NR | 1h 46m | Drama | 2022
Films about Asian Americans have ranged from tearjerkers dressed up a comedy to a genuine blend of humor and heart. Often these movies were niche cultural sagas. Sometimes a film presents universal values within an ethnic context. “Dealing With Dad” shows how an Asian American family works out their messy problems.
Margaret Chang (Ally Maki) is a smart working woman who’s long been estranged from her parents. After meeting them, you might understand why. Her mother, Sophie (Page Leong), spends her days glued to Chinese soap operas. Her father, Jialuo (Dana Lee), runs the Milpitas, California household like a one-man storm cell, cycling between eruptions of anger and imposing strictness.
Roy (Peter S. Kim), the elder son of the family, bailed long ago and now trudges through the thankless grind of a corporate job. The younger brother, Larry (Hayden Szeto), still lives at home, but only physically; he barricades himself in his room with video games and headphones, tuning out their dad’s lingering thunder.
Then, out of the blue, Margaret and Roy are summoned back to the Milpitas house, the site of many psychological battle scars. Jialuo has fallen into a serious depression, spending most of his days silent, withdrawn, and bedridden. The siblings aren’t exactly rushing to his bedside, but guilt (and maybe a faint trace of filial duty) finally nudges them through the door.
Balancing Humor and Healing
The tone gradually shifts as the siblings navigate the strange new quiet of their childhood home. What begins as an awkward reunion built on guilt and old resentments slowly becomes a more honest reckoning. This isn’t just with their father’s decline, but with the psychological debris he’s left behind.
Writer-director Tom Huang wisely keeps things grounded. This film never strains to become something bigger than it is. It’s a modest, character-driven story that leans into the messiness of family, culture, and memory. The pacing is unhurried, even a bit shaggy in spots, but that gives the narrative beats time to breathe. These siblings don’t unravel everything at once. Like most people with long-standing family scars, they unpack it gradually—half in jokes, half in painful confessions.
Ally Maki leads the trio with confidence. As Margaret, she plays the role of responsible daughter not with sentiment, but with sharp edges and weary resolve. She’s used to taking charge, whether she wants to or not. While her monologue about their father might draw tears, it never feels manipulative.
Kim’s Roy is the sibling with the most visible chip on his shoulder, his bitterness barely masked by sarcasm. Szeto’s Larry, the self-sequestered youngest, is treated as the most juvenile, but he gets his moments too. He especially connects with viewers who can relate to his introverted, pop culture-cocooned escape route. His geekiness isn’t a gimmick. It’s a lifeline.
While the family’s Chinese American identity shapes their dynamics, it never becomes the film’s sole focus and is, therefore, relatable to non-Asians, too. Huang doesn’t explain the culture to the audience; he simply presents it as lived-in.
The tension between cultural expectations and emotional vulnerability is clear in nearly every interaction, particularly in the way the siblings reinterpret their father’s actions through an adult lens. The story isn’t about reconciliation so much as recognition: understanding who your parents really are and what that understanding costs.
“Dealing With Dad” doesn’t offer neat resolutions or dramatic breakthroughs—and that’s exactly why it works. It understands that family isn’t about grand gestures, but about showing up even when it’s uncomfortable. It’s about the often-awkward ways people try to reconnect.
With humor, relatability, and a sharp eye for detail, the film offers a portrait of sibling bonds and long-overdue reckonings that feels specific, yet universally familiar.
