# Love in Taipei

Love in Taipei is a 2023 American romantic comedy film directed by Arvin Chen, starring Ross Butler, Ashley Liao and Nico Hiraga. The film is based on Abigail Hing Wen's 2020 novel Loveboat, Taipei, and was released by Paramount+ on August 10, 2023.

## Plot

Ever Wong is a 21-year-old Taiwanese American college student from Chagrin, Ohio. She is a star student and dancer, and currently studying premed. The summer before she starts medical school, her parents decide to send her to a summer school program in Taipei called Huewei so she can learn more about her culture and study Mandarin. At first, she is not happy to go, because she was planning on practicing for an audition for a dance program based in New York, although she is not sure her parents would approve. When she arrives at Huwei, she is surprised to learn that many of the students tag the program as "Loveboat," as they see it as an opportunity to party and have a fun summer making new friends and relationships. Ever starts receiving sketches of herself from a secret admirer. Soon, Ever finds herself making fast friends with Sophie Ha, who happens to be the cousin of Rick "Wonder Boy" Woo, a popular Taiwanese American student studying economics at Yale who Ever's mother has been comparing her to for years due to his academic and athletic accomplishments. Ever also finds she has earned the attention of another classmate, Xavier. Slowly, Ever starts breaking out of her shell and spends her time exploring the city and partying with Rick and Sophie, all while reconnecting with her mother's sister Auntie Shu who lives in Taipei, and happens to own a studio where she can practice her dance audition.
Things come to a head when Rick invites Ever as his date to a fancy family party in an attempt to save face after breaking up with his ex-girlfriend, whom his family approved of. He tries to boast about Ever's accomplishments as a medical student and that her father is a successful doctor, when in reality he was a doctor in Taiwan prior to immigrating to the US and now works in a pharmacy. Ever is hurt by Rick's actions and abruptly leaves the party. At the same time, Sophie dumps Xavier who she had been dating because he embarrassed her in front of the family by sharing his plans of wanting to travel the country in a van. Xavier finds Ever after the party and they bond when they get caught in a typhoon on their way back to Huwei. He admits he has been the one sending her sketches and they share a kiss. Confused about her feelings, Ever runs back to campus alone to find the power is out. There, she finds Rick and he apologizes for his actions and confesses he cares for Ever, but he also reveals he will be leaving Taipei the following day due to the terrible floods.
The next day, Ever walks to her Auntie Shu's studio/apartment which is ruined from the floods after she forgot to close the windows. She gets in touch with her parents after the floods, who share that they received news that she was rejected from the dance company. With some encouragement from Xavier, Ever starts moving forward, and has her friends help restore Auntie Shu's studio, as well as practicing her Mandarin dancing for the upcoming Loveboat Street Festival to celebrate artists work that had been damaged in the storm as well as give the Huwei students opportunity to showcase the culture and talents they had learned over the summer. Ever's parents fly in for the festival that she has been working so hard on. She tells her parents that she does not want to go to medical school and that she is still figuring out what she wants to do with her life. The festival is a success. Rick and Sophie reunite with Ever and they part on good terms. Ever and Xavier share a romantic moment and Ever reaffirms that she feels content with not knowing exactly where her life is going.

## Cast

* Ross Butler as Rick Woo
* Ashley Liao as Ever Wong
* Nico Hiraga as Xavier Yeh
* Chelsea Zhang as Sophie Ha
* Cindy Cheung as Aunt Shu
* Kelly Ko as The Dragon
* Janet Hsieh as Aunt Claire
* Elton Tang as Uncle David
* Jacko Chiang as Mr. Wong
* Alexia Kao as Mrs. Wong

## Release

Love in Taipei was released by Paramount+ on August 10, 2023, in the United States and Canada.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 68% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10.