AllMovie

Mixed up relationships are the focus of this Chinese comedy that examines the difficult relationship between a married couple. Many of their troubles stem from their frustrated careers. Li, is a brilliant engineer who cannot find work and so becomes a guard in the forbidden city. His wife Xiao, a classical flautist, is having trouble finding work in a world addicted to pop music. Their frustration is soon expressed as resentment and the couple files for divorce. Unfortunately, they cannot separate as their is a housing shortage in Beijing and they cannot find different apartments. They begin to devise ploys to irritate one another. First Li brings home a rube from the country who does not want to live with her in-laws. Xiao retaliates by being the perfect hostess to the little red-neck. Then she goes out and encourages her former school chum who has a crush on her.