Love in Taipei

If you haven’t moved on from the trope of XO, Kitty, Love in Taipei, released this month offers a similar coming of age story. As the title mentioned, this one's about an American-Taiwanese who travels halfway across the world in order to learn about her heritage. This film is based on a novel title Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hin Weng and in the film, it’s mentioned why it’s called a loveboat. Unfortunately, unlike XO, kitty and Crazy Rich Asian, I have to say upfront that I was expecting more of Taiwan and especially featuring more of its cultural spots. But it’s quite forgivable that at least, they feature the vibrant street market of Taiwan which is famous for its street snacks. Anyhow, without further adieu, let me show you a sneak peak and reasons why you should check this one out, for better or worse.

Ever Wong (Ashley Liao) is an introverted and quiet girl who grew up in Ohio and in a white majority neighborhood. After her graduation, her parents gave her a ticket to a summer programme of cultural immersion in Taipei before she’s going to attend medical school. On the way to the campus of the summer programme, she meets Sophie Ha (Chelsea Zhang), a partygoer and somewhat an ABG (asian baby girl) who is quite a contrast to Ever. While they were talking, Ever noticed a guy who has been the “bane of her existence” Rick Woo(Ross Butler).

Rick was the idol of her mom, the perfect child who is not only a genius but also good with sport. Ever’s mom was constantly comparing him to her which made her nicknamed him, “The wonder boy”. They eventually bumped into each other while taking their suitcase from the bus and Sophie, who is a cousin to Rick introduced them both. While Ever was still trying to get adjusted, on the way to their room, Ever and Sophie meet Xavier Yeh (Nico Hiraga) who was running from the staff after hooking up with a girl.

Long story short, Ever learned that the summer course was not what she thinks it was. The course is a place for mostly mixed taiwanese children to either party, make friends, or find the love of their life. As Ever makes friends with others, she sneaks in from the place and eventually meets her Aunt, who told her that she should pursue her dream to become a dancer instead of following her father's footsteps to become a doctor. In the camp, Ever has a secret admirer who constantly sends her a sketch of her. At the same time, Ever and Rick become a lot closer and eventually invite Ever to his parent’s party but Rick lied about Ever’s family who was less wealthy and accomplished compared to Rick’s and Sophie’s. That hurts Ever and while she was running away from the party, She meets Xavier who was also dumped by Sophie.

From that moment, she recognizes that Xavier is the secret admirer. Apparently that night there was heavy rain and a typhoon struck the city. The next day, Ever discovered that her aunt’s place was devastated by the Typhoon and after going back to the camp, she told Xavier of what happened and eventually worked together to help her aunt. The summer camp students hold the final festival at the place with Ever, and she has to finally decide who she will choose, forgiving Rick or starting something new with Xavier.

I have to say that I was again expecting quite a lot but unfortunately, there were some aspects that were entirely a let down. First, I thought it was going to be a lot more like the novel, second, just the lack of Taiwanese cultural spots despite being a cultural program and I feel like the focus was more to Ever and the romance. Third, I just can’t sympathize with Xavier or Rick. Though I do appreciate that the male lead was given a much more complex personality where it’s not white and black but rather gray. The movie was quite too fast paced that even the scenes where they show the market were too fast. It's like I, as a viewer , want to enjoy the scene of the Taiwanese street market but it was just a brief seconds of scenes. If we’re comparing Xo, Kitty, at least that one still has an atmospheric busy life in Seoul and same with Crazy Rich Asian where it features a lot more spots despite mostly being a socialite destination. Perhaps, one of the reasons you want to watch this is if you’re still missing the common trope from XO, kitty. I have to give this a solid 5 out of 10 as if they ever released another franchise, I hope it’s going to be a lot better than this one.