation she portrayed made me teary. I don't even know why. I was just so moved by how genuine her feelings were. 

He Lao Shi's second story: She is a successful career woman but she overhears someone question her capabilities. That smirk she gave was phenomenal. Such nanoscopic movements had such magnanimous force. 

He Lao Shi's third story: She's marrying but her groom isn't her first love. Among the crowd, she sees a man standing in a corner watching her. He was her first love. I love the stare she gave at the end. Even when the curtains were closing, she's staring straight ahead, eyes unwavering, right at her crush. I just don't know how she can give life to a story in mere seconds. 

He Lao Shi wants to see her act more so he assigns Hai Tou to be the crush from the third story. I was expecting this to be humorous because it's Hai Tou but it went above and beyond expectations. When she called Hai Tou, he didn't turn around immediately. He hung his head low and it really looked like he took a lot of courage to face her. Qin Lan felt this hesitation in him. When he turned around to force a smile, she looked at him and gave him a nod. With that he bowed, still trying to keep a smile, and took his exit. Qin Lan looked at the empty spot where Hai Tou was and cried. I was in tears myself too. I'm so glad I wasn't the only one who cried (He Lao Shi, Wang Da Lu and Ding Yu Xi teared up too). And then I had happy tears because Hai Tou ran back to hug Qin Lan. So cute. Hai Tou also gave us his thought process on his character. To him as long as she was happy in her marriage, nothing else mattered. Oof. 

Qin Hao also had a segment here but his was more goofy. I think he tried but he was nowhere near as good as Qin Lan. Qin Hao is revered for his acting but it's a whole different story acting on the spot on a variety show with zero background information under so much pressure. Qin Hao not doing as well is understandable. You can't take away his acting skills just because he didn't perform here. But that just blows my mind on how well Qin Lan did. She's so chillingly good. 

Ding Yu Xi
This segment was only supposed to be for the two veteran actors (Qin Lan and Qin Hao) but Ding Yu Xi tackled it too. At this point, He Lao Shi has to make three impromptu stories for him. 

He Lao Shi's first story: He's with his friend and from behind he sees his friend's girlfriend which is the girl he has a crush on. Ding Yu Xi gave a wide smile with a hint of pain. Nothing overdone, so good. 

He Lao Shi's second story: His friend told him a girl is looking for him downstairs. He goes looking around but can't find her. Suddenly from behind he hears a girl shouting she loves him. It's his crush. Ding Yu Xi looked speechless and then a shy smile burst through. He quickly ducked his head but still can’t hide his smile. That smile almost made Lin Yun squeal. Ding Yu Xi then tried to control his expression but another smile broke through. This time Qin Lan has a wide smile too. Ding Yu Xi is winning the hearts of all the women on set. And it's not just women. Wei Da Xun and Qin Hao both have a silly smile on themselves. At this point every single person is praising him. Behind the curtains, our cute little Ding Yu Xi is throwing victory punches in the air. I love him. While he's still celebrating, He Lao Shi is starting the third story. Ding Yu Xi immediately snaps himself out of his happiness to focus on his next story. I love him even more. 

He Lao Shi's third story: It's his first day at work, the dream job he wanted, and the manager tells him to greet the boss first. Someone opens the door and asks, "Ding Yu Xi, is it you?" When he turns around, his boss is actually his ex-girlfriend." He freezes on the spot and can't talk. The feeling of inferiority and leftover feelings for his ex-girlfriend is written all over his face. 

I’m glad I love Ding Yu Xi. I also want to compliment him as an audience especially when Qin Lan was acting. The way he admired Qin Lan's acting makes me feel he really loves acting himself. 

Wei Da Xun
After the success of Ding Yu Xi's acting segment, Xie Na wants more so she pushes Wei Da Xun to the spotlight. Xie Na actually loves Wei Da Xun, always giving him screen time. 

He Lao Shi's first story: He and his buddy audition for the same role. Neither of them got the role but the director suddenly calls him back that he has chosen one of them. It's his buddy. I think Wei Da Xun expressed it pretty well. He couldn't look depressed because his buddy got the role. He then flashed his cute smile which made the cast burst out laughing because that smile was so him but it wasn't at all out of line with the story. 

He Lao Shi's second story: The producer runs out telling the director he got the auditionee's name wrong. The one who passed was Wei Da Xun! He gave a surprised look without showing any happiness. The fact that he acted it out this way makes me really respect this guy. It just shows how much he values friendship. 
He Lao Shi's third story: After his buddy left, the director asks him, how come you're not happy?
Wei Da Xun looks serious and then flashes his signature smile. I LOVE it. This last story was a total bait set by He Lao Shi for Wei Da Xun to make this funny. It's not a matter of acting skills but it's a testament on how well Wei Da Xun can receive this baton from He Lao Shi. So witty. 

[Polling Game]
In this segment, the guests and hosts are on a list but the list topic is unknown. Everyone has to guess why they’re in that order. I’m selectively picking the funny answers. If you know the guests and hosts, you can guess too. I bolded the poll and then listed (most of) the guesses underneath. I italicized extra content that weren't part of each person's answers. 

First Poll: 1) Wei Da Xun 2) Ding Yu Xi 3) Hai Tou 4) Wang Da Lu

Lin Yun: Who is the cheapest (i.e. Wei Da Xin is cheapest)
Qin Hao: Knowledge, from weakest to strongest. HAHA. Qin Hao has developed a liking to teasing Wei Da Xun.
Ding Yu Xi: The type that girls like.
Qin Lan: The type that parents like. Qin Lan’s answer is rewarded for being the farthest from the answer.
Xie Na: Boyfriend attraction level. Qin Lan had to confirm whether Xie Na meant if Wei Da Xun is first or last LOL. Wei Da Xun is close to her and loudly confronts Qin Lan hahaha. Everyone loves teasing Wei Da Xun.
Qin Lan: Security. She finally says something nice. This earns a loud acknowledgement from Wei Da Xun. At this point WDX has given up on answering. He's put himself in charge of congratulating everyone who gives a compliment. While he’s ecstatic, Wang Da Lu's heart breaks a bit more because he’s last on that list.
Jia Ge: Number one male who girls want a confession from
Xie Na: Number one male who girls don’t want a confession from
Qin Hao: The most difficult boyfriend to dump. Qin Hao keeps attacking WDX.
Qin Lan: The boyfriend you most want to break up with. Heh. Qin Lan joins in on the attacking.
 
The correct answer: The person who girls want a confession from the most (Jia Ge's answer). Wei Da Xun beats out Ding Yu Xi by one vote because he looks like an honest person. Ding Yu Xi is a dream come true type of guy. Hai Tou beat out Wang Da Lu because he's so sweet with his real life girlfriend (Meng Chen). Meanwhile Da Lu is last because he eats children hahaha. Poor guy. Poorest of them all is Qin Hao who’s not even on a lost. The hosts give him a reason: he’s too scary. 

Second Poll: 1) Wu Xin 2) Lin Yun 3) Xie Na 4) Qin Lan
 
Ding Yu Xi gives the correct answer almost immediately: Most likely to shop online

Third Poll: 1) Qin Lan 2) Wu Xin 3) Lin Yun 4) Xie Na
 
Hai Tou: Who is more normal. LOL. He’s mainly attacking Xie Na.
Ding Yu Xi: Gentle. Xie Na is offended and starts singing the song he messed up :D
Xie Na: Who you want to marry the most. 

The correct answer: Qin Lan tops the list for the girl guys want to marry the most because the other three are too loud, ha. There’s another reason to vote her according to the chart: “Even as a girl she mesmerizes me.” Wu Xin is second because the voters want to give her a warm home. Lin Yun, who’s third, looks like a bubbly and sweet girl who can make people happy. Meanwhile Xie Na, who’s last looks like the type of girl who would sacrifice for love. Xie Na complains about being on this list and being last when she's the only one already married.

Fourth Poll: 1) Wang Da Lu 2) He Lao Shi 3) Ding Yu Xi 4) Wei Jia
 
Xie Na : Best clothing style. Wei Jia is offended.
Ding Yu Xi: Doesn’t like wearing clothes. He Lao Shi questions him then how much clothes does Wei Jia need to wear to be last. Ha.
Xie Na: The best at saying sweet words. 

The correct answer: Wang Da Lu is voted as the best at saying romantic stuff first because he seems like he has a lot of love and because his mouth is big. Ha. You just can’t talk about Wang Da Lu without mentioning his mouth. He Lao Shi purposely omits it every time he reads it out loud. I don't know if it puts more or less emphasis on his big mouth though haha. He Lao Shi is second because his knowledge is so versatile, sweet words would come naturally for him. Ding Yu Xi is third because he's just good at anything. He’s the perfect man. So why isn’t he first? Can’t beat big mouth? xD Wei Jia is last. He just doesn't look the type.

Fifth Poll: 1) Qin Hao 2) Xie Na 3) Wei Jia
 
Xie Na: Most afraid to go mountain climbing with. He Lao Shi questions her why she' second then
Hai Tou: Who's the meanest. He says this in a quiet voice; he's afraid of offending Xie Na. To his surprise he's very close to the answer.
Qin Lan: Not easy to get along with.

The correct answer: Qin Hao is voted as the hardest to approach mostly because of the characters he's acted. Xie Na is voted second because pretty girls like her aren't easy to get along with. Xie Na likes the reason. Last is Wei Jia. Poor Wei Jia. Hard to approach and cant' say sweet words

[Extra: FaceApp]
They had a lot of fun with this app that analyzed physiognomy. Everyone's self-esteem was boosted from this app because of the results they got. The only one person who had a surprising result was Ding Yu Xi. He got "Hu Meng". "Hu" = Tiger and "Meng" = Silly/Blank. Running Man fans: The "Meng" used here is similar to "Mong" in Korean so Song Ji Hyo's nickname "Miss Mong" is "Miss Meng" if it was in Chinese. Calling someone a Tiger can mean that they're cute. Therefore he has a "cute silly blank" look to him. For Romance of Tiger and Rose fans, Ding Yu Xi being a Tiger (Hu) is very fitting. 



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