Chang Can Dunk starring Bloom Li, Dexter Darden, Ben Wang, Zoe Renee, Chase Liefeld and Mardy Ma alongside others premiered on Disney Plus on March 10, 2023, with a runtime of 1hr 47 mins. The coming-of-age movie has been written and directed by Jingyi Shao.
The official description of the movie on Disney+ Hotstar reads, “Chang, a 5’ 8” Asian American teenager, bets the basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming.”
-Chang Can Dunk Review Does Not Contain Spoilers-
With high school approaching, Chang is not only bidding farewell to his freshman days, but also his old style and ways of doing things. Enter Chang 2.0, with a new hairstyle and everything. But, isn’t he trying too hard to fit in or gain the respect of his fellow high schoolers? Weren’t we all at that age?
At the age of 16, his wavering decisions may not be able to stick the landing, but he’s taken on the bet that he’ll be able to dunk by Homecoming. While as a member of the marching band, he may have taken the initiative to stand tall against the school’s basketball star, him being 5’8 is not the only thing that’s standing in his way of making that dunk happen.
The movie puts on the image of Chang betting so high to impress his crush, the newcomer, Kristy. But is the bet all about that or something more? That’s for you to decide. What I found quite surprising in this film is that it started out one way, and makes you feel as if its nearing the end, only to hit you with the realisation that a good portion of the runtime is still left for the story to be overturned completely.
Carrying an old school colour that’s reminiscent of the original Disney channel movies that most of us would wait for to air on the TV channel back in the 2000s, Chang Can Dunk helps spark your interest in the sports drama genre that’s centred around the high school setting. It has all those archetypical features of those old Disney movies – from the kid only the sidelines heading out against the popular kid, to the former struggling to accept his strengths while also trying to bridge the generational gap between himself and one of his parents.
It starts off as something, but soon takes a more serious turn to address the journey of growing up and and how it’s not always easy going through this phase. Dunking then here takes shape as a metaphor to highlight the act of crossing over the gap between where you are and where you want to be, especially in high school, when you’re conscious of every single move you make because you’re too busy trying to make others like you.
However, that switch up is a bit jarring in terms of turning around the tone of the movie altogether, making you question if you are watching the same thing or not, which again leads to some misfires. The initial half is filled with illustrations to portray the feel-good vibe of a coming-of-age presentation, but the latter half makes sudden swerve. There are series that we feel would’ve been better off as a movie, but this movie’s transition makes you wonder if the film has been stretched out to feel like a contracted series in itself, even though it fits into the same runtime frame of a movie.
As far as performances and character dynamics go, Bloom Li’s Chang and Marty Ma’s Chen (his mother’s role) have some great moments together as the mother-son duo. Their relationship foregrounds the humane communication gap crisis that strikes the relationship shared by a parent and their child at this age. It takes up a slow burn trajectory that equally frustrates you as it does them, but ends on an understanding note that will leave a smile on your face. And most importantly, the representation here isn’t just for the sake of itself, rather it normalises the foundation so laid.
Chang Can Dunk: Final Thoughts
This film may not be a musical number featuring Troy Bolton’s conflicting identity crisis figuring out to choose between Theatre and basketball, but has the same feel of taking a trip down the high school lane in Disney style as DeAndre (Darden) reminds Chang to ‘Get’cha Head in the Game’. The thing I adored most about the movie has to be the fact that it made it look like Chang’s bet had to do with Kristy, but thankfully it doesn’t necessarily stitch her existence to the story as a conquest that needs to be won. The bet has more to do with Chang himself.
Plus, it was a good sight to see an Asian American lead approach sports as his point of interest, instead of being constricted within the stereotypical mould of academics.
Chang Can Dunk is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.