If a movie is advertised as having anything to do with “coming-of-age”, you can bet I will be in the theatre to watch within the first week. The latest film to join this group is Sean Wang’s Dìdi (弟弟), a self reflective film focussed on portraying, through honest representation and full commitment to the time period, a coming-of-age film set in 2008 that closely resembles Wang’s own. The film follows Chris Wang, a 13-year old Taiwanese American, in the month of August and all he gets up to with his friends and family before starting a new year at school.

Dìdi is fun, and relatable for those who not only grew up trying to fit in, but also anyone who grew up in the awkward and short world pre-smartphones, but post-internet and personal computer. A lot of first reactions have many men, now in their late-20’s, reflecting on Sean Wang’s Chris, realizing that their “unique” experiences from middle school in 2008 maybe aren’t so unique after all. We see shots of instant messenger, of pre-smartphone FaceBook, girls ask guys to add them as a friend, while groups of friends will post their most embarrassing experiences this new thing called YouTube to get a couple hundred views. Even though I grew up a bit after this time, being only 8 in 2008 and thus reaching for my computer game DVD’s instead of the earlier forms social media, I found myself feeling oddly nostalgic for this time, though Wang’s expert portrayal and understanding of the motivations of a pre-teen in this time just 15 years ago, having been one of these teens himself.

Chris Wang seems like he could become the Lady Bird for boys who grew up in the 2000’s. He is portrayed with brutal honesty, as he is vulgar with his friends and wants to goof around, but also desperately wants to be taken seriously as an artist, too old for all that “kids’ stuff”. He fights with his older sister, who is (in his eyes) the literal devil, but also insists on stealing her clothes to wear around girls to be cool. He has crushes and wants to have his first kiss, but experiences (unfortunately) relatable and uncomfortable pressures that many young men do. Sean Wang, through Chris and his group of friends, captures the life of the boys that I remember going to public school with, while balancing this very common experience of growing up out with very personal discussions on being an Asian American growing up in America and the pressures, from both family and the community, that come with it.

Speaking of director Sean Wang’s experience, his direction here makes me so excited for what he will do next. It creates this mesmerizing world of 2008, where the screen begins to rule over the youth, and internet conversations begin to rule over the playground. At times, we scroll with Chris through FaceBook, or watch silly YouTube videos with him as his mom questions, “why are you watching this”, like all of ours still do. Izaac Wang’s performance as Chris fully brings to light director Wang’s own personal stakes in this film, oozing with youthful playfulness and passion that yearns to be taken more seriously than a 13-year old kid often ever is.

Despite of this strong directorial sense, Dìdi somewhat lacks in its overall script. It seems its approach is much too broad for a film of this nature, often scratching the surface of topics like the sibling relationship, having an absent father, experiencing what those more experienced may call sexual assault and racism that was so normalized for kids all across the western world in the early 2000’s, and even its unique look at the challenges of being the first generation to grow up with the whole world accessible with the click of a button. Because of this attempt to grasp at every single aspect of growing up, its main focus (or what I assume to be the main) on the mother-and-son relationship and Chris’ own struggles with friendship as he grows up becomes quite diluted, and never dives in as deep as I would have liked to see. Where something like Lady Bird focussed on the mother daughter relationship, and something like Eight Grade really tackled the coming of age through the social media and internet craze stand point, Dìdi had the potential to ultra focus and become a classic for the Zillenials, but falls flat in its effort to portray and tackle every single aspect of being a boy in 2008.

More specifically, in the script, I don’t buy the sibling relationship in the second half of the film, because the shift from the first half seems so major it is unbelievable without more context. The impact an uncomfortable experience Chris has with a girl seems to fizzle away, as new storylines take over far too quickly. Even the climactic scene between Chris and his mother does not hit quite as hard as it had the potential to, because we did not spend enough time with them in the preceding 70 minutes to warrant its climax. All of this to say, a more direct and focussed approach would have really elevated a few aspects of this massively reaching script, and even though this may be a realistic look at how Sean Wang, and possibly teen boys in general, moved through through the world in 2008 from one experience to the next, it doesn’t fully work here to completely captivate me as a film throughout.

All of this to say, Dìdi was so fun to watch. It felt like a fresh new take on the coming-of-age film, reflecting the world in a way that more accurately represented what my own childhood looked like. People who look like me and the boys I grew up around, mixed and from all over the world, represented growing up on screen, working through issues that not only revolve around racial inequality in America, but also how to kiss a girl, how to get more likes on YouTube, and how to flirt over text. I wish the script were more focussed, so that I could fully love it, but for now I am completely happy with telling everyone I know to see this movie, to see a childhood they will recognize on screen, excited for what Sean Wang will do next.

Dìdi (弟弟) is now playing in select theatres across Canada.