Eddie Huang Tells an Intersectional Immigrant Story in “Boogie”

Eddie Huang, the author, chef, restaurateur, and TV personality has now added director to his long list of titles. The Fresh Off the Boat writer is making his directorial debut with Boogie, a heartfelt coming-of-age story that focuses on a Chinese American teen living in Queens, New York.

In the newly released trailer, set to the sound of the late Pop Smoke’s “Got It on Me,” we see Alfred “Boogie” Chin, played by Huang’s former assistant Taylor Takahashi, a high school basketball star who dreams of playing in the NBA. However, his path to basketball stardom is not easy, as he works to balance his own vision with that of his parents, who want him to get a scholarship to an elite college.

Alongside Taylor Takahashi, the film also stars Taylour Paige, Pamelyn Chee, Mike Moh, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Perry Yung, Alexa Mareka, and rapper Pop Smoke, making his posthumous acting debut as Boogie’s rival.

Huang said about the film, “this has been the same story I’ve [long] been trying to tell, whether it was like selling sandwiches or writing Fresh Off the Boat.”

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“I’ve been very careful with everyone to not present it as an Asian American film,” he said. “I am Asian American, that is what I represent. That’s what I come from. But I’m very much into the intersection of all our experiences. And to me, this is an intersectional immigrant story. This is for all immigrants in America.”

The trailer has drawn plenty of attention, racking up three million views in its first days online.