Dealing with Dad
Available on Philo
MARGARET CHANG, 34, gets word that her overbearing jerk of a dad, JIALUO, 68, is despondent and won’t leave the house. She calls her older brother, ROY, 37, who has been dealing with a separation with his wife by binge eating. When Roy says he has no idea what's going on with Dad, Margaret calls their youngest brother who lives with their parents, LARRY, 33, and discovers that Dad has lost his job and for the past few months has been lying in bed doing nothing. Margaret reluctantly decides she has to go back home to figure out what to do, and forces Roy to join her. When they arrive back home, they get a diagnosis from old school friend and psychiatrist GORDON, 34, and find out that their dad is clinically depressed and needs treatment. The problem is, he fights tooth and nail not to take his anti-depressant pills and nobody knows how to handle it. The truth is, he’s easier to get along with depressed than when he is well and life has been easier for Larry and Mom SOPHIE, 64. Margaret, the only one in the family strong enough to get things done, questions why she's even trying to help a man who skipped her wedding because her husband is Black. The film follows her journey to somehow work this all out. In the end, she realizes getting her father well isn't the biggest issue... it's trying to figure out what her relationship with her father actually is. Along the way, she helps Roy deal with his inability to deal with his wife leaving him, as well as pushing Larry to finally face adulthood.
Starring Ally Maki, Hayden Szeto, Peter S. Kim
Director Tom Huang