Surprisingly, this is NOT a Rocky-style up-and-comer athlete story. This Chinese-American basketball player (Taylor Takahashi who’s actually Japanese) is already a stand out at his high school. This movie revolves around his hope for a college scholarship on his way to playing for the NBA. His greatest challenges are living up to his traditional parents’ expectations and winning the big game against a rival. This was written/directed by comic Eddie Huang (best known for Fresh off the Boat) and the lead is actually his teammate from a community league. Sadly, it shows. Although Takahashi is earnest (and too old to play a teen), his flatness belies his lack of experience, esp. against the actual actors. To make matters worse, the writing tackles all of the issues with a simplistic approach and the direction is flat. Overall, this feels like a bad TV drama. 
(2.5 / 5)