Technically fantastic for the time and kind of funny in a silly old way (I especially liked the tea joke). The ending involves the missing link, an unevolved ape man, getting himself killed by a dinosaur. The death is a punchline twice because it is the ape’s fault, but then the “hero” of the film, as the narration calls him, claims the murder as his own and brags to the cave woman he is trying to impress. 

I can’t help…

Didi is a boiler plate coming of age movie that is receiving fanfare for two reasons: it’s a diaspora narrative and it is nostalgic for a time that has had few representations on screen. I was interested in this movie for these reasons, as my wife is Taiwanese-American and I am the same age as Didi— that is,I was also moving into high school the summer of 2008. I also skateboarded and wanted to make videos, etc.

Although I was…