The coming-of-age story of Alfred "Boogie" Chin, a basketball phenom living in Queens, New York, who dreams of one day playing in the NBA. While his parents pressure him to focus on earning a scholarship to an elite college, Boogie must find a way to navigate a new girlfriend, high school, on-court rivals and the burden of expectation.... (Full plot summary below)
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The coming-of-age story of Alfred "Boogie" Chin, a basketball phenom living in Queens, New York, who dreams of one day playing in the NBA. While his parents pressure him to focus on earning a scholarship to an elite college, Boogie must find a way to navigate a new girlfriend, high school, on-court rivals and the burden of expectation.
Leave your thoughts about Boogie.
| ReelViewsJames BerardinelliBoogie is at times unpolished but it offers a compelling and sympathetic portrayal of the title character and avoids excessive melodrama or a too-facile ending. |
| Movie NationRoger MooreEvery time we figure we know how this will turn out because we’ve seen 74 earlier versions of “this movie,” Huang trips us up. His flawed hero, more flawed parents and pipe dreams become our dreams, which “Big Game” or not, is all we could hope for in any sports dramedy. |
| Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzThere's a lot of promise here, all over the film, and not just with Takahashi and Paige. Fans of "Fresh Off the Boat" know that Huang can be funny (though he didn't like it). It's nice to see him stretch out into more dramatic territory, even if he's not quite on as sure footing there. Certainly "Boogie" makes you want to see what's next. |
| Rolling StoneJessica KiangAs a traditional, accessible, familiarly-structured crowdpleaser, Boogie, in its modest, far-from-flawless way, challenges them to enjoy one as well. |
| TheWrapAlonso DuraldeIt’s only in assuming that we care more about Boogie’s athletic journey than his interpersonal relationships that the film falls short. |
| Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangBoogie tries to appreciate its own contradictions, and also to complicate the audience’s expectations. It positions Boogie as an underdog of the underrepresented, a potential breakout star in an arena where the odds are stacked against him. But it also resists the temptation to turn him into an easy emblem of success, while neatly sidestepping the feel-good uplift and predictable, reconciliatory outcomes that tend to hold sway in the sports-movie genre. |
| Screen DailyTim GriersonSometimes marred by plot contrivances, Boogie works best when it breaks free of cliches to deliver an honest portrait of the struggles to attain the American dream. |
| The Hollywood ReporterInkoo KangIt’s a solid first film, with a firm grasp on its melancholy but romantic tone, which never gets in the way of its propulsive momentum. |
| The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Cliff LeeBoogie is, finally, Huang’s cinematic realization of his dream, a debut filmmaker’s warts and all. |
| The PlaylistWalter ChawIt’s worth a look. And as another voice added to a growing chorus of Asian-Americans who were taught to be quiet, I guess I’m glad it’s not polished, that it’s coarse and impolite. |
