From Eddie Huang, the celebrity chef and memoirist, who’s childhood was the inspiration for the television series, Fresh Off The Boat, comes Boogie, his semi-autobiographical debut film as a writer/director.
The film chronicles the story of first generation immigrant, Alfred “Boogie” Chin, a high school basketball phenom living in Queens, N.Y.
Boogie dreams of one day playing in the NBA while juggling the pressures that his parents put upon him to earn an scholarship to an elite college. In the meantime, the short fused Boogie is dealing with high school, his first romantic relationship with African American classmate Eleanor; and the realities of his home life which is filled with resentment, domestic abuse, and cultural pressures.
And while the film is a solid directorial debut, it never escalates beyond serviceable. Taylor Takahashi, in his film debut, portrays Boogie with enough swagger to hide his insecurities.
But it’s often hard to tell if that is the result of him acting or from his inexperience as an actor
Boogies relationships with his parents are complicated.
His father (Perry Yung), out on parole, has passed on his own temperament to Boogie, but is supportive of his son’s dreams.
His mother (Pamelyn Chee), berates her husband and subjects Boogie to physical and emotional abuse.
Boogie is always at odds with himself. And that never really moves past the multitude of similar (and often better films) that have tackled similar coming of age stories.
The biggest problem is the character of Boogie himself. He’s an asshole. On or off the court. He also doesn’t really grow as a character. Despite dealing with a girlfriend, his parents, basketball rivals, his coach, college recruiters, and his own place in teh world, the Boogie at the end of the film isn’t all that different from the one we meet in the beginning.
Unfortunately, Huang the director isn’t a particularly great collaborator with Huang the writer. Boogie is certainly passable entertainment, but when you find Huang’s social media posts more engaging, you have to wonder what went wrong.
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Produced by Josh Bratman, Michael Tadross, Josh McLaughlin
Written and Directed by Eddie Huang
Starring Taylor Takahashi, Taylour Paige, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Mike Moh, David Brewster Jr,
Perry Yung, Alexa Mareka, Domenick Lombardozzi, Pop Smoke
