Didi is the debut film from writer/director Sean Wang, who is telling an autobiographical story of growing up Asian in the late 2000s. Izaac Wang plays the impressionable 13-year-old stand-in of the director, who navigates learning to flirt, skate, and live in a three-generation household of women.
It’s a movie that attempts to capture a lot in its 94 minute runtime. Sean Wang wears his heart on his sleeve as he revisits key events that taught him some important life lessons over the course of the summer prior to entering high school. It uses the common coming-of-age story framework, with a few specific elements that helps to justify its existence.
But it still relies quite a bit on a viewer’s preconceived experiences with movies like this. Didi fits in the mold of counterculture, artsy coming-of-age stories like mid90s and Lady Bird and The Edge of Seventeen. The quality of these movies can vary from laughably mediocre to among the year’s best pictures. I wouldn’t say Didi is either of these, but I found much of the comedic moments to fall flat, and the emotional swells aren’t enough to make up for it.
Didi operates in two completely different tonal movements. It’s mostly a crass teenage comedy following Chris (Izaac Wang) as he makes friends and finds what his passions are growing up, but then it’s also a family drama about growing up in a household with his older sister Vivian (Shirley Chen), mother Chungsing (Joan Chen), and demanding mother-in-law Nai Nai (Chang Li Hua).
And one subplot is significantly more effective than the other. Chungsing struggles to keep her household at bay while her husband is away, and the balancing act of appeasing her mother-in-law and raising her two children becomes the version of Didi that I think I would’ve liked way more.
Because other than that, Chris becomes too unlikeable for too much of the movie to get me to buy in. His antics are understandably childish, but they create a viewing experience that becomes more grating and frustrating than enjoyable. Izaac Wang is effective in the central role, which requires more facial expressions and physical acting than dialogue, but his character comes across as one you struggle to root for or see much of yourself in.
Didi isn’t a waste of time, but I wish I liked Sean Wang’s debut movie more. There are some exceptional ideas and moments within this coming-of-age story, but the comedy falls flat and undercuts the best, most emotional aspects.
Score: 5/10
- Cast: Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua, Mahaela Park, Raul Dial, Aaron Chang
- Crew: Sean Wang, Sam Davis, Arielle Zakowski, Giosuè Greco
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Runtime: 94 minutes
- Rated: R
- Release Date: July 26, 2024
- Read about Didi (2024) on Wikipedia and IMDb
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