Grappling with the growing pains of an Asian-Canadian teenager, Jason Karman’s well-intentioned debut aims to tackle a multitude of big themes – but it also makes a mistake that plagues other issue-driven films where the characters take the backseat to the talking points. Split between a queer coming-of-age narrative and a portrait of intergenerational differences, Golden Delicious ends up treating both subjects with insufficient depth.

A capable performer who looks well into his late 20s, Cardi Wong plays 17-year-old protagonist Jake, a born people-pleaser who does his best to make his unyielding father George (Ryan Mah) and his bubbly girlfriend Valerie (Parmiss Sehat) happy. Such efforts are usually to Jake’s own detriment. To continue George’s broken dreams of athletic prowess, Jake dutifully practises basketball every day, even though he would much prefer to be the school team’s photographer. With Valerie he behaves like the perfect boyfriend, yet Jake’s heart yearns for something more, a dormant desire that is awakened when handsome Aleks (Chris Carson) moves in next door.

Although the casting of adults as high schoolers is common enough, the age discrepancy is especially glaring here, with characters so formulaic that it’s already difficult to suspend disbelief. Jake, for instance, is defined almost entirely by his predicaments. Moments where he furtively uses his camera purport to offer a glimpse into his real feelings, yet the photographs themselves are generic and devoid of personality. Running a Chinese restaurant drives Jake’s parents to the edge of divorce, but there are hardly any scenes where we actually see their supposedly gruelling day-to-day life. Bogged down by its meandering progress, Golden Delicious never gets near a slam dunk.

• Golden Delicious is released on 30 October on digital platforms and DVD.