'Crazy Rich Asians'

When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Pretty Woman—when you think of the traditional rom-com genre, these are some of the movies you might think of—along with two dozen other movies that were released around the same time.

And when was that? Oh yeah, It was the 1980s-1990s.

Since then, rom-coms have been limping along by repeating some of the same antics and tropes films like When Harry Met Sally and other genre classics set in stone years prior. Or, they amp up the comedy and dial back on the romance, or vise versa, and what you are left with isn’t truly a rom-com.

I wouldn’t say rom-com is my favorite genre film and it really isn’t even that high on the list for me at all, unless it is an amazing script with amazing talent involved—which brings me to Crazy Rich Asians.

Crazy Rich Asians wasn’t an anticipated film for me this summer. In fact, I didn’t know what it was until my wife dragged me to a 7:45 showing. All I knew about the film going in is what the title told me. Upon learning it was going to be a rom-com I rolled my eyes. When was the last good rom-com we’ve seen? I mean a true rom-com. I don’t mean whatever cheap comedy is going into Adam Sandler’s inbox these days. A true romantic comedy for the ages—show me Julia Roberts in a stunning dress while laughing hysterically, for crying out loud!

In Jon Chu’s 2018 Crazy Rich Asians, we get something just as good: Constance Wu, playing Rachel Chu, as the protagonist and love interest to Singapore billionaire Nick Young, played by Henry Golding. Rachel Chu is an Asian-American who visits Singapore for the first time with her boyfriend in order to meet his family, who just so happens to be the wealthiest and most famous family in Singapore. Constance Wu’s character, unaware of her boyfriend’s pseudo-royalty, experiences culture-shock in hilarious and dramatic ways through the film.

Ultimately, the film is about cultural differences between Asians and Asian Americans. As it is not a culture I am apart of, I found the tenses and the strain between characters very intriguing and for a rom-com, I actually started to get invested in the social-political happenings of the film.

Constance Wu and Henry Golding do not carry the movie by themselves, though. The film is lined with several talented actors. Awkwafina, who plays the hilarious and awkward best friend to the protagonist, steals the show with her hilarious performance as Goh Peik Lin. And Michelle Yeoh as Eleanor Young brought a powerful performance as the disapproving mother of Henry Golding’s character. Ken Jeong also appeared in a minor but hilarious role.

The movie is packed with several talented actors; I didn't feel that any of the actors were particularly bad in this film or bland, even when some of the cheesy romantic lines were performed. Of course, this being a romantic-comedy, there were tropes and predictability. Most of the film can be predicted pretty quickly. There are not a lot of twists and turns along the way, although there is an even that happens in the start of the third act that was surprising to me.

The point is, you’re not walking away from this movie with a new way to invent the wheel, but it’s a good sturdy wheel that belongs with all of the other good wheels in this genre. Atop the talent and performances, this movie takes a step outside of the romantic-comedy genre to talk about race and stereotypes and cultural expectations. It’s refreshing to see a movie, even one that doesn’t take itself uber-seriously, to comment on something as important as equality, race, and culture—especially during our current political and social climates.

Crazy Rich Asians won’t be your favorite movie of the year, but I promise you’ve seen far worse this year and you’ll continue to see far worse after. This movie is a fun ride, with a few good laughs and a warm heart attached to it. If you’re having a date night, or want to remember the times you’d sit on your couch at home and watch movies like Say Anything or You’ve Got Mail, than I suggest giving Crazy Rich Asians a watch. Enjoy!