Review: Dìdi

Directed by: Sean Wang

Written by: Sean Wang

Starring: Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua, Raul Dial 

Rating: [3.5/5]

Looking back at how we acted as teens would make anyone shudder at the cringe. The things we would say to act cool and get the attention of others knew no bounds, which makes revisiting that era of our lives somewhat painful if not ridiculous. Dìdi transports us back to a time where millennials lived out their youth with the inception of social media, YouTube, and when skateboarding mattered much more than you can imagine. A real time capsule of a film. 

14-year-old Chris Wang (Izaac Wang), who typically goes by Wang Wang lives with his mother, grandmother, and older sister. He spends his days with his friends typically getting involved in shenanigans and uploading it to his YouTube page but as high school approaches this summer brings plenty of integral moments in his youth. 

With the ubiquitousness of social media as a foundational element of the youth growing up now, Dìdi looks back at the first generation that had it as such a formative part of their lives. I personally fit into this generation where YouTube first exploded onto the scene and seemingly everyone had a MySpace. From being on the all-important Top 8 friends list and having a level of connectivity never known to humanity before, it allowed for youthful rambunctiousness to live forever on the cloud. We had no idea what this would all become but it allowed for something so unique in our society and having this transpire with teenagers was never a good idea. 

While this feature captures a specific moment of history when Chris grew up, the teenage experience has such a universality that made me cringe repeatedly throughout. Chris desperately wants to evoke this persona as someone cool, who says these outlandish things with the hope of it garnering him some positive attention. However, we know our brains are nowhere near full development at this age, which means he puts his foot in his mouth on more than one occasion when around those he seeks to impress. 

We, of course, get the fracturing of persona in what we see in front of his friends and then at home with Chris’s constant bickering with his sister, Vivian (Shirley Chen) as they terrorize each other. Chris’s sweetness comes out fully when interacting with his grandmother but the worst appears in the dealing with the expectations placed upon him by his mother, portrayed wonderfully by Joan Chen. All the different relationships and dynamics has Chris wearing different hats and purporting a different personality that remains quite normal for someone his age but it also demonstrates a level of growth he must also undertake as still a child. 

One inescapable and integral part of Chris’s experience in youth and this film is his Asian identity and how it informs how he interacts with others. Having other Asian friends has allowed him a level of safety but he can never escape how others view his identity. This happens in subtle ways with his crush Madi (Mahaela Park), who even as a half-Asian girl himself says Chris is attractive for an Asian or with a group of skaters who call him “Asian Chris” It certainly does not help with the insecurities Chris has with his identity, but again nothing too uncommon. 

Given all of the cringe and ridiculous behavior we follow in this film, Dìdi has a strain of sadness consistently running through it. Certainly not uncommon in coming-of-age films as this sadness does not limit itself to just Chris but also his other family members where his mother struggles connecting with her son and dealing with the expectations placed on her by her mother-in-law, It’s what allows for this mother-son duo to bond in ways they never have before. It ultimately gives Joan Chen the platform to give the all-important parental speech coming-of-age films contain and it certainly hits hard. 

Dìdi has all of the hallmarks one could want from a coming-of-age film. While not necessarily excelling in ways others have before it, this film manages to bring a fresh perspective in how it captures a very specific time growing up in the late 2000s. It provides moments of sadness, cringe, and comedy that really speaks to how authentic it feels all culminating in yet another entry into a genre of filmmaking I personally enjoy.