Another popular theory among reviewers, social-media commenters and Chinese friends who have seen the film is that it cleaves to the experiences of average Chinese in a way that few films do successfully. The film is a successor to Lost on Journey, a send up of the tribulations that Chinese face each year when they travel home for the Chinese New Year. Lost in Thailand takes the same formula and transfers it abroad to one of Chinese tourists’ favorite destinations. Xu Lang, played by director Xu Zheng, is a savvy scientist transfixed on bringing his invention to market. He is racing his former friend and rival Gao Bo, played by actor Huang Bo, to find their boss at a rural Thai monastery to win approval of their respective development plans. On the flight, Xu meets Wang Bao, a simpleminded pancake maker from Beijing, clad in full tourist regalia, including the red hat from his tour group, and carrying a long list of goals for his voyage, including, of course, seeing Thai transvestites, or “ladyboys.” Wang, played by Wang Baoqiang, is something of a Chinese everyman, silly and easily mocked, wanting to photograph himself flashing a peace sign in front of everything, including the hotel chairs. But the obtuse pancake flipper has an honest heart and ultimately proves wiser than Xu or the comic villain Gao.
看过该片的影评人、社交媒体评论人和中国朋友则普遍认为该片贴近普通中国百姓的生活经历,而很少电影能够做到这一点。这部电影是《人在囧途》的续集,第一部以滑稽的风格再现了每年农历新年中国人回家不得不面对的旅途痛苦。《泰囧》采用了同样的套路,但把故事搬到了中国游客最热衷的一个目的地。徐朗由徐峥导演饰演,是一个精明能干的技术员,一心想把他的发明推向市场。他以前的朋友、现在的对手高博,由黄渤扮演。徐朗与高博比赛谁能先到达泰国一个农村的寺庙找到老板,并让他同意授权自己的开发计划。在飞机上,徐朗遇到了王宝,他来自北京,头脑简单,是卖葱油饼的。王宝的一身典型观光客的装备,包括头上戴着的旅行团的小红帽,手里拿着一张长长的旅游心愿清单,清单当然包括看泰国变性人,就是“人妖”。王宝,由王宝强扮演,一定程度上就是普通中国人的代表,笨笨的,常被嘲笑,到哪儿都要比个V字照张相,连旅馆的椅子都不放过。但这个傻傻的葱油饼小贩心眼实在,最终事实证明,他比徐朗跟那个反派高博都要高明。
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