Today the tenth anniversary of the famous “Yolok” was released on the screens of Russian cinemas.
We have already gone to the premiere and are ready to share the pain of watching this skit. As before, the film is a set of short stories, already familiar with the “theory of six handshakes.” However, this concept, once fresh and intriguing, in Yolki 10 looks hackneyed and outdated. But first things first.
We have already watched the new movie and are suffering in hellish agony.
It is unknown whether this film brings happiness to anyone. This series has not been worth its cost for a long time, and viewers remain dissatisfied.
• The ninth part in the rating of 4.9 on Kinopoisk collected $8.5 million with a cost of 8.38 million
• The eighth (3.3) was generally released in extremely limited release
• The Seventh (5.7) collected the same amount as the film
And so on…
The last truly successful Yolki (3) were filmed back in 2013, when the film grossed as much as $40 million with a budget of $5 million!
A legal question arises – why? Why finish off such a dead franchise if it no longer brings commercial success, receives low ratings and justified criticism? A rhetorical question.
Our expectations are our problems
What is the movie about: We are again promised new New Year’s magical stories. Gennady from a nursing home will find a real family, blogger Larisa from Tyumen discovers a new side of her wife Marina from Tatarstan notices what is important for her husband, gamer Tanya from Nizhny Novgorod will understand that love is not a game. On this magical night, everyone can find their happiness.
When I bought a movie ticket, I was fully aware of what awaited me. I tried not to build any expectations about the film. Did not help. The film is so empty that you simply wonder how such a soulless second-rate movie can be made.
Of course, “Yolki” never shone with an intriguing plot, romantic warm scenes, or good acting. Everyone understands everything. But could you at least try a little harder?
As promised in the advertisement, this film really turned out to be an almanac, but an almanac with errors, mediocrity and indifference. Therefore, I simply have a list of questions for the creators of this work.
Please note that there will be spoilers ahead. I hope they don’t harm you, because you won’t go see this film anyway. Oh please.
Why is the film filming you, I’m ashamed?
The film continues the sad tradition of its predecessors by delivering the key elements that once made the franchise popular.
The plot looks incredibly banal and simple. The hackneyed “six handshakes theory” is used in only one storyline. Again, in fact, the theory does not work. What once seemed innovative has now become a tiresome cliché. History, divided into short stories in various cities of Russia, has the advantage of attractiveness due to monotony and accessibility.
The characters act like this idiotically, which creates the impression that Russia is populated either by very purposeful but narrow-minded pensioners, or by teenagers who have completely stopped understanding relationships, or by people who are ready to disgrace themselves for money. The above sounds like “an insult to the feelings of believers,” but the fact remains a fact.
It seems that the filmmakers are quite presenting Russian society in dark colors. They portray young people as a generation incapable of maintaining priorities and respecting themselves, paying people – as forgotten in nursing homes and capable of crazy things, the working class as people who are ready to humiliate themselves for little money. Some kind of extremism.
The characters, such as they are, are superficial and clichéd, without any development. The attempts to play with sentimentality look so forced that in some places you want to rewind the movie, but they didn’t give you a remote control in the cinema hall!
It’s a shame.
Why is this not a comedy at all?
One of the problems with the film is that it Doesn’t fit the comedy genre.
The humor in “Yolki 10” seems forced and we can’t even make you smile. Most likely you feel uneasy about the actions of the characters on the screen. AND ALL the characters. Understand, in the first parts of “Yolok” there were stupid characters, but in a good sense of the word. These are kind of friends and classmates with idiots.
Here, adults, in all seriousness, do strange, inappropriate actions that do not fit in with their type.
All the characters’ actions evoke feelings awkwardness. You’re not funny, you’re uncomfortable.
A girl who is trying to get her gamer boyfriend back is ready to go over the heads of strangers. A worker who is ready to do wild things on camera for money is a future webcam hero. Some pensioners generally look like a group of telephone hooligans.
The joke here is the fact that pensioners unsuccessfully try throughout the film to contact the president of the country. Apparently, they believe that he has some kind of connection with the people.
In this film there is not a single really funny moment. Even the appearance of the biggest star (in the literal sense of the word) Philip Bedrosovich along with his father is unable to restrain himself towards the viewer. Stiff and boring.
Probably the perfect fit for the character is the homeless hero of Alexander Bashirov, who is here willing to eat dog food for money. The problem is that this character is studying for money and not for that, just remember “Gruz200”.
Why don’t you understand more about advertising success?
After Timur Bekmambentov left the film’s producers, the number of advertising integrations decreased sharply. Success? Maybe. But the problem is that the “hidden” advertising in the film looks like just advertising.
That is, there is literally a moment in the film that could be used for a TV commercial. We embed advertising into the film to make you feel at home in front of the audience.
Such a show must be embarrassing.
Why are you trampling on musical nostalgia?
The film contains many musical tracks playing in the background: from famous melodies like “Two Pieces of Sausage”, “How delightful are the evenings in Russia”, “The January Blizzard is Ringing” and “If it weren’t for Winter” to songs by modern performers.
However all these compositions are unique as a result of what is happening on the screen. Their use creates the impression of absurdity, as if trying to undeservedly borrow someone else’s fame and the power of nostalgia.
Can I stop filming?
The absence of Timur Bekmambetov, a key figure and ideological inspirer of the first parts of “Yolok”, flares up throughout the film. Bekmambetov, the director and producer who directed the iconic first part, did not even participate as a producer in this part. His absence markedly affected the quality and spirit of the film.
In addition, the film lost its headliners – Ivan Urgant and Sergei Svetlakov, who were completely the entire franchise. Their absence due to recent events has left a dark vacuum in the series, a morning part of their charm and appeal.
In conclusion, Yolki 10 is an example of how a franchise can lose its spark and become a series of generic sequels. The filmmakers, apparently, rely solely on the love of the New Year theme and forget about the need for at least a little fresh look at the genre. The film feels tired and uninspired.
Can I stop filming? Nobody needs this.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
