Love in Taipei movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Love in Taipei

This rom-com will be released on streaming on August 10, 2023.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hour 35 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B+

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.