Director Gavin Lin (林孝謙), who is known for his romantic movies, tries his hand at comedy with Welcome to the Happy Days (五星級魚干女), an uplifting story about how an unlikely couple save a family-run guesthouse from going out of business.
Set in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), the film initially feels like promotional material, with American backpacker Allen (Andrew Chau, 周厚安) commenting how Taiwan is a wonderful place to live.
But the plot takes a promising turn when Allen arrives at a hot spring guesthouse named The Happy Days. However, there are no lodgers inside the quaint, Japanese-style house, only a wacky desk clerk and Fanju (Alice Ko, 柯佳嬿), who is temporarily taking charge of the guesthouse after her grandmother broke her leg.
Photo courtesy of Swallow Wings Films
Allen volunteers to work there in exchange for accommodation and Fanju reluctantly accepts. Together, they attempt to woo back customers, but instead, end up discovering a long-buried secret of Fanju’s grandmother.
The biggest surprise is Ko’s high-energy performance, who plays Fanju. Ko makes a smooth transition from drama to comedy by playing the goofy heroine in one of her most memorable performances to date.
Ko’s gratifying blend of slapstick and humor makes the Nintendo-games-playing slob a lovable heroine.
Local films seldom offer memorable roles for women, and Ko’s performance suggests that Taiwanese cinema may finally have its own funny leading lady, who can hopefully go on to have a career like Hong Kong’s Sandra Ng (吳君如) or Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文).
Equally energetic is Chau, the son of Mando-pop icon Wakin Chau (周華健). Simple, fun-loving and easily excited, his character is like an overgrown boy.
Co-writers Lin and Hermes Lu (呂安弦) neatly tap into Taiwan’s hybrid culture and elicit humor from multi-linguistic wordplays.
The dramatic side, however, is the film’s weakest point. The romance between Fanju and Allen comes too little, too late and the plot, written so as to push the characters to change and grow, sometimes feels contrived.
For those who wonder why there are so many scenes taking place by Xinbeitou MRT Station (新北投捷運站), the film is part of a series of movies made under the rubric of Metro of Love (台北愛情捷運).
Produced by Yeh Tien-lun (葉天倫), each film tells a love story, has a different director and is filmed at different MRT stations.
Following the rollercoaster ride of 2025, next year is already shaping up to be dramatic. The ongoing constitutional crises and the nine-in-one local elections are already dominating the landscape. The constitutional crises are the ones to lose sleep over. Though much business is still being conducted, crucial items such as next year’s budget, civil servant pensions and the proposed eight-year NT$1.25 trillion (approx US$40 billion) special defense budget are still being contested. There are, however, two glimmers of hope. One is that the legally contested move by five of the eight grand justices on the Constitutional Court’s ad hoc move
Stepping off the busy through-road at Yongan Market Station, lights flashing, horns honking, I turn down a small side street and into the warm embrace of my favorite hole-in-the-wall gem, the Hoi An Banh Mi shop (越南會安麵包), red flags and yellow lanterns waving outside. “Little sister, we were wondering where you’ve been, we haven’t seen you in ages!” the owners call out with a smile. It’s been seven days. The restaurant is run by Huang Jin-chuan (黃錦泉), who is married to a local, and her little sister Eva, who helps out on weekends, having also moved to New Taipei
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) told legislators last week that because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) are continuing to block next year’s budget from passing, the nation could lose 1.5 percent of its GDP growth next year. According to the DGBAS report, officials presented to the legislature, the 2026 budget proposal includes NT$299.2 billion in funding for new projects and funding increases for various government functions. This funding only becomes available when the legislature approves it. The DGBAS estimates that every NT$10 billion in government money not spent shaves 0.05 percent off
Dec. 29 to Jan. 4 Like the Taoist Baode Temple (保德宮) featured in last week’s column, there’s little at first glance to suggest that Taipei’s Independence Presbyterian Church in Xinbeitou (自立長老會新北投教會) has Indigenous roots. One hint is a small sign on the facade reading “Ketagalan Presbyterian Mission Association” — Ketagalan being an collective term for the Pingpu (plains Indigenous) groups who once inhabited much of northern Taiwan. Inside, a display on the back wall introduces the congregation’s founder Pan Shui-tu (潘水土), a member of the Pingpu settlement of Kipatauw, and provides information about the Ketagalan and their early involvement with Christianity. Most