“Dìdi” Review
With nostalgia, comedy and realism, "Dìdi" takes on the experience of growing up in the 2000s in this acclaimed independent film from Sean Wang.
While they are certainly one of the most popular demographics to market to, making films about teenagers is a pretty tricky feat. While filmmakers like John Hughes, Richard Linklater and Greta Gerwig make it look easy with how skilled they are, too often we see teen films that feel too polished and don’t get into the struggles of adolescence. This is why a film like “Dìdi” should be celebrated. After winning the Audience Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, “Dìdi” has arrived in theaters and is superbly executed with a strong sense of humor and heart.
Set in the summer of 2008, Chris Wang (Izaac Wang) is awaiting his freshman year of high school while hanging out with his friends and feuding with his older sister Vivian (Shirley Chen) who is bound for college in the fall. With interests like skateboarding, filming and wanting to impress his crush Madi (Mahaela Park), Chris tries to navigate the world of adolescence and family.
Right off the bat, “Dìdi” should be praised for the realistic way it paints teenagers, especially the ones from 2008. To be a part of this generation presents a unique format of socialization that was flawlessly depicted. This is the generation that grew up with FaceBook, texting and chatting with AOL software and it’s a very specific atmosphere to capture. In the midst of this is Izaac Wang who delivers a charming performance that is truly remarkable in its realism.
Part of the problem with some teen films is that they try to make the characters feel like adults which can work if you’re creating a character that is wiser beyond their years but that is not the case with Chris. Chris is an average teenager and an average teenager can be immature, crazy, self-conscious, volatile, sensitive and confused all in one go. Wang’s acting feels quite personal and really makes a fully realized character that is unafraid to go to places other, more conventional films wouldn’t trod upon. In particular, the relationship between Chris and Vivian feels natural in how they insult and berate each other. You can tell that there’s love in their relationship but it’s strained by their different ages, genders and current goals in life.
Joan Chen is magnificent in her performance as Chungsing, the matriarch of the household, and the relationship on display between her and Izaac Wang demonstrates some of the finest acting between a parent and a child since Laurie Metcalf and Saorise Ronan in “Lady Bird”. There’s this engaged weariness to her performance since you know she loves her children but she is also dealing with a lot of stress since her husband is often away at work in Taiwan and she’s left to manage her children and her mother-in-law. It’s this relationship where some of the film’s strongest scenes emerge (fitting since the film’s title is the name Changing affectionately calls her song) and where my greatest amount of investment was focused.
Written and directed by Sean Wang, his take on the late 2000s is full of energy with an earnest sense of storytelling. As someone who is only six years younger than the characters in the film, watching “Dìdi” gave me some flashbacks to the 2000s that reminded me of the carefree joy and the uncomfortable parts of growing up. The feelings that Sean Wang dives into are completely engrossing and are an effective reminder of the many anxieties teens face like worrying what my friends really think of me, trying to fit in, trying to impress a girl and just trying to find your calling when everyone else is hurling standardized tests and future plans at you. It all feels so real and the almost anthological feel to “Dìdi” feels reminiscent of other great youthful films like “A Christmas Story”, “The Sandlot” and “Eighth Grade”.
Despite its R-rating, I can’t think of a better film for teenagers that’s currently in theaters. While there is plenty of profane language, it all has a point in showing the depths that these teens will go to to impress each other. For these teens, they think that swearing and being able to sneak into parking lots to skate are signs of maturity but part of the teenage existence is, hopefully, discovering that maturity is far deeper than any grown-up told us or that we told ourselves. Through Chris’s journey, we learn so much about him and watching “Dìdi” made me really look back upon my time as an incoming high school freshman, full of excitement with the possibilities.
As the teenage condition becomes even more strongly linked to social media, cell phones and other kinds of digital communication, it’s a nostalgic trip to look back on the generation that got it going. Combined with a strong sense of introspection on behalf of Sean Wang and you’re left with a coming-of-age story that balances humor and angst so well and lives in the awkward pubescent space that we both love to be nostalgic towards and try to shut out of our mind.
