[5] You Are the Apple of My Eye was filmed almost entirely on location in Changhua County, including at the high school which Giddens attended.

[10] Well received by film critics, the movie set box-office records in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Ko Ching-teng, a mischievous and poor student, claims that he has no interest in her, despite being her classmate since junior high school.

Ching-teng slips her his own book and tells their teacher he forgot his own textbook; he then endures a long lecture and is punished.

Chia-Yi, who did not do well on the admission exam because she was ill on that day, only manages to enter the National Taipei University of Education with her mediocre test results.

[16] He changed some details of the story to make the film more dramatic;[17] for example, Ching-teng and Chia-yi's fight actually took place over the phone, not in the rain as depicted.

[18] Chen had previously starred in Taiwanese television drama series such as Why Why Love and Miss No Good, although she was better known for her 2009 film Hear Me.

Giddens chose first-time actor Ko Chen-tung because he felt he showed great improvement in his acting skills in each successive audition.

Giddens liked his attitude, having seen Ko Chen-tung hiding in a corner, frantically studying the script just before his audition.

[21] The director chose Ao-chuan, Yen Sheng-yu, Hao Shao-wen, and Tsai Chang-hsien to play the roles of his high school friends.

[15] He described Hao Shao-wen as being a persuasive speaker, Tsai Chang-hsien as being a very good prankster, and Ao-chuan as self-confident.

[7] At first Giddens could not decide on the closing theme for this film; however, after hearing one of Japanese composer Mitsutoshi Kimura's new compositions he chose it and added lyrics.

[27] The original soundtrack album for You Are the Apple of My Eye was released by Sony Music Entertainment Taiwan on 5 August 2011.

[31] Internationally, the film was released in Hong Kong and Macau on 20 October[32][33] and in Singapore and Malaysia on 10 November 2011.

[5][34] On 21 December, Giddens announced on his blog that the film passed the censorship board in China and would debut in that country on 6 January 2012.

[35] Giddens was unhappy when Chinese censors cut much of the film's "negative sexual and pro-Taiwan content".

[41] STAR Chinese Movies reportedly purchased the rights to the film for the price of NT$2 million (approx.

[41] You Are the Apple of My Eye grossed more than NT$$20 million at the Taiwanese box office during its soft launch.

[33][42][a] It also set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a Taiwanese film at the Hong Kong box office, previously held by Lust, Caution in 2007 with a gross of $11,441,946.

[45] During the final hours of 2011, it was announced that You Are the Apple of My Eye had grossed over HK$61.28 million, making it the all-time highest-grossing Taiwanese film at the Hong Kong box office.

[44] [b] At the Macau box office, You Are the Apple of My Eye earned more than HK$100,000 in its opening weekend, with nearly 100-percent attendance.

[11] You Are the Apple of My Eye was the highest-grossing Asian film of 2011 at the Singapore box office, with earnings of SGD$2.93 million.

[46] At the Chinese box office, You Are the Apple of My Eye became the most popular Taiwanese film, surpassing the previous record set by Cape No.

[16] She praised the film, saying that it "injects a fresh, tart edge to the genre with a constantly self-mocking boys' angle", which she described as an "alternative to Asian teen movies that tend to be syrupy".

[16] Russell Edwards, reviewing for Variety, criticized the second part of this film, which he says is "unable to maintain the outlandish phallocentric humor of its first hour".

[49] He also praised the film as "a much more robust production than many similar youth-skewing Taiwanese romancers over the past decade".

[50] Lim singled out Ko Chen-tung for praise, saying that "[he] thoroughly deserves his Golden Horse nomination for Best Newcomer, given his turn as the impetuous rebel made good"; overall, she gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5.

[50] Yong Shu Hoong, writing for Singapore-based Mypaper, said that the "flashback sequences can reek of oversentimentality", although the reviewer added that "the thrills, rivalries and heartbreak associated with high school romance are well depicted with nostalgia and humour" and gave it a rating of 3 out of 5.

[22] He added, "apart from a slightly draggy second half, the material sustains itself at almost two hours, with generally trim editing by co-executive director Liao.

"[22] He concluded by summarizing the film's plot as a "simple teenage rom-com, a will-they/won't-they between two opposites, but capped by a neat finale that does deliver some real emotion".