"Boogie" for the Win?

 

Actress Taylour Paige is great in her role as the title character's love interest and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that both star Taylor Takahashi (in the title role) and rapper Bashar "Pop Smoke" Jackson (who was murdered about six months after the movie wrapped) were high school hoops stars. But I don't think the movie made the most of their skills. The father/son relationship between Alfred "Boogie" Chin and his dad is great but how did that marriage last so long?? I wonder what the director was getting at with the ending because the scene of the "loving family" 18 years ago is world's apart from where those characters are as a unit now. The marriage was a disaster from the beginning and it seems like Boogie should get away from Mrs. Chin as well. 

Also, it occurred to me that normally, Jackson's character, Monk, would be the "villain" in a movie like this. But really, Monk was minding his own business and Boogie targeted him for a rivalry -- because the former is the best high school player in the city. Boogie plan's to secure a full basketball scholarship to a Division I college by knocking Monk off his throne. Consequently, everything that Monk does to his would-be challenger is actually retaliation. If there's a true villain, it's Boogie's abusive (verbally and physically), rage-filled, adulterous mom, who successfully derails his dream. 

Boogie also presents a rarely-seen perspective on Asian-Americans, which is probably needed in light of recent events. Maybe this movie can help to diminish some of the Asian hate we've seen lately. While the cast is pretty diverse, the story is centered on an Asian-American teen and his family. Plus, there aren't many quality basketball movies and this is definitely one of the watchable ones. So, I don't wanna discourage anybody from seeing it but it's not worth risking COVID at a theater. You can, however, see a film with similar themes right away without traveling to a cineplex. The Sun is Also a Star is another coming-of-age story that focuses on the second-generation immigrant experience (both Korean and Black), the pressures of parental expectations and features an interracial teen romance.