'American Born Chinese' review: Ideal family viewing

WHAT IT'S ABOUT The eight-episode Disney+ series "American Born Chinese" tells the story of Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a suburban U.S. teenager who wants nothing more than to fit in at school by making friends with the popular kids, earning a spot on the soccer team and hanging out with his crush Amelia (Sydney Taylor).

But as the son of Chinese immigrants and one of the relatively few minorities on campus, Jin must grapple with larger questions about his identity and the challenges in being made to be representative of something beyond just being "a regular guy," as he puts it.

His story gets interwoven with that of Wei-Chin (Jimmy Liu), the son of the Monkey King, a mythological Chinese figure who first appeared in the 16th century novel "Journey to the West." Wei-Chin has come to Earth and to this very ordinary place in search of a scroll to stop an uprising against this otherworldly kingdom, with the belief that Jin is key to it all.

"American Born Chinese" co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, both fresh off Oscar success for "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Creator Kelvin Yu ("Bob's Burgers") adapts the acclaimed 2006 graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang.

MY SAY The most simplistic way to describe "American Born Chinese" would be to call it a coming-of-age story, and like all such efforts it revolves around a younger person facing headwinds as he tries to make sense of his place in the world.

But a viewing of the first three episodes reveals a far more complicated take on this template than the norm, a thoughtful interrogation of the competing forces at play as Jin tries to better understand himself.

Into the primary narrative of Jin trying to assimilate in school, "American Born Chinese" seamlessly interweaves Wei-Chin's story, with its supernatural elements, and a second subplot in which Jin must process the social media-fueled resurgence of the horrifically stereotyped '90s sitcom character Freddy Wong (Huy Quan).

Yu and his directors distill the whole picture into an entertaining, digestible form, with a flashy visual sensibility and genuine sense of humor. A good portion of the latter arrives thanks to Yeoh, who seems to be having a great time as her millennia-old character Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, eagerly partakes in a typical American Chinese buffet and struggles to build an Ikea table.

"American Born Chinese" is a serious endeavor that never takes itself too seriously, which allows for it to be an important work of specific cultural representation that can also resonate with a larger audience.

The three storylines define the main character in a particular way while also serving as a universal, common thread linking so much of the American immigrant experience: the allure and burden of conformity; the importance of the cultural and historical legacies that shape us; and the pain of ignorance and its destructive effects.

BOTTOM LINE It's ideal family viewing: Thought-provoking and fun, without one element compromising the other.