REVIEW: ‘Chang Can Dunk’ Scores In Its Final Act

High school can be tough when you’re on the outs of popularity. It’s a common theme for young adult films, and whether they choose drama or comedy is usually the question. For Disney+ Original, Chang Can Dunk; it’s a bit of both. While the film embraces humor and lands near perfectly with its comedic punch lines, it also finds spaces to be serious and explore ideas of identity and connecting with your parents.

Directed and written by Jingyi Shao, Chang Can Dunk follows Chang (Bloom Li), a 16-year-old Asian American high school student in the marching band, who bets the school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads the 5′ 8″ Chang on a quest to find the hops he needs to dunk to impress his crush, Kristy, and finally gain the attention and respect of his high school peers. But before he can rise up and genuinely throw one down, he’ll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships, and his family.

To be honest, I was worried about Chang Can Dunk because of how much Chang is influenced by Black culture. Early in the film, there is a clear admiration, but I was worried as it bounced along the extremely thin line between appreciation and appropriation. While the film dances on that line, sometimes falling into a few cringy moments that rise to the surface, it always finds its center. That center is on Chang and his confusion about who he is, who he is meant to be, and who his mother wants him to be.

Chang feels on the outside of everyone at school. He’s bullied through actions that keep him off the basketball team and lives out the same “unpopular kid” tropes and moments we see in many films and television using the same premise. That said, while this all feels familiar, the way that Jingyi Shao explores Chang’s sense of self feels authentic—like all of us who have been on the outs of the popular kids. He has a board where he’s mapped out a new version of himself that he’s debuted for high school in an attempt to be cool. But this band kid finds him constantly on the outside of it all. While Chang Can’t Dunk is explicitly influenced by White Men Can’t Jump and brings dated elements in full force in its first act, once Change realizes that he still isn’t comfortable once he gets popularity, a crashing moment where he finds himself alone allows him to come to terms with the pressure he’s been hiding.

While the first act of the film is a little cringe around the edges, where the story ends up being an emotional one, as an audience, we finally get to be let into the relationship between Chang and his mom Chen (Mardy Ma), and it’s there where the heart of the film is hidden. It’s in the invisible burden he refuses to acknowledge to his mom and his fear of letting her down. While all his mom wants to do is for him to succeed, the two talk past each other instead of to each other. She pushes him, and he gives way down her path. But instead of remaining opposing forces, Chang’s mom learns. She learns about her son, his hobbies, and what he wants. And like other Disney stories we’ve seen in the past couple of years, it’s the communication that helps the characters grow and see from the perspective of their parents, resolving the conflict.

Bloom Li and Mardy Ma as Chang and Chen, respectively, deliver heartfelt performances. They’re relatable, authentic to parent-child dynamics I know in my own home, and ultimately, how they fight and how they come together all feels real. Their chemistry as mother and son is unbeatable and hands down the best part of the film.

Chang Can Dunk is a story we’ve seen but also iterates on those familiar concepts with impact. The stark shift in tone in the middle of the film and into the final act is what delivers an emotional hit. Even with its rough start, Chang Can Dunk is well worth the watch on Disney+.

Chang Can Dunk is streaming now exclusively on Disney+.