Golden Delicious – Canadian Film Fest 2023
March 28 to April 1, 2023
A Chinese-Canadian high school student tries to figure out his identity in Golden Delicious. Jake (Cardi Wong) is a teenager who is under a lot of pressure from both his basketball-loving father, George (Ryan Mah) and social media-influencer girlfriend, Valerie (Parmiss Sehat), to meet their expectations for Jake. Things change with the arrival of Jake’s new neighbour, Aleks (Chris Carson), who awakens something within Jake.
Golden Delicious Synopsis
Golden Delicious is a coming-of-age drama directed by Jason Karman, the title of which references the Chinese restaurant run by protagonist Jake’s parents, George and Andrea (Leeah Wong). The latter views the restaurant as a dead end and tries to dissuade Jake’s sister Janet (Claudia Kai), from pursuing a culinary career. On the other hand, Jake is under pressure to follow the basketball dreams of his father and his girlfriend Valerie’s desire to take their two-year relationship to the next level. However, with the arrival of Aleks, Jake has to contend with his growing homosexual attraction to his new neighbour.
My Thoughts on Golden Delicious
Golden Delicious is a somewhat formulaic and cliche queer coming-of-age story that includes every trope, such as the homophobic jock Ronald (Jesse Hyde) and a third-act incident where Jake is outed as gay in the most embarrassing way possible. I reacted better to the family dynamic in Golden Delicious, as all the Chinese-Canadian family members have obstacles to overcome. While I would’ve preferred if some plot aspects were played differently, Golden Delicious is still a coming-of-age story worth checking out.
