Love in Taipei

I actually spoke with the author of Loveboat, Taipei, Abigail Wen, when she was promoting the book years ago. To me, she was living the practical Asian's dream. She worked to become a highly paid lawyer but was able to pursue her writing on the side to great success. All of the upside of a creative outlet without the risk of being a starving artist. In a sense, that was my problem with Love in Taipei. It lacked the tension of risk and felt like a series of events happening to the protagonist, Ever, rather than a cohesive and compelling story.

I knew going in not to expect Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. This is a YA movie based on a YA novel. The screenwriters changed several details and story arcs from the source material. The movie cuts most of the side characters, but both the book and the movie focus on Ever's interactions with Rick, Xavier, and Sophie. I don't think the movie successfully establishes the stakes Ever faces. When the events start to unfold in Taipei, it's difficult to really care. The movie centers on Ever having to choose between two paths: medical school or dance program, Rick or Xavier, etc. I didn't feel like it really mattered which path was taken. The struggle was missing. I don't think the movie does a good job of making us root for Ever. She essentially already has everything: a clear path to medical school, an audition with a dance company, an instant best friend in Sophie, attention from the academic celebrity (Rick), attention from the rich but artistic boy (Xavier). There's a love triangle (actually more like a square) with almost zero drama. There is also something to be said for having some flash. This might have been due to the limitations of the actress, but one can't help thinking "Hmm...probably should just go to med school" when we see her dancing. If the movie showed amazing dance numbers, the audience could feel the pull between two worlds. We're kind of meant to assume she's great at dance but never shown it.

It's been a long time since my last trip to Taiwan, but I didn't feel any pangs of nostalgia when the characters explored the different parts of Taipei. I think it was a missed opportunity to showcase the experience of being in the city.

This is not uncommon with male Asian actors, but my first thought when I saw Rick was "why is this 35 year old man with these college students?" It turns out, he's actually 33, but you get my point.

With most good movies, there are breathtaking highs and devastating lows, and one connects with the emotions of the main character. Love in Taipei felt more like a flatline.

Been deciding if I want to make a trip to taiwan and thought this movie might be interesting. The story is ok but parts of it were lame and super predictable. It was very disappointing it didn't show much of local scenes and culture, but maybe that was because there isn't that much to see. Asian cultures are so people/culture centric, and the reality of that is it gets very boring. And the ending was about not needing to have all of your life planned out and just kinda go with the flow, which is typical of millennials and zoomers. It could be fun while still young and parents flip the bills for that life style, until one day you get too old to start to plan your life. That day isn't far from your 20s.

IN A NUTSHELL: Directed by Arvin Chen, this story is about a group of American teens with Asian heritage, experiencing Taiwan for 8 weeks during the summer break.

LOVE IN TAIPEI follows a young woman's cultural immersion program in Taiwan turns out to be a liberating free-for-all known as "Loveboat" where unexpected romance leads her to question her future. Based on the best-selling book "Loveboat, Taipei" by Abigail Hing Wen.

On a personal note, my daughter-in-law is Chinese (from Hong Kong) and now I have an adorable grandson who is half Chinese. Asian women are so beautiful.

THINGS I LIKED: The starlet of the film is Ashley Liao, possibly new to viewers, even though she has been in quite a few movies, including Fresh Off The Boat, which got a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. She's lovely and so talented.

Other cast members include Ross Butler, Nico Hiraga, Chelsea Zhang, and Cindy Cheung.

People will learn more about Taiwan and be introduced to their language, dance, art, music, architecture, and street food. It's on my list of amazing places to go!

I was really excited about the movie Joy Ride because I knew it was going to showcase China, but it was SO raunchy that I only lasted about 20 minutes. This film is so much sweeter and appropriate.

The film was shot on location in Taipei.

We get to hear some familiar American tunes with the lyrics sung in Mandarin, as well as a few Chinese songs.

What girl doesn't want two handsome boys who are crazy about her to choose from?

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:

It seems unlikely that a girl whose parents immigrated from Taiwan wouldn't speak even a little bit of Mandarin.

It's pretty doggone predictable. It follows the classic coming-of-age tale of a young woman trying to become independent and discover what she truly wants in this world.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some "light" profanity.

Teens break curfew rules to go clubbing.

Alcohol.

I was super excited after seeing the trailer, I love Ross Butler and Niko Hiraga. I'm a sucker for a love triangle and/or coming of age movie. It was definitely a cute watch but I was expecting more from it. Some of the writing was cringey (the Ever jokes like "forever ever" and "never ever", come on) and the acting was mid in some scenes. I feel like the film was trying to be a crazy rich asians teen version but it was just awkward in some scenes, I wasn't expecting the story to be anything amazing, it's a finding myself teen movie, the plot is very expected but I felt like they could've carried it out better. Still a good watch if you need a lighthearted cute movie for a night in or something.

Totally perfectly embraces the experience of being sent back to Taipei for the Love Boat! Growing up in LA in a 90% white community I recall this experience so well. The writer/directors shows how cool and beautiful Taipei is and made being Chinese whose parents left Taiwan and came to the US relatable alongside a cute friendship and boy drama with a hunk and an Asian Joe Jonas love triangle super fun. Love that it was carried by an almost all Asian cast!!! Well done and well worth the watch! Could/should be better as a series! Emily in Paris style. Friend/roommate gives me Mindy vibes. So many more beautiful spots and relationships to explore.