Bolin Chen and Ivy Chen Pair Up for the Third Time in Hilarious TW-movie Campus Confidential
I quite like the onscreen pairing of Bolin Chen and Ivy Chen, and with this upcoming movie it will be their third outing together. Ivy and Bolin attended a movie press conference this weekend for the December premiere of their school yard rom-com movie Campus Confidential. The Chinese title is actually much cuter – it’s called 愛情無全順 (Ai Qing Wu Chuan Shun) which translates to “there is no smooth luck in love”, and in the context of this movie, the male lead is the aptly named Wu Chuan Shun (with the common Chinese last name 吳 in place of the homonym character 無 which means none). Bolin is hands down one of the most talented actors of his generation in Taiwan, and while I wasn’t a fan of his character in In Time With You which won him last year’s Best Actor Golden Bell, I still think acting-wise he is easily in a league of his own. He’s a chameleon character actor as well as a leading man, easily slipping into any character and never once giving off any whiff of his real life personality. After each performance, the image he leaves with the viewer is of the character he just created. In Taiwan, it’s been nearly two years and he’s still trying to shake off the lingering effects of everyone referring to him as Da Ren Ge (Brother Da Ren) for his ITWY enduring beta-male lead.
For Campus Confidential, he pairs up with Ivy again after they did the C-drama Modern People, where they didn’t play the OTP but he had a crush on her, and last year’s hacker movie Silent Code. I think they have wonderful chemistry and have no problems if they keep doing movies and dramas together. Bolin transforms into an uber-nerd college student in Campus Confidential, someone with an IQ has high as his EQ is low. He has no social or self-presentation skills, but that doesn’t stop him from having a crush on the prettiest girl on campus played by Ivy. The set up isn’t particularly unique but when I watched the trailer I was grinning cheek-to-cheek at how funny it was. Simple rom-coms with tried and true formulas like opposites attract or beauty and beast (dork) can work on acting and chemistry, and here Bolin and Ivy have both in spades. I know folks love Bolin and Ariel Lin, who he worked with twice in ITWY and the rom-com movie Love Sick, but I never really bought into their onscreen chemistry all that much. It was good because both are talented actors, but in terms of effortless spark Ivy and Bolin have it in spades with each other. This movie looks hilarious and Bolin is pretty much spot on in looks and body language as the campus uber-geek who gets a chance to date the prettiest girl in school. Check out the trailer and stills below and enjoy the chuckles.
Trailer for Campus Confidential:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWFncoWRTEM
Each school has its various outcasts and loners. Wu Chuan Shun (his name sounds like no smooth luck) is one of them, and his life is completely unlucky. IQ of 154, computer whiz, won every scholarship out there, but he’s twenty years old and still a virgin. Thank god all his buddies are also still virgins. The prettiest girl in school is Liang Xiao Qi, and she can’t stand Wu Chuan Shun, seeing him as derpy, unkempt, smelly, and cold. She tells Chuan Shun and she will never ever fall for him. If every person on Earth died and they were the only two left, she would rather go live with a gorilla than him. But suddenly, over night their romance blossomed? Chuan Shun asks Xiao Qi why her face is so close to his? Back to the scene in the infirmary, Xiao Qi says she can’t stand anything about Chuan Shun, his hair is a mess, her dresses terribly, and his conversation is inane. As a man, doesn’t he have any self-awareness? Suddenly the door opens and Xiao Qi tumbles onto Chuan Shun’s lap and he gets an erection and she screams and he looks so mortified.
In the second trailer, Xiao Qi narrates that she’s the campus flower and all the guys love her and her life is perfect. She’s dating the hottest guy on campus and everything is going well until Chuan Shun ruins everything!
And in case anyone forgot what the real Bolin Chen looks like after his wholly believable turn as the campus uber-nerd, here’s a reminder with his latest ad in Taiwan. Unf. He apparently gained 15 lbs for this role and had to endure 3-4 hours of make up a day to transform him into the schlub you see onscreen.
Oh my, I was actually sold once saw that how ridiculous Bolin Chen look in that poster. But those trailers are HILARIOUS, can’t wait 😀 😀
He sold me in ITWY, where it was the first drama I’ve seen of him.
I always wonder how famous he is in Taiwan. Because as an audience, I think he really stands out from the sea of good-looking guys who has the conventional male actor look. He’s handsome in that boy-next-door look and has a presence that truly shines when he appears on screen. I hardly see him in entertainment news.
Oh! I remember a time when I was so obsessed with Bolin I searched up his whole history in a day or 2 lol. I loved him in ITWY and his chemistry with Ariel was so so awesome. I honestly find him sooo much better than Joe Cheng – in terms of chemistry with Ariel and in acting.
I really like Ivy too. So I’m so looking forward to this. They look adorable together.
I thought AL just hammed thru both ITWY and LS. She is really overrated in terms of beauty or talent. I can’t watch any of her her , Raine or Ella ‘s dramas. Give me Sonia sui, Cherly yang or Alice K any day. B’s scenes with Ivy were the only scenes worth watching in MP. The lead guy looked like her father. I would watch anything with BC and Ivy. How handsome is he in that last pic?! Nothing plastic about those looks. Just pure raw natural good looks. Just love this guy. He is my Robert Downey Jr of Tawain.
Agreed. somehow, am not into Joe Cheng no matter how much I tried, but Bolin is just broodingly charismatic. ITWY was a friendship thingy before anything else and I found that so cool and totally bought it, not forgetting that Ariel did good too. am gonna re-watch ITWY again!
this looks like something not to be missed. nearly missed a heartbeat with that stare from the last picture. Gaining 15lbs, that’s what I call dedication to his art.
I thought Lovesick was terribly bland.
But this movie looks freakin’ hilarious! I was grinning from ear to ear watching the trailers. Can’t wait to see this. 😀
0:24 in that trailer is what happens when you have a ridiculously narrow standard of beauty…
same thing happens in the US too
I love both of them! This sounds fun.
Watching Ivy in this trailer reminds me of how many strong/fierce female roles she’s taken on, and her performance doesn’t seem that much different from the others (not meant to be a criticism). I feel like looking up some of her dramas to watch what other types of characters she’s portrayed.
This is awesome. I hope it does well when it comes out.
And man, I really respect actors who go the extra mile to really get into persona like Bolin Chen (other recent examples are Yoon Eun Hye for MHIYD and Go Ara for AM94).
There’s almost no similarities between his CF shoot (where he exudes hotness) and his movie persona (where he exudes total dorkiness). I love that in actors.
LOL! Definitely on my to-watch list! Bolin is really incredibly convincing as a nerd! Haha, is that a cameo by Crowd Lu at 1:55, who’s a nerd in real life? This movie reminds me of Jay Chou’s 阳光宅男, I think the song would be apropos to Ivy’s character. I wonder if Bolin will have some makeover in the movie, as the last still hints?
and i want to ship them both.. haha.. wonder who is bolin’s girlfriend.. 🙂
on my list.. 🙂
His girl friend is Gui Lun Mei, the female lead in Jay Chou’s Movie, Secret. They starred together in Blue Gate Crossing.
Looks similar to “Can’t Buy Me Love” movie, but with Asian puns.
I love both Ivy and Bolin very much. I like their last movie together in Silent code. Too me, Bolin look more like a mentally retarded than a nerd. I hope this movie doesn’t disappoints me.
I love his voice… that’s it
I love these two!! Both of them were really cute!!I didn’t get to watch silent code but the photos of them blew me away with the chemistry and how good they both look together.
I hope I can watch it..