It’s an underdog story (and then some) in Boogie, the feature debut of writer/director Eddie Huang.
Boogie dreams of playing in the NBA, but as a Chinese-American, no one looks at him and sees a basketball player. He’s got the skills, though, and just needs the opportunities to open up. That’s not going to come easy given the racist barriers in his way, and he’s also got to deal with a family struggling to get by and that most teenage of all distractions: a new girlfriend. It’s a lot to navigate before he getting out of high school, and yet Boogie still has a chance to make his dreams come true.
The mashup of several genres should give Huang a lot to play with, but it also gives him a lot to capture in a single feature. With only one short to his name, it’s nice to see that he’s ambitious as he moves up in his career, but he’s certainly biting off a lot with Boogie.
In another bold move, he has newcomer Taylor Takahashi playing the title role. That’s a lot to put on a green actor, and the movie isn’t really filled out with proven supporting players for him to lean on.
So Boogie is a big swing from a lot of newcomers. Hopefully, they hit it out of the park (forgive me, I couldn’t think of a basketball metaphor).
Boogie is directed by Eddie Huang and stars Taylor Takahash, Pamelyn Chee, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. It will be released in the US theatrically on March 5th, 2021. For international release dates, click here.
Will you check this one out? Let us know in the comments!
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