By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
The new sports drama
"Chang Can Dunk" which is streaming on
Disney+ isn't your typical teen sports drama.
First time feature film director/screenwriter
Jingyi Shao (TV's "Boomerang") has crafted a heartwarming story with a good message about loyalty, truth and doing the right thing.
In "Chang Can Dunk" newcomer Bloom Li (TV's "Pretty Dudes") plays a nice 16-year-old high school student named Chang. He's no different than most other teens his age. He wants to fit in at school.
Most of all, he really wants to be a standout basketball player that can dunk. Chang is only 5'8" but believes with lots of practice he has what it takes to not just play the game, but dunk like his idol, the late, great
Kobe Bryant.
No one has ever told Chang that he can't do anything especially his best friend Bo (Ben Wang, "Sex Appeal").
Chang has also fallen for the school's new marching band member, Kristy (Zoe Renee, "Master"). They are so cute together but there is just one problem.
Chang's former friend Matt (Chase Liefeld, TV's "Wolf Pack"), who is the school's stand-out basketball player, is also digging on Kristy.
Kristy loves the attention, but Matt and Chang aren't into sharing and the guys are always trying to show out whenever she's around. It prompts them to make a silly bet. If Chang can slam dunk before the homecoming dance, Matt will give him his authentic Kobe Bryant jersey. Chang has a Pokémon card that's also worth a few dollars.
It seems like a bet that Matt will easily win. That's until Chang hooks up with Deandre (Dexter Darden, "Maze Runner" and TV's "Saved by the Bell), a former NBA hoopster who now works at--not owns--a Verizon store. Well, Deandre loves a challenge too, and agrees to mentor Chang and get him up to speed. It takes a lot of work, some of it grueling, but Chang is determined to do it.
Chang's mother Mardy Ma (TV's "American Born Chinese") is a nurse who works all the time and doesn't have a clue what Chang is doing. When Deandre starts filming Chang and his workout routine, it goes viral and he becomes quite the sensation especially when Chang is shown dunking.
Yet, things aren't always as they seem. As more people watch the video-- including Matt--there is something noticeable that throws a ringer into Chang's newfound celebrity. It even drives away people who supported him including a few NBA stars and national sportscasters.
Did Chang lie and cheat his way into the hearts of his growing fanbase at the expense of his family and faithful friends?
"Chang Can Dunk" is a poignant dramedy about honesty, integrity, success, failure, and self-worth.
You can catch "Chang Can Dunk" on Disney+.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Look At This Trailer For
"CHANG CAN DUNK"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
