with a constantly self-mocking boys' angle", which she described as an "alternative to Asian teen movies that tend to be syrupy". She said that "the youthful cast has a limited register but offer enough self-conscious blasé posing." She described the film's texture as "slightly over-bright". Russell Edwards, reviewing for Variety, criticized the second part of this film, which he says is "unable to maintain the outlandish phallocentric humor of its first hour". He further criticized the last quarter of the film, which Edwards says "sees Giddens overestimating the charm of his own story". Edwards praised the film's cast which, he said, were the film's "greatest asset". He also praised the film as "a much more robust production than many similar youth-skewing Taiwanese romancers over the past decade". Serene Lim, a reviewer for Today, labelled the film a "gentle tale of a teenage romance". She said that "Ko's talents as a novelist are evident", although his "attention to detail can get indulgently long-winded at times". Lim singled out Ko Chen-tung for praise, saying that "[he] thoroughly deserves his Golden Horse nomination for Best Newcomer, given his turn as the impetuous rebel made good"; overall, she gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5. Yong Shu Hoong, writing for Singapore-based Mypaper, said that the "flashback sequences can reek of oversentimentality", although the reviewer added that "the thrills, rivalries and heartbreak associated with high school romance are well depicted with nostalgia and humour" and gave it a rating of 3 out of 5. The film was rated by Mtimes Movies as the "2nd Best Chinese Film of 2011". Film Business Asia gave the film a rating of 7/10, with Derek Elley describing it as "a confident feature" and "slickly packaged in every department", the latter making it "easy to miss the fact there's nothing at all original here". He praised the cast as "well-chosen individually and relaxed as an ensemble". He added, "apart from a slightly draggy second half, the material sustains itself at almost two hours, with generally trim editing by co-executive director ." He concluded by summarizing the film's plot as a "simple teenage rom-com, a will-they/won't-they between two opposites, but capped by a neat finale that does deliver some real emotion". Accolades Notes References External links 2011 films Taiwanese romance films Taiwanese teen films 2010s coming-of-age films 2010s teen romance films Films based on Taiwanese novels Films directed