Need a little coming-of-age sports drama in your screen diet? Of course you do! Sometimes nothing hits the spot like a bit of underdog-against-the-odds action, especially when it’s wrapped around a “believe in yourself” message. With that in mind, make a note of Chang Can Dunk, which is on Disney+ from March 10.
Hark to the tale of young Chang (Bloom Li), a Chinese-American high school student who wants to ditch his lunchtime seat at the losers’ table by becoming a basketball star. The problem is, Chang’s not exactly the tallest kid on the block, so he focuses on perfecting his slam dunk to make up for his height shortfall.
But will that be enough to thrash school basketball star Matt (Chase Liefeld) on the court and impress would-be love interest Kristy (Zoe Renee of Black Lightning)? Our hero finds a mentor in former pro player De-Andre (Dexter Darden, familiar from the Maze Runner movies), but the shot clock is ticking…
Chang Can Dunk is written and directed by Jingyi Shao, who is making their feature debut here after a string of well-received short subjects. This kind of inspirational rite-of-passage high school story is familiar territory to anyone who’s ever so much as glanced at a screen in their life, but it’s the details that matter – like how Chang’s big bet against uber-jock Matt is an ultra-rare Pokemon card.
It also helps that Li, in his most high-profile role to date, is effortlessly charming as Chang, an affably nerdy teen who dreams of becoming more than himself. To be fair, the odds are good that he’ll learn he was already everything he needed to be, because it’s that kind of movie, but hey – that’s a lesson that bears repeating. The whole thing feels like a precision-engineered feel-good family flick and, given Disney’s pedigree in that area, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a slam dunk (sorry).
