Asian teenage rom-com starter pack: 1) not-so-good-looking female lead 2) bad boy male lead 3) beauty transformation 4) some type of bet 5) bet backfires and the two leads fall in love 6) but they don't know how the other feel 7) love triangle (usually with a more good-looking character) 8) "make the best of our youth" 9) follows a time line 10) first love = endgame Bonus 11) The actors are going to become household names after... Number 10 is really the reason why I kept coming back. I just have the awful attachment to those kinds of stories and just makes me believe in them more...even if the chance that they'll happen in reality is slim. But anyway, the point is: teenage Asian rom-coms follow this similar path. Of course, there's some changes here and there but the initial idea remains and Our Times is no exception. It likens with another Taiwanese hit, You're the Apple of My Eye and Thai hit, Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Yet I enjoyed watching all three. Why? Because of the nostalgia. (And yes, I'm weakness in these type of plots.) Thing is, these type of movies, like Our Times is of course, not for everyone. It has its target audience and I guess it's able to reach them successfully. All these movies I mentioned, including Our Times tries to tickle a millennial's nostalgic heartstrings which is really a big thing in Asia. You feel it alongside the movie, that is why timelines work. And Our Times used that. Cameos by well-known actors like (no spoilers allowed so...) made that feeling stronger since many of us young adults, grew up watching them. With that, we are able to remember our own first loves. Not to mention that Our Times has beautiful cinematography and soundtrack. The plot is nothing new but the comedy is still spot-on. Darren Wang and Vivian Sung (both in their early 20s by the way) play their respective characters well. I do think that Our Times, however, tried to twist things a little to make it a little more interesting (though still relaying on common romance tropes) but still trying to stretch things a little. In the end, it's not a movie for everyone. But for those it wants to reach, I believe it does. It's a fun, light-hearted watch that tries its best to deliver a message for us youngsters out there.