Almost a Comedy

Three young people in Beijing want three different things. One is trying to leave single life behind, one wants a last loose night before getting married, and one is chasing the paperwork that would let him stay in the city at all. When the three of them collide in the same apartment, the lies stack up and nobody can find the nerve to say what is actually true. Zhou Shen uses comedy to talk about the price of staying in a city this crowded: housing, work, residency, and what gets sacrificed for them. Even at its funniest there is a vice tightening underneath, which is exactly what the title admits. Ren Suxi plays the one character willing to pay for telling the truth.