Upcoming Summer (2021)

I kissed a girl just to try it.

This crisp, cleverly written coming-of-age movie with a bit of a twist, explores the usual themes of first love, rejection, self-discovery, and accepting your family for who they really are. It is carried by persuasive and heartfelt performances by both Wu Lei and Zhang Zifeng whose restrained, nuanced portrayals convey the confusion of awakening youth and the utter depth of despair of first love and rejection. In this genre, young actors tend to lose my empathy by over-dramatizing and overacting in such angsty moments but these two truly moved me by not doing so. I also appreciate the well-timed light humor that diffuses tense moments and captures the ultimate resilience and optimism of youth.

Zheng Yuxing and Chen Chen couldn't be more different - he is a bit of a rebel, the cool kid with a bit of internet following while she is a good student with bright prospects who unexpectedly flunks out. Thrown together by an outrageous lie, a mutual understanding that becomes a touching, unexpected relationship blossom between them. They embark on a most excellent adventure together as Chen Chen convinces Yuxing he must confront Ming, who is breaking his heart. Instead, they end up facing their feelings for each other and what it means for each of them culminates in an "I kissed a girl just to try it" kiss that says all that needs to be said. The chemistry between both leads is incredible and is exactly as it should be. I can't praise enough how these two young actors effortlessly show us rather than tell us the complex multitude of emotions they are experiencing.

Unfortunately for Yuxing and Chen Chen, there are too heavy consequences for their actions. Once again we see that young people are so much better people and I am left hoping these two stay that way on their long journey ahead. The ending is realistic with the right touch of wistfulness and hope.

So now is the time to confess that I only watched this because I wanted to see my favorite Wu Lei of unforgettable Fei Liu fame's first screen kiss. Needless to say, I got much more than I bargained for. While this movie has received backlash for not being upfront about what it is about, I think that criticism reflects a lack of understanding that that is the whole point. Who is Ming? That is the most irrelevant detail because it changes nothing. Yuxing's emotions, Chen Chen's emotions, our emotions, and our experiences are the same regardless of certain aspects of our identity.

The premise of this movie isn't the most original but the way it communicates its simple message is. And the acting deserves a standing ovation. This is an 8.5 for me with a strong recommendation to watch.

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Realistic story of 2 souls who face Acceptance, Honesty and life…

[ STORY ]

The movie starts with a simple scene where Zheng Yuxing(ML) is live on tik tok and Chen Chen (FL) can be seen at the back. They share with everyone that they will be going for a spontaneous trip and following that we went up to a long flashback of 1 hour of how they reached this moment……

As the story forwards, almost all things go predictable but still good enough to keep us engaged till the end… 2 lost souls who have there own issue come together not coincidentally but due to a planned lie of the female protagonist.

What can this movie give you? Changing emotions, how complicated it is for a child to face their parent's separation, how a lonely boy seeks light in the world of electronic music and loving a Girl who is actually very far from him and much more…… Moving on and acceptance is another issue portrayed here….

…Please don't look for logics here cause the movie is full of emotionally taken rash decisions…

[2 worthy statements that I found very realistic and relatable —
★ "When it comes to others, everything seems simple but what if it's about ourselves?"
★ "A lot of times we understand we're childish but we just can't help ourselves."]


[ CAST ]
•Leo Wu (role. Zheng Yuxing)— finally saw him in a more free and soulful role rather than the hugely responsible person. He's young and his personality suits this role also. Looking at the BTS from the making, he enjoyed himself while acting and that shows how he could easily portray this carefree role.

•Wendy Zhang(Chen Chen) — look at her cute face. She was perfect for this role. Playing the lost girl who has the ability but ends up taking rash decisions and faces reality at the end. Wendy did well acting up here as the confused little girl who just turned 18.

•Hao Lei (Chen Chen's mother) — Oops. She had a tough role here. This is the character that had the most no. of mood swings lol. Crying, irritated, angry, tensed, faking smiles she had to do them all. Poor her xD

……Except the crowd in background, there were a total of 7 characters who actually had to say anything in the movie (including main leads). Such a small cast list haha. Well, others weren't needed in the story either. They kept it simple with the cast….


[ MUSIC ]
Music was a major part as it represented the ML's field of interest… then all those club scenes can't be done without music…
Theme songs ~~
♪Upcoming Summer♪ — Mayday
♪Eternal summer♪ — resung by Wendy Zhang & Leo Wu (originally by Mayday)


[ REWATCH VALUE ]
Has a 40% chance of rewatch as it's a movie first so short… but going through the confused relationships again is a trouble for me lol. I can watch it someday just to see Leo Wu again lol


[ CONCLUSION ]
Give it a go if you're looking for a more realistic version of relationships. It's not the usual fairytale fluffy version that's common for high-school romance dramas. It's unique and more of a practical, friend-zoned movie. Acceptance and Being brave to reflect and be honest with yourself is the moral of the story.

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