Betelnut Beauty (Chinese title: 愛你愛我) is a Taiwanese romantic comedy by Lin Cheng-sheng, released in 2001. It stars Li Xinjie (a.k.a. Lee Sin-jie and Angelica Lee) and Chang Chen.
While the plot is ostensibly about the relationship between a young drifter and a betelnut salesgirl, the main interest of the movie is its depiction of a quintessentially Taiwanese phenomenon, the sale of betelnuts from transparent roadside booths by young women, who attract the attention of prospective customers by wearing outrageously skimpy clothing.
Betelnut Beauty provides examples of the following tropes:
- Danger Takes a Backseat: Happens to Guang, a small-time crook who gets on a rival mobster's wrong side.
- Genki Girl: Fei-fei. Bordering on Manic Pixie Dream Girl in her relationship with Feng.
- Going to the Store: Fei-fei runs away from home by claiming she's just going to buy groceries.
- Happy Rain: Fei-fei, annoyed by her mother, steps outside just as a summer downpour is falling. She releases pent-up frustration with a long shout, and Feng joins her under the rain.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Feng gets killed because his cell phone was ringing.
- The Triads and the Tongs: The local betelnut trade is under the unofficial control of one Mr. Ming, a mobster.
