Boogie

Directed by Eddie Huang, Boogie follows Taylor Takahashi’s Alfred “Boogie” Chin as he attempts to reach his dream of playing in the NBA despite a myriad of distractions (including a new girlfriend and demanding parents). Filmmaker Huang, making his debut here, delivers a familiar and often egregiously generic coming-of-age story that fares especially poorly in its uninvolving, underwhelming opening stretch, as Boogie‘s gritty sensibilities initially prevent the viewer from embracing (or connecting to) the affable (yet oddly arrogant) protagonist’s exploits – with the arms-length atmosphere compounded by a heavy emphasis on less-than-enthralling basketball interludes and a raft of underdeveloped periphery characters. It’s clear, then, that the picture slowly-but-surely begins to adopt, at the very least, a watchable feel due to a sporadic inclusion of better-than-expected sequences (eg a compelling scene wherein Boogie and his classmates discuss The Catcher in the Rye), and it’s clear, as well, that Boogie benefits from its ongoing (and appealingly authentic) look at the dynamic between Boogie and his squabbling parents – which, despite a climactic basketball match that’s hardly as visceral or exciting as Huang has surely intended, cements the movie’s place as an exceedingly hit-and-miss endeavor that’s not entirely without its minor pleasures.

**1/2 out of ****