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*This review contains minor spoilers.
Didi is the new coming-of-age drama-comedy from filmmaker Sean Wang. Wang borrowed from his own experiences to craft the movie which is semi-autobiographical, taking place in 2008 when our lead character, Chris (played by Izaac Wang), is transitioning from middle to high school. Didi is filled with mid-late 2000's nostalgia, but also infuses brilliant doses of timeless themes including first loves, parent-child relationships, sibling rivalries and the desire to be "cool" among your friends - just to name a few.
What Didi does so well is merge so many themes and side stories together, all being anchored through the eyes and experiences of Chris. He seemingly hates his older sister, Vivian (played by Shirley Chen); he is wrought with anxiety at the thought of pursuing his "crush," Madi (played by Mahaela Park); he embodies the persona of a "try-hard" in the hopes of impressing his friend groups; he consistently does dumb things and makes huge mistakes, all in service of being cool - and all the while, he seems to be nonchalant and care-free to the normal bystander. But, therein is the beauty of Didi because we, the audience, are given a peek behind the curtain to see all of Chris' insecurities and failures - both moral and literal - as they play out for no one but the flies on the walls.
Chris deals mostly with his issues, and is for all intensive purposes raised at the hands of the infancy stages of social media. Didi does an outstanding job of capturing a time and a place via full screen mirroring of social media foundational services such as MySpace and Facebook. It also shows us the very early stages of YouTube and Google and how they play into this new generation's ability to connect with others, especially in their age group. I loved the authenticity of these scenes that were handled in a way very reminiscent to movies such as Searching (2018) and Unfriended (2014).
However, even with all this praise of the film from various creative angles, the best part of the film comes in the all-too-real relationship between Chris and his Mom (played by Joan Chen). She is a single Mom, who is dealing with her oldest child - Chris' sister, Vivian - going away to college, having to care for her ailing elder mother who also lives with them, and trying to navigate her relationship with Chris, who is in his "I don't care about anything and I hate you" phase of adolescence. Joan Chen's quiet, tender performance actually brought me to tears at one point, which is saying a lot since this movie is essentially a more nuanced version of Superbad (2007). There is a recurring theme that the Mom has her own ambitions and creative goals, but they are always overshadowed by her children and a parent's innate duty to put them first. As a parent, I can tell you this was a nail hit directly on its head - and it effected me very deeply.
All the performances are stellar, but more so, they feel completely real and organic. The direction from a very young and somewhat inexperienced filmmaker still feels very lived-in, probably due to the personal attachment he has to the material. Didi is easily one of the best offerings of 2024 cinema thus far. Now, if you'll excuse me...it's time to give my Mom a call.
🍿 SCORE = 88 / 100
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