Dealing with Dad

My wife and I were able to catch this on the opening night of the Austin Asian American Film Festival on June 23, 2022. Wonderful movie! Lots of creative energy among the cast. The pace is quick, the writing is fantastic, lots of sharp zingers. Most of the credit will go to writer/director Tom Huang and leading lady Ali Maki (as Margaret). However, Page Leong as the prototypical "FOB" Asian mom (Sophie) was also fantastic. That having been said, pretty much everyone was very entertaining. Each actor brought his/her own special energy to the role. The result sparkled!

After the show, we were lucky enough to have director Tom Huang and actor Dana Lee (as the difficult Dad) for a live question and answer session. They discussed the background of the story in Tom Huang's own experiences, but also the kind of interesting network-of-friends process for assembling the cast and the personal perspectives that each actor brought to the movie - not to mention the arduous filming conditions at the height of the pandemic. My take away was that this movie is a great example of the adage that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Particularly highly recommended for Asian immigrants, Asian Americans, and others who have married into the community. However, I think this movie will be a fun evening for almost anyone, even if you have no personal Asian connection.

I watched this movie several times and loved it! I particularly enjoyed the dialog and dynamic between the siblings. Very funny! The film was entertaining and yet also talked about mental health issues, which are often not talked about in Asian families. The relationships in this film were well developed although would have enjoyed hearing more about the father and aunt childhood. So much of how we are today is the result of past experiences. I believe this film can be relatable to many Chinese Americans who grew up with immigrant parents. I would highly recommend this film to my Asian friends!

I'm a sandwich generation parent/caregiver. In his dramedy, Dealing with Dad, filmmaker Tom Huang captures the very essence of Sandwich Generation living. He does so with heart and hilarious humor! All the while tackling themes such as parent/child dynamics, sibling issues, mental health, and racial/cultural topics.

The very first scene of this movie hooked me. It put into a visual some much of how I've felt during my caregiving journey. I feel so seen!!!

I highly recommend this movie! I've seen it about 5 times now and laugh every time!!! Definitely put it on your watch list! It'll lighten the load of what can be an overwhelming and hard road of a caregiver.

This film really hits you over the head with the fact that the children (who are now adults) had a rough childhood. They are still dealing with that trauma today - each in their own way. But, the interesting and relatable thing is that they know this. They recognize it and are dealing with it.

When it comes time to face the source (one of them) of that trauma, tough decisions are being made. There is internal and external struggles that are not unique to just this family but can be relatable to most.

Overall, yes, this is a "comedic drama" if you will. The humor is there and it delivers. It helps to soften the stronger, darker tones being discussed. It is a good film that is easy to watch and enjoy.

What a great feel good movie. I got a chance to watch an advance screening last year and it was so fun. It was my first movie in the theatre since the pandemic. The movie was witty and heartfelt. It had themes of identity. Family dunamics, societal norms etc - it was almost like a coming of age movie, but more like, "we are grown up now, and what are we doing?"

The acting was so funny, some areas were exaggerated but I think that was the point - to illustrate and build up each and individual character. I could see myself in each character which made the movie very relatable.

It was a great movie and I can't wait to watch it again with my teenagers. They need to understand what it was like for us Gen Xers growing up and how we see the world.