Intended as an issue drama that also addresses intergenerational tensions, this film doesn’t manage to dig far beneath the surface
Grappling with the growing pains of an Asian-Canadian teenager, Jason Karman’s well-intentioned debut aims to tackle a multitude of big themes – but it also makes a mistake that plagues other issue-driven films where the characters take the backseat to the talking points. Split between a queer coming-of-age narrative and a portrait of intergenerational differences, Golden Delicious ends up treating both subjects with insufficient depth.
A capable performer who looks well into his late 20s, Cardi Wong plays 17-year-old protagonist Jake, a born people-pleaser who does his best to make his unyielding father George (Ryan Mah) and his bubbly girlfriend Valerie (Parmiss Sehat) happy. Such efforts are usually to Jake’s own detriment. To continue George’s broken dreams of athletic prowess, Jake dutifully practises basketball every day, even...
Grappling with the growing pains of an Asian-Canadian teenager, Jason Karman’s well-intentioned debut aims to tackle a multitude of big themes – but it also makes a mistake that plagues other issue-driven films where the characters take the backseat to the talking points. Split between a queer coming-of-age narrative and a portrait of intergenerational differences, Golden Delicious ends up treating both subjects with insufficient depth.
A capable performer who looks well into his late 20s, Cardi Wong plays 17-year-old protagonist Jake, a born people-pleaser who does his best to make his unyielding father George (Ryan Mah) and his bubbly girlfriend Valerie (Parmiss Sehat) happy. Such efforts are usually to Jake’s own detriment. To continue George’s broken dreams of athletic prowess, Jake dutifully practises basketball every day, even...
- 10/23/2023
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Who is Jake? Played by Cardi Wong, he’s a teenager growing up in an Asian Canadian family, already caught, at least in the eyes of those around him, between two separate identities. He lives with his mother and father, but the tension between them is palpable. His father, pursuing a lost dream of his own, tries to get him to play basketball, and because he’s not very good at it (largely due to a lack of any genuine interest), he falls short of the received idea of what makes a man. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Valerie (Parmiss Sehat) wants them to lose their virginity together, but something doesn’t feel right – and he finds himself strangely drawn to the confident young gay guy who has just moved in across the road.
The fact that this film screened as part of BFI Flare 2023 will give you some clue as to what’s.
The fact that this film screened as part of BFI Flare 2023 will give you some clue as to what’s.
- 3/22/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
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