Crazy, Cool, Fun

Romantic comedies are among the biggest hit or miss genres, of movies to make. They have to be finely crafted, in order to work. If all goes well, you get an instant classic, that is remembered, quoted, and made reference to decades later, like When Harry Met Sally… but if there’s any hiccups or missteps, you get an unfunny, and forgotten mess of a Golden Razzie Award winner, like All About Steve. I can safely say that, while Crazy Rich Asians may not be the instant classic that When Harry Met Sally... is, it sure is an entertaining movie, that might find a strong cult following.

Directed by Jon M. Chu (whose credits range from four Step Up movies, to a pair of Justin Bieber documentaries, to a G.I. Joe movie that was alright, to a Jem and the Holograms movie, that we will ignore) and adapted from the novel, written by Kevin Kwan (Stan Lee would be proud of that name), Crazy Rich Asians tells the story of star crossed love between Rachel Chu and Nick Young. Rachel is an economics professor at NYU, and Nick is rather tight lipped about what he does. That’s because he’s secretly one of the richest men in all of China. The two travel to Singapore to attend the wedding of one of Nick’s best friends, and hijinks ensue as Rachel meets Nick’s disapproving mother, Eleanor Sung-Young.

Constance Wu plays Rachel with a childlike innocence, thinking that she can easily adjust to Asian culture, not realizing it’s dissimilar to the Americanized version of Asian culture that she’s accustomed to, as Eleanor (played to icy perfection by the legendary Michelle Yeoh) is all too happy to remind her. Rachel is quickly thought of as a gold digger by everyone at the wedding party, and has to deal with the pushback from Eleanor and Nick’s grandmother. But the true stars of the movie are the supporting cast. Gemma Chan is lovely as Astrid Young-Teo, Nick’s cousin, and although she’s stuck in a subplot, it’s a subplot that could have been its own movie. Nora Lum (I refuse to call her “Awkwafina”) steals all her scenes as Goh Peik Lin, Rachel’s best friend from college. Nico Santos is hilarious as Oliver T’sien, Nick’s second cousin. And Ken Jeong provides the best jokes in the one or two scenes that he’s in, as Peik Lin’s father, Goh Wye Mun.

The movie takes full advantage of its exotic settings, be it beautiful oceans, tropical islands, or city skylines. And the production design for the actual wedding is so lush, you might wish the entire movie took place in that one location. The soundtrack also fully embraces Asian-American culture, by having Chinese language versions of popular American songs playing in the background.

That being said, all the beautiful scenery and Asian culture can’t save the movie from the fact it falls for all the usual traps that rom-coms setup. I mean, the entire main plot is about a woman having to deal with her boyfriend’s disapproving mother, and the B-story subplot has to do with a woman discovering her husband’s affair. If that wasn’t bad enough, the movie ends up doing the usual boy loses girl, but must win her back before she leaves, cliche. If the movie wanted to be really bold, they should have had Nick take the more daring option when choosing between Rachel or his family. What we get is nothing we haven’t seen before, but at the very least, everyone’s charming, while going through these staples of rom-com storytelling. There’s also a handful of minor characters that don’t add anything to the plot, other than cheap laughs, and could have been easily removed from the movie all together.

Overall, I give Crazy Rich Asians a well deserved four out of five stars. While its cast is bursting with charisma, and everything is filmed in front of gorgeous backdrops, it’s the same rom-com cocktail that has been made time and time again, only mixed to have a slightly more unique flavor. While not an instant classic upon arrival, I can safety say it’s the best rom-com I have seen in years. If you’re in the mood for a date movie that’s a feast for the eyes, and is packed with charm, and well placed laughs, this is a fine pick for a DVD/Blu-Ray or streaming rental that you should strongly consider. That concludes this fan-picked review. And remember, when it comes to your media consumption, be like Indiana Jones, and chose wisely.

Short Version

Pros:

• Cast has great charm, charisma, and chemistry in star making performances.
• Most of the jokes land and are funny.
• Great looking scenery, production design, and locations.

Cons:

• Uses the same tropes of rom-coms that have been done to death.
• Ending is predictable and could have been braver if it went a different route.
• Some minor characters add nothing to the plot and seem tacked on.
• Verdict: **** (four out of five stars).