As of late, it seems the big studios have handed romance and romantic comedies over to streaming services. They’re just too much of a gamble, but at the same time, there’s still an audience for it. This short-sighted business decision has opened the floodgates of imported romance films from overseas. Taiwanese filmmaker Gavin Lin’s More Than Blue admirably carries the Rom-Com baton to the States.
Bookending More Than Blue is a story of real-life Taiwanese pop star A-Lin, who is frustrated by a song she has to sing loaded with internet catch-phrases. Damn Millenials! She desperately wants a real songwriter to help finish her album. Her driver turns her on to an unreleased song that’s perfect for her. The driver tells A-Lin the songwriting team is not available and launches into a story of a love that could never be.
The Rom-Com gods then carry us into the not-so-distant past, where we meet Zhang Zhekai (Jasper Liu) and Song Yuanyuan (Ivy Chen)—two high school students recently orphaned with no family to claim as their own. The two become fast friends and decide to live together at the home of Zhekai. Zhekai is the more reserved and quiet of the two. Yuanyuan is more creative and adventurous. As these creative types do, she immediately gives Zhekai a nickname. From here on out, Zhekai is known as ‘K,’ and Yuanyuan goes by ‘Cream.’ Is there romance in store for the emotionally fragile teens? There’s a roll on the ground and a passionate kiss, and that’s as far as they go.
“…K finds that he has advanced Leukemia…he keeps his condition a secret and insists that she find a husband and quickly.”
Cut to today, K and Cream work together at a music company. K is in the marketing department, and Cream is a staff songwriter. Trouble brews when up-and-coming and tone-deaf sensation Bonnie arrives with her hit song Kitty Bomb. Bonnie needs help with her album and Cream is brought in to fix the problems. After a tussle between the two, K calms the pair down, but feels dizzy and must excuse himself. After seeing a doctor, K finds that he has advanced Leukemia, which was no surprise as this is how his mother died.
