'Didi' movie review with Casey T. Allen

I know this might sound like a hyperbole, but just go with me on this one. I’ve just seen my favorite new release this year so far, and I’m hoping every movie lover sees it too. This new film is called Didi, a beautifully honest, coming-of-age comedy written and directed by an exciting, young, Taiwanese-American named Sean Wang (Nai Nai & Wai Po, 2023). Didi premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year and was happily picked up by Focus Features and distributed to select theaters nationwide in late July.

Set in a San Francisco bay area suburb in the summer of 2008, a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy tries to figure out important rites of passage (like impressing a pretty girl, getting invited to parties, and getting into fights) before he starts high school. As the first narrative feature film of Sean Wang, Didi is semi-autobiographical which is partly why the whole film feels so personal, lived-in, and genuine.

This director is smart, because this semi-autobiographical film is not just about displaying and recreating his childhood memories but about exploring the emotions and experiences in the whirlwind of adolescence. We’ve enjoyed films like this before like Stand by Me (1986) and Mid90s (2018). But Didi is memorably different presenting a part of 21st century, Asian American life in the early years of social media with the nostalgia of flip phones, Instant Messenger, and MySpace. (This social media element of Didi is reminiscent of the wonderful 2018 coming-of-age comedy, Eighth Grade.)

The title character is not easily lovable or well mannered. He blows up a mailbox, talks back to his mom, and shoplifts, and that’s what gives this film more personality than if it were created by a giant film studio or an oversized committee of executives. (I’m looking at you, Disney.) It’s because of this plucky, destructive personality that makes Didi touching and sweet without being annoying.

It’s hilarious without being predictable, and it’s heartbreaking without being maudlin. Some of the most tear jerking moments show just a computer screen while the 13-year-old boy types in his feelings and his internet questions. No other film in recent memory captures the everyday importance of the internet and social media (and the connections it promises) for young kids than this one.

This film made me so happy and reminded me of the importance of family and finding your people. The dialogue is simple, so it doesn’t try too hard in creating the perfectly relatable progression of the story’s themes of friendship, belonging, loneliness, and shame. Many of us have memories of being left out of parties or being ridiculed for our appearance, and Didi touches this nerve of teenage disgrace/contempt with startling, contemporary, and direct clarity.

Izaac Wang’s (Raya and the Last Dragon, 2021) role of the hormone-fueled awkwardness and angry exuberance of teen boyhood is both endearing and shocking (much like the boys his age in real life). One moment you want to hug him tightly, and the next moment to want to scream at him for being so awful. The teenage boy’s mother is played with silent frustration by established Chinese actress Joan Chen (Lust, Caution, 2007). Her performance is Oscar worthy with her tired eyes, soft voice, and isolated determination. The world could be more peaceful with mothers like her.

This film received the Audience Award and Special Jury Award at Sundance this year, and I can’t wait to see what other awards it receives next year. Please put this title on your list. You will finish it with a smile.