I have to say, I had a pretty good time watching "Love Is Not Blind," a locally produced low-cost chick flick that is trumping Hollywood blockbusters in the box office rankings. As much as I was amused in the cinema, I was perplexed when I left as I tried to determine what made the film so funny. Strangely enough, I found nothing.

Anyway, the literal translation of the movie's title in Chinese is "33 Days After Being Dumped." It is about how a young women deals with the agony of the termination of a seven-year relationship and how she learns about herself and about love. When she recovers from the emotional trauma and decides to start anew, there is already someone there waiting by her side.

It is a simple movie, and I'm not just talking about the plot. Director Teng Huatao has mainly directed TV series, so he lacks experience in movie production. The way he handles pictures reminded me of his popular TV plays, and his experiment with a spinning camera certainly made me dizzy. Since he couldn't connect the scenes to form a story that flows naturally, the movie seems like a collection of scattered segments.

Then how come the movie is getting better box office returns than Hollywood flicks? First, the so-called blockbusters really aren't that good. "Real Steel?" Oh come on, Hollywood can do better than that! Or can it? Second, and much conveniently, "Love Is Not Blind" is centered on an easy topic. I mean, every grownup must have been dumped once in their lives. As for those lucky dogs that have dodged the bullet, the lack of experience certainly wouldn't stop them from enjoying themselves by watching the pathetic life of someone who gets hit.

This onlooker mentality is proved by the popularity of the original story. Oh sorry! Did I forget to mention the movie is based on a blogger story that had commanded a large readership before it was adapted into a movie? Sure enough, the story was popular because of empathy and onlooker mentality on the part of the reader, but the caustic dialogues and monologues with the typical flavor of Beijing dialect also have contributed to the wide acclaim.

The director obviously tried to incorporate the caustic tone in the movie, so viewers are amused every now and then. But in doing so, he further diluted the nature of the film. As a result, the audience got something in between a TV play and a sitcom.

One last point about the film is actor Wen Zhang's successful portrayal of a sissy whose weird accents and gestures distract the audience from becoming totally disappointed. On a scale from one to ten, I think this film deserves a five.