I loved this movie for its portrayal of a relationship that started out on the basis of expected mutual benefit, gradually became a genuine friendship, and by the end developed into the beginnings of a romance. (So much better than many Hollywood rom-coms which tend to be explicit from the get-go.) But what set it apart was the cross-strait element - the clash of cultures and political opinions between Taiwanese and mainlanders - which provided a lot of the movie's excellent humour.
Chen Yu-Zheng is a civil servant at Taiwan's Bureau of National Affairs and is threatened with termination if he doesn't produce a decent manual on cross-strait etiquette. Upon discovering that he has never been to China and has no mainland friends, his boss tells him to go make some. Over dinner at a dumpling shop, he encounters a mainland Chinese girl, Chin Lang, ordering dumplings by the ounce instead of by piece and strikes up a conversation with her. He finds out that she is in Taiwan to track down her grandma's childhood friend; and he offers to assist with the search, in exchange for help with the manual. In conforming with the stereotypes, he is mild-mannered, gentlemanly and dependable, while she is feisty and somewhat brash though not without charm and warmth. This sets the stage for an amusing clash of cultures (e.g. whether to use charm or be demanding when faced with an initial refusal by service personnel) and cultural exchange. The two also help each other come to terms with past episodes in their personal lives, which makes for some heartwarming moments.
I think the Mandarin title, which literally means the girl from across the straits is charging this way, captures the essence of the movie way better than its bland English title. All in all, it was highly enjoyable and amusing, and managed to be thought-provoking - a rare combination in a movie of this genre.
