Chang Can Dunk

Chang is a basketball-obsessed high school student. He falls for new student Kristy, but Matt is also interested. Matt is a former grade school friend who turned into the arrogant basketball star jock. Matt uses all his powers to belittle Chang. In frustration, Chang bets that he can dunk.

I don't completely love Chang. It would be better if he's more quiet and less of a spaz. I don't hate him. I just don't love him. I like Kristy although she should hold off being with Chang until he does something for her. That may require her to friend-zone him initially. I don't know if I like the dunk premise. A better one would be to challenge Matt one-on-one. The ESPN people threw me off for a second. This is a marginal underdog story.

Loved this! The story will surprise you for all the right reasons, it's not about dunking at all but so much more and I loved the metaphor behind it. This film will move you with exceptional performances and it will entertain you with an honest, unflinching journey of self discovery.

It's about embracing and uncovering your true best self, surrounded by the people who love you. One of the best sports comedies I've seen in a while with a great depth of storylines, especially in the mom and son dynamic. This is the kind of Disney original movies I miss, like "Remember the titans" or "cool runnings." The story's actually trying to touch on something meaningful and is unafraid to make its protagonist stumble.

Bloom Li is brilliant! And the writing toes the delicate line between heart and humor.

Very entertaining and pretty funny! I watched it with my 8 year old son and he loved it as well. It did a great job of showing what you can do with a lot of hard work and dedication. Also, how to humble yourself, and take responsibility when you do something wrong. Lots of good lessons for adults and kids. Highly recommend. There wasn't any bad words or inappropriate scenes for kids either. Felt very comfortable watching with my kids. Well done!

Side note...I know when he was putting his Kobe poster back up and said "I've missed you!", he wasn't exactly meaning he missed Kobe himself, but having his poster where it belonged, but I started crying. I've missed Kobe too. It brought up a lot of good memories of me watching him play. Thankful for all the Kobe references.

Far from perfect, though 'Chang Can Dunk' manages to leave a mark.

Its plot is told in quite a heavy-handed manner, while the pacing and acting (cast are likeable, mind) isn't all that noteworthy. However, bits of the story do have a decent tinge of sadness attached to them, particularly with Chang and his mother, Chen. The film made me feel something, so props for that.

I don't have much more to say about it. Not a great movie, but one that manages to make itself work - at least it did for me.

/////// I watched this on Twenty-Sixth of July Twenty-Twenty-Four on Disney's Disney Plus service.

A young Asian-American teenager who is a basketball fan wants fame and attention from a girl, but ends up learning much more about his mother, his best friends and himself.

The first half of the film sounds cliché like any teen film, involving bets between popular versus unpopular students... But it's in the second half that it really hits me, when the fascination makes Chang exactly the person he hated most, snobbish, selfish and self-centered... And it is in his defeat that he discovers his true self... A beautiful film, with a wonderful message about inner knowledge, effort, training and humility... It brought sincere tears to my eyes...