Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American, bets the high school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads 5' 8" Chang on a quest to learn to dunk—not only to impress his crush, Kristy, but to gain the respect of his high school peers too. But before he can rise up and truly throw one down, he'll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships and his family.
Far from perfect, though 'Chang Can Dunk' manages to leave a mark.
Its plot is told in quite a heavy-handed manner, while the pacing and acting (cast are likeable, mind) isn't all that noteworthy. However, bits of the story do have a decent tinge of sadness attached to them, particularly with Chang and his mother, Chen. The film made me feel something, so props for that.
I don't have much more to say about it. Not a great movie, but one that manages to make itself work - at least it did for me.