Review: ‘Dìdi’ is a Delightful Showcase of Adolescence and Struggling to Fit In

Everyone has their own memories of growing up, which may not be an entirely positive experience. Each person faces different struggles and hardships, though not all circumstances are created equal. Being the child of immigrants in America means balancing an appreciation of family and culture with a deep desire to be accepted, two ideas that frequently clash and create seemingly unnavigable conflict. Sean Wang’s narrative feature debut is a sweet celebration of individuality and the overwhelming pull towards conformity for one Taiwanese-American teenager growing up in the late 2000s.

Dìdi is a Wang’s follow-up to last year’s lovely documentary short Nai Nai & Wài Pó, which spotlighted his two grandmothers, who live as roommates, and earned him an Oscar nomination. His first scripted feature serves as a natural transition, keeping a supporting focus on the staple older generation with Nai Nai (Chang Li Hua), a grandmother who lives with her daughter-in-law and two grandchildren and speaks very little English. But the center of this story is a character much more like Wang himself, who surely couldn’t appreciate how valuable his grandmother’s influence was on him at that early point in his life.

Chris (Izaac Wang), known to his friends as Wang Wang, lives in Fremont, California in 2008. At home, he has a hostile relationship with his older sister Vivian (Shirley Chen), whose clothes he frequently takes and wears without permission, and his hardworking mother Chungsing (Joan Chen), an aspiring painter who gets only grief from her children and her mother-in-law. Chris spends most of his time in the company of his friends Fahad (Raul Dial) and Soup (Aaron Chang), but also sets his sights on the girl he can’t stop thinking about, Madi (Mahaela Park).

This movie is very specifically about the Asian-American immigrant experience, with Chris trying hard to cover up pieces of his identity when he falls in with a crew of skateboarders and expressing nothing but shame about his mother and her very discernible accent, also purporting to be half-Asian after he’s nicknamed “Asian Chris.” Chungsing and Nai Nai almost never speak in English but Chris and Vivian both respond in English whenever they’re in conversation with them. There’s a clear gap in lived experiences between what older generations went through and what these two turn-of-the-century teenagers understand of the world.

One audience subset that will appreciate this film just as much as those who can most personally relate to its details are those who grew up around the same time. Chris sits in front of his computer watching his friends sign on to AOL Instant Messenger and explores an extremely rudimentary early version of YouTube that feels hopelessly dated. Chris is also a video camera enthusiast, but even his most advanced techniques look nothing like what exists today. This is a wondrous nostalgia trip that will prove relatable for viewers of a certain age who can faintly remember these times that now feel like centuries of technology ago.

As played by the talented young Wang, Chris is a tremendously awkward kid still trying to get comfortable in his own skin, and he’s great fun to watch. Though some of what he does is endearing, much of it will have audiences wishing they could reach through the screen and shake him, warning him that his childish actions won’t have positive consequences. The ensemble around Wang is just as superb, led by Chen and Park as the peer female influences in Chris’ life. Joan Chen is the supporting standout, conveying great love for her onscreen son which at every moment overshadows any frustration she might feel at being underappreciated by those for whom she gives everything.

Sean Wang has already shown that he knows how to bring an effective and entertaining story to the screen, and he’s done so in even more fabulous fashion with this scripted venture. These teenage misadventures are a joy to watch manifest, and often quite funny, and he smartly chooses to focus not on any one friendship or romance to define Chris, highlighting instead the strength of his family and the fluctuating significance of life developments at such an age. Dìdi is a true winner, sure to delight audiences of all types who fit into the film’s target demographic according to its pitch-perfect tagline: “For anyone who’s ever been a teenager.”

Movie Rating: 9/10

Awards Buzz: With Focus Features and a Sundance Film Festival Audience Award behind it, this independent feature could go far. Expect a strong play with early groups like the Gotham Awards and Film Independent, and this film could even go all the way to the Oscars if enthusiasm remains there by the end of the year.