ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE (落跑吧爱情) (2015)

Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Richie Jen & Andy Luo
Cast: Richie Jen, Shu Qi, Ti Lung, Lego Lee, Lu Kung Wei
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films and Clover Films 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 3 September 2015

Synopsis: This summer, get ready for a lighthearted romance between the wealthy Chinese travel blogger Fenfen (Shu Qi) and the modest Taiwanese B&B owner Awu (Richie Jen). The story is set in the middle of the beautiful Pescadores Islands, where Fenfen leaves her protective home in China in search of the place that inspired the song that captured the heart of her late mother. Expecting the luxurious accommodations she reserved on the Internet, Fenfen is flabbergasted to find a crummy B&B kept by passionate Awu. Feeling duped, she demands to leave the B&B the next morning, only to lose her passport and belongings in the sea in the process. Forced to stay with Awu and his daughter and father, Fenfen has to test her boundaries in all aspects and eventually finds true love in the least expected place.

Movie Review:

‘All You Need is Love’ is one of those movies where you hope to get out exactly what you went in for.

Is it meant to be any surprise that Ritchie Jen’s simple-minded but loyal B&B owner Awu will fall in love with Shu Qi’s snooty travel blogger Fenfen whom he at first regards with equal contempt?

Is it any surprise too that Fenfen will fall in love with Awu?

And last but not least, is it any wonder that, despite their incompabilities at the start and many other disagreements along the way, Awu and Fenfen will eventually find true love in each other?

Yet the fact that we expect how things will turn out for our leading couple doesn’t mean we are automatically disengaged in their romantic journey; in fact, we want a happy ending for them, and we’d be much displeased if somehow that was robbed from us.

Thankfully, Jen, who assumes multi-hyphenate duties writing and directing this breezy (pardon the pun) rom-com, knows exactly just what his audience wants out of such a film and delivers just that.

Complemented by his sparkling chemistry with Shu Qi, Jen’s Awu and Fenfen are lively opposites at the start, bickering over the lack of frills of Awu’s humble B&B as well as his crude but earnest service.

That slowly gives way in the middle act to several ‘aw-shucks’ moments, as Awu introduces Fenfen to the islander way of life that is much simpler, honest and carefree than the city life Fenfen is used to, with the couple slowly bonding over food, picturesque scenery and other quirky local cultures such as a 'Mosquito' song.

Then just before that anticipated happily-ever-after, Fenfen’s guardians come knocking and inject a little dramatic tension by bringing her fiancee in tow, which though obvious is nonetheless effective in getting us to want a blissful resolution for her and Awu even more.

To underscore the emotional payoff, Jen has Fenfen fall over his boat with her luggage while at sea earlier on, in order that Awu may personally undertake a dangerous dive in the middle of a storm to retrieve her belongings of deep significance, in particular a box containing the only items she has to remember her late parents by. It is manipulative all right, but if you’re not here precisely to have your heart-strings tugged in a specific way, then you shouldn’t even bother in the first place.

There is even a model of true love thrown in for good measure, in the form of veteran Hong Kong actor Ti Lung’s Old Captain – otherwise known as Awu’s father – who dances on occasion with a portrait of his late wife in the shed next to the B&B. Admittedly, this subplot could have been better developed, but Ti Lung brings an understated dignity to the role that saves his character from being frivolous.

Not quite so for two narrative detours which could easily have been trimmed – the first concerning a scam that Awu’s naïve younger brother (Lego Lee) falls for that leaves the fate of the B&B in question, and the second concerning a reality dating show that Awu is persuaded to participate in with three other fellow male islanders to compete for the affections of four buxomy Mainlander girls. The latter strains too hard for slapstick laughs, while the former is over and done with so conveniently that it is pretty much pointless.

Still, there is no denying that there is a winsome, charming and even delightful romance at the heart of ‘All You Need is Love’. Ritchie Jen and Shu Qi are extremely likeable, and it doesn’t hurt that their onscreen coupling unfolds against one of the most beautiful natural landscapes of Taiwan, i.e. the Pescadores Islands. For a first-time director, Jen doesn’t offer up anything particularly distinctive, but at least he doesn’t overdo the laughs nor the melodrama; instead, he plays it safe, offering ‘rom-com’ comfort food that he knows most of his audience will probably be looking for.

And on most counts, this agreeable rom-com gets it right, so if you’re looking for a movie for a date or just to indulge vicariously in a fictional love story, this might just be what you need. 

Movie Rating:

(If you're looking for some 'rom-com' comfort food, this winsome, charming, and even delightful romance boosted by Ritchie Jen and Shu Qi's sparkling chemistry and some truly picturesque locations may indeed be just what you need)

Review by Gabriel Chong