Review: Didi

Official synopsis: In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy (Izaac Wang) learns what his family can't teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. (Joan Chen)

When I first saw the trailer for Didi, I knew it was something I wanted to take my son to despite the R rating. (which is mostly for swearing) I felt like it might speak to him as a boy about to start his teen years. So we went together, and chatted about the film afterwards.

Like mother like son, I guess, because neither of us particularly liked this film very much. It does serve as a visual "not to do" list of how you treat people. I talk a lot about kindness with my son, and how being mean and trying too hard doesn't make you cool. Kindness gets you a long way. Being a douchebag doesn't, and Didi kind of sucks. All teenagers kind of suck in a way, but we don't really see Didi get better. We know he's about to, he ends the film on the right path, but that's after 90 minutes of him blowing up several different relationships while he's at it. 

I feel like so much more could've been done with this story. Didi should've learned these lessons earlier, and we should've seen him get better. It also doesn't help that his mother, played by the wonderful Joan Chen was the more interesting character to me. Obviously as a mother myself I'd relate to her, but even my boy said he would've rather seen her win a painting competition that is mentioned earlier in the film, then completely forgotten. 

That's not to rag on Wang, he does a good job in this role and is completely believable. I just didn't - as the youths say - "vibe" with this one.

Grade: C