When popular Taiwan novelist Giddens calls directorial debut You Are the Apple of My Eye an autobiography, he isn’t kidding. Not only did he name the hero after himself, he even shot a good portion of the film at his own high school. However, the film’s basic idea is universal: every high school clique has one girl that all the guys yearn for. For Ko Ching-teng (first-time actor Ko Cheng-tung) and his friends Boner (Yan Sheng-yu), A-Ho (Steven Hao), Groin (Tsai Cheng-hsien) and Tsao (Ao-Chuan), that girl is Shen Chia-yi (Michelle Chen, Hear Me, FEFF 12), the prettiest bookworm in the class.
After Ching-teng and his friends get into trouble for masturbating in class (just the first of the film’s many self-gratification jokes), Chia-yi is asked by their teacher to keep an eye on Ching-teng. Reluctantly taking up the job, Chia-yi figures the first step to get her new ward back on track is to make him study. The bickering couple grows to become good friends, even as all of Ching-teng’s buddies continue to use wacky ways to pursue Chia-yi.
The boys’ silly antics are simply variations of behavior you’ve seen in countless high school comedies. Giddens has unintentionally proven that high school life in most civilized countries must be similar, as the first half of You Are the Apple of My Eye is standard teen comedy stuff, like overused character archetypes (the Fat Kid, the Womanizer, the Joker, etc.) and a surprisingly high amount of sexual humor that’s comparable to that in American teen sex comedies.
This universality allows audiences to immediately relate to the film. Giddens also caters to his home audience with plenty of Taiwan pop culture references, like having popular Taiwan blogger Wan Wan play herself (as Chia-yi’s fictional best friend) or even an obscure in-joke about Taiwanese singer Jay Chou. Giddens appeals to non-Taiwanphiles with his core story, about the unspoken love between Chia-yi and Ching-teng. The long-unrequited romance is not a fresh genre, but Giddens’ personal connection helps him craft a particularly poignant love story. Ultimately, You Are the Apple of My Eye is more accomplished as a romance than a high school comedy.
Though the story is told entirely from Ching-teng/Giddens’ point of the view, the writer-director doesn’t shy away from his hero’s flaws nor how those flaws affect his relationship with Chia-yi. At times Giddens plays up the importance of his own story a bit too much, but the final moments do carry an emotional impact because of how well Giddens leads his audience along.
The talented cast should also be credited. Ko Cheng-tung and the supporting cast are all likable, but it’s Michelle Chen who does the heavy lifting as Chia-yi. Despite being eight years older than her co-star, Chen is totally believable as the object of Ching-teng’s affection. Giddens was the promotional focus of the film during its Taiwan release, but audiences will come out remembering Michelle Chen.
The commercial success of You Are the Apple of My Eye is a synergy of many things: Giddens’ popularity, the strong cast, a poignant romance and also the film’s status as a based-on-true story. Neither the form nor the content is particularly original, but the film was made by a director that knows how to please his audience without sacrificing his personal touch. You are the Apple of My Eye is Taiwan pop cinema at its finest.
Kevin Ma