Sean Wang’s Chaotic Feature Debut Is A Victim The Coming-Of-Age Genre

On the poster for Focus Features’ latest coming-of-age drama,

Dìdi (2024)

, the tagline reads “for anyone who’s ever been a teenager.” I have to wonder if that was meant as a nice dedication or a painful reflection on the annoyances of dealing with teenagers. Written and directed by Sean Wang, his feature-length directorial debut touches on these awkward years by centering on an Asian American boy growing up in the 2000s. With it comes commentary on identity, family, friendship, and more. Occasionally humorous but mostly irritating, Dìdi requires great patience from those of us who’ve grown weary of this genre.

The story follows Chris “Wang Wang” (Izaac Wang) during the summer of 2008 — right before he enters high school. The 13-year-old Taiwanese American has trouble maintaining friendships, getting along with his sister Vivian (Shirley Chen), and developing the courage to ask out his crush Madi (Mahaela Park). In between handling all these relationships, his biggest dream is to become a great skateboard filmmaker. He has a supportive mother, Chungsing (Joan Chen) and Nai Nai (Chang Li Hua), who, in their own ways, want to see him succeed. Despite the supportive foundation in place, Chris feels as lost as ever.

Dìdi’s Formulaic Storytelling Leads To An Unfocused & Frustrating Watching Experience

There are too many lazy jokes

Like the many coming-of-age films before it, Dìdi follows the genre formula where it’s the typical angry teenager against the world. He’s the awkward one among his friends, the disappointing and underachieving sibling, and he’s barely held a full conversation with a girl outside his family. And like the main characters in these films, Wang Wang is rude, uses offensive language, and lies to build friendships with people. Wang presses it further by using lazy jokes full of misogyny, racism, and homophobia — something I’m sure he can blame on the film taking place in the late 2000s.

For all the charm it pretends to have, Dìdi is a messy, unfocused film that barely comments on its themes. It’s another story about a teenager who does everything to fit in except put in the work to improve himself. To make matters worse, Chris shifts his anger to the one person who’s been his support system. If anything, this makes for fascinating commentary about how teens always take their anger out on the present parent instead of the absentee one. But like the other themes in this film, it’s only used to get an emotional rise out of us.

Another element of the script that didn’t work for me is the focus on Chris’ relationships with his friends over his family. For a film called Dìdi (the translation from Mandarin means “little brother”), it rarely showcases him as such. Furthermore, the relationship between Chris and Vivian takes a drastic turn. They were screaming at the top of their lungs and hurling insults at one another at the beginning, and near the film’s second half, it all changed. This felt emotionally manipulative and contrived; it didn’t make sense considering where their characters stood with one another.

Dìdi’s Script Uses Humor Where Authentic Emotion Would’ve Worked Best

Most of what I didn’t like about Wang’s feature debut could be forgiven if the ideas and themes presented throughout were actually explored. I often felt as if the more serious moments were undercut by the need to add in jokes wherever possible, which made it a frustrating watch. At least the cast did their jobs, providing entertaining and thoughtful performances. Izaac Wang and Joan Chen are the standouts here. Had the film focused on their relationship, this would’ve been a different movie entirely, and perhaps a more enjoyable one.

There’s no denying this is a film capable of winning audiences of all types with its inherent charm, humor, and nostalgia. For me, however, this was 91 minutes of unfocused, chaotic energy that I did not enjoy. Tonally, the movie is all over the place, while its themes are explored with timid execution. Thanks to some questionable character decisions and actions, it’s an all-around misfire. If Wang’s end goal for us was to come to the overwhelming conclusion that teenagers are awful, this was a job well done.

Dìdi is now playing in theaters nationwide. The film is 93 minutes long and rated R for language throughout, sexual material, and drug and alcohol use – all involving teens.

2.0

During the summer before starting high school, 13-year-old Chris Wang navigates the complexities of adolescence in a Northern California suburb. As he experiments with skating, social media, and first crushes, he also grapples with family dynamics and the pressures of growing up as a Taiwanese American. The story explores Chris’s journey of self-discovery, filled with both humor and heartfelt moments, while highlighting the cultural and emotional challenges he faces​.

Pros

• Izaac Wang and Joan Chen are excellent, and their onscreen relation is the heart of the movie

Cons

• Chris Wang is a character who reminds us how irritating teenagers can be
• The addition of jokes undercuts the striking narrative moments
• The themes it presents are not meaningfully explored