'The Farewell' Review

Synopsis: A Chinese family discovers their grandmother Nai Na has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations and proprieties, she finds there's a lot to celebrate: a chance to rediscover the country she left as a child, her grandmother's wondrous spirit, and the ties that keep on binding even when so much goes unspoken.

Runtime: 100 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG (for thematic material, brief language, and some smoking)

Who should see it? Those who don't mind reading subtitles since much of the dialogue is spoken in Chinese.

Chinese tradition encourages families to withhold news of terminal illness from the affected person. While Americans pride themselves on individualism, decisions in China are made for the greater good of a collective family. Written and directed by Lulu Wang, The Farewell is influenced by Wang's personal experiences or, as an opening title card would tell you, "based on an actual lie." Lulu Wang first shared her anecdote three years ago on the weekly radio program This American Life, and the subject is understandably ideal as the premise of a feature-length dramady. 

The ethical dilemma and clash of cultural values naturally supply conflict while the audience awaits the seemingly inevitable, an unintentional slip of the tongue. Throughout The Farewell, there's palpable tension whether a family member will mistakenly reveal the truth of Nai Nai's condition to the affected matriarch. I won't spoil whether that occurs, but these instances lead the viewer to question the morality of such a choice. As Billi points out to her family, it'd be illegal to lie about this in America. But does that make it wrong? Within the specific cultural context, Wang pinpoints a universality in the character's emotional responses, so viewers sympathize with Billi's struggle.

However, the proceedings are relatively light in spite of the grim subject matter. Amid pre-emptive mourning, Wang uncovers levity in the family interactions as every facade is transparent to the audience. Therefore, something like Nai Nai's obliviousness concerning her health can be tragic or amusing depending on the context. Lulu Wang incorporates humor in such a way that it feels genuine, never coming across as gratuitous or undercutting the film's poignancy. 

Central to it all is an excellent lead performance from Awkwafina. Awkwafina's recently served as effective comic relief in films like Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean's Eight but proves to have a vast dramatic range here as well. Even at her happiest, the audience can sense Billi's inner turmoil regarding this secret, which is subtly conveyed by Awkwafina. In the role of Nai Nai, Shuzhen lends warmth, kindness, and a no-nonsense attitude to the loving matriarch. The persona of Zhao's affectionate Nai Nai contrasts well with Awkwafina's troubled Billi, and the two share a delightful dynamic. 

Filling out the remainder of the cast, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Aoi Mizuhara, Han Chen, Yongbo Jiang, and Lu Hong each offer wonderfully layered supporting turns as they also deal with this burden of knowledge. Otherwise, I found Alex Weston's score composed mostly of strings and vocals to be quite entrancing. Some scenes seem a bit unnecessary and could have been trimmed down a tad, but the film's runtime is only 100 minutes, so this isn't a significant concern. 

To sum things up, The Farewell is soulful, joyous, and undoubtedly one of my favorite films of the year thus far. I was taken aback when it ended rather abruptly, but I soon realized that it was because I wasn't ready to say goodbye.

Film Assessment: A

'Crazy Rich Asians' Review

Crazy Rich Asians follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young, to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but also nervous about meeting Nick's family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to inform her of key details of his life. It turns out he is not only the heir to one of the country's wealthiest families, but also one of its most sought after bachelors. Thrust into the spotlight, Rachel must now contend with jealous socialites, quirky relatives and something far, far worse - Nick's disapproving mother. It soon becomes clear that while money can't buy love, it can definitely complicate things.

Based on Kevin Kwan's best-selling novel, Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy directed by Jon Chu while Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim were charged with adapting Kwan's novel into a feature length script. Kwan and Chu had two major distribution offers from Netflix and Warner Bros. The distribution deal with Netflix was enticing because it entailed artistic freedom, a green-lighted trilogy, and a seven figure payday. However, the two ultimately went with Warner Bros because it meant a major studio would be throwing its weight behind a theatrical release with an all Asian ensemble. While it may not seem like it at first glance, Crazy Rich Asians is going to probably mean a lot to most Asian audience members. The reason being that it's one of the first times they've probably felt fully represented in the cinema. 

It's no secret that Asians are perhaps the demographic most underserved by Hollywood. Oftentimes, Asia is seen by studio executives as little more than a market with substantial box office potential. In recent years, this has lead a number of major blockbusters to stage their big action set-pieces in Asian countries and star Asian talent, but more often than not, this feels like pandering rather than proactive inclusion. The reason being that these locations and actors are rarely given a meaningful purpose or chance to shine within the context of the story, instead simply there to sell tickets overseas. Well, times are changing, as Crazy Rich Asians is the first Hollywood studio movie since 1993 to feature an all Asian or Asian-American cast (Wayne Wang's Joy Luck Club being the most recent case). 

Recently, films depicting minority gender, sexuality, or race seem to harbor an inner desire to make bold statements about our current socio-political atmosphere. While there's absolutely nothing wrong with that provided the commentary is tastefully incorporated, rarely do these features make an effort to normalize diversity through the lens of a movie that's ordinary. Well, Crazy Rich Asians does just that. It's proud of its heritage and culture, but doesn't make a big deal of it and is sure not to shove it in your face. It's a conventional rom-com which just happens to be set in Singapore and star an entirely Asian cast. These elements are intentionally interwoven tightly into the story so that it couldn't really be made any other way, and I find it respectable that the studio didn't handicap the production by whitewashing any characters for the sake of the picture's commerciality. It's proud of its ensemble, but never boastful. 

Perpetuating the idea that it's normal to release a major Hollywood movie lead by Asians will only enable other films to follow suit. From that standpoint, Crazy Rich Asians is definitely a big deal, and you should totally support it if you'd like to see greater Asian representation in Hollywood. Before discussing the film's shortcomings, I'd like to say that cinematographer Vanja Cernjul had a nice eye for capturing the extravagant sets and lavish costumes. The production design and costumery were gorgeous and really accentuated the overabundance of wealth these characters possess. Otherwise, I honestly found it to be a by-the-books rom-com. Light-hearted and entertaining, but nothing too special.

Then again, I'm really not the target audience for this sort of thing... Though Crazy Rich Asians does definitely suffer from some sluggish pacing and an overabundance of formulaic storylines at times, I quite enjoyed the film overall. I won't rush to buy it on Blu-Ray or anything, but I certainly wouldn't complain if ever goaded into watching it on a date.

What most elevates Crazy Rich Asians above its cliché-ridden narrative though is its excellent ensemble. Constance Wu is smart, sweet, and down-to-earth as Rachel while Henry Golding exudes a pleasant personality and an abundance of charm in the role of Nick Young, and spark certainly were flying between the two. I've heard murmurings of Golding being a good fit for Bond (he's British-Malaysian so it wouldn't violate the rule of Bond being British), and will concede I'd absolutely be up for that after seeing his work here. Elsewhere, Michelle Yeoh excels in the space of Nick's protective, disapproving mother and the other members of the Young family are wonderfully played by Gemma Chan, Pierre Png, Nico Santos, Remy Hii, Ronny Chieng, Victoria Loke, Lisa Lu, and a host of other actors.

As supporting player, Awkwafina leaves perhaps the most memorable impression since a great deal of the comedic relief comes from her character Peik Lin Goh. Other members of her family similarly serve up some big laughs and are portrayed by Ken Jeong, Koh Cheng Mun, and Calvin Wong respectively. On the more serious side of things, Tan Kheng Hua plays Rachel's mother and she really relishes in every tender moments shared with Wu. 

Crazy Rich Asians is by no means groundbreaking in terms of storytelling, but it's certainly a significant step forward for Asian representation in Hollywood. Based on the box office projections, the film should soon recoup its budget and I imagine other studios will see that centering films around Asian ethnic groups can make them crazy rich as well!

Film Assessment: B

'Ocean's Eight' Review

After being released from a five year prison sentence, Debbie Ocean sets out to recruit an all-female crew and pull off the heist of a lifetime by stealing a $150 million necklace during New York City's annual Met Gala.

Ocean's Eight functions as an extension of sorts to the pre-existing Ocean's Trilogy, and this is made abundantly clear in the film's opening where it's confirmed that Debbie is Danny Ocean's sister (this is in the trailers). Since I had absolutely no attachment to the Ocean's Trilogy on behalf of never having seen the films prior to a few days ago, I wasn't perturbed when this all-female reboot was announced. In fact, I was somewhat intrigued by the A-list talent assembled for the project and thought the reboot had huge potential. However, I was very surprised not to see a similar backlash which befell 2016's Ghostbusters, since that film was also a gender-swapped reboot. I suppose this is simply because the 1984 Ghostbusters is much more beloved than any Ocean's installment, plus the blowback was lessened by the fact Ocean's Eleven (2001) was already a remake and this spin-off happens in the same universe. 

The lady-led soft reboot was spearheaded by Gary Ross who took up directorial duties, wrote the story treatment solo, and penned the screenplay alongside Olivia Milch. Unfortunately, these are the areas in which I found Ocean's Eight to be the most lacking. While certainly a competently made film, Ocean's Eight lacks its own voice in the ever-growing heist genre and this is largely because Ross seems reluctant to put his own stamp on the film. Where Steven Soderbergh has made an effort to put his own spin on heist films with Logan Lucky and his Ocean's Trilogy, Ross simply retreads old ground with the same franchise blueprints. It's almost as though Warner Bros. saw the toxic fanboy reaction to Ghostbusters (2016) and decided it would be best to play things as safe as possible with a familiar story and nothing new aside from an almost entirely female ensemble. As a result, there's very little to differentiate Ocean's Eight from any of the other installments in the Ocean's franchise or any other heist film for that matter. 

It just felt as though Ocean's Eight was going through the motions of the conventional heist formula. One thing that was particularly bothersome was that **very minor spoiler warning, I guess?**  the heist went off without a hitch. All of the obstacles felt like they were easily overcome in a matter of seconds, so this heist which is supposed to be ridiculously difficult didn't feel like it was much of a challenge for these ladies. Therefore, the heist was devoid of tension and I was never concerned for the characters or their wellbeing (which is another issue altogether). In spite of this, the heist was actually my favorite portion of the film and the section I found to be the most entertaining. There are some decent twists at the end, even though a few were fairly predictable, but the remaining runtime was overinflated with standard setup and an additional twenty-thirty minutes after the heist. Not to mention the wasted time from two scenes that were practically advertisements for Subway and Tinder. They weren't as egregious as the product placement in Power Rangers (2017) or Transformers, but it was enough for me to roll my eyes in the theater. 

Otherwise, the script was lackluster and the characters were underdeveloped and fairly uninteresting. Much of the screen-time is dedicated towards recruiting a crew for the heist, explaining the heist, preparing for the heist, and then executing the heist. Ocean's Eight doesn't dedicate much time towards developing the characters or establishing much camaraderie between the crew so I ultimately didn't care about them. You could also tell that some of the lines that were supposed to be scene-ending zingers didn't really land, and it was really awkward whenever a joke fell flat.

Even though it may seem as if I'm simply ranting about mediocrity, there were elements I appreciated including a couple Ocean's Trilogy cameos, cool transitions effects, the elegant costumes, a funky, upbeat Ocean's-inspired score from Daniel Pemberton, and most importantly, the cast. The film largely works because of the talent it has at its disposal. These actresses elevate their thinly drawn characters and pepper in a little extra personality, but they were mostly typecast to play exaggerated versions of themselves or female versions of their male counterparts from the Ocean's Trilogy. The performances across the board were fine, but there was hardly a standout aside from Anne Hathaway playing a vain actress. When you hear the names Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Awkwafina, and Rihanna, there's a degree of star power associated with those names, and I was mostly disappointed to see so many of these actresses blend into the background.

While not nearly the worst of the Ocean’s franchise, I still felt Ocean's Eight conned me out of two hours. A sequel seems likely based on Ocean's Eight scoring the franchise's highest weekend debut, and I'm actually all in for that regardless of my issues. With a solid ensemble and the potential to easily top this entry, I just hope Warner Bros. lets Ross venture outside the box next time or at least hires someone willing to get their hands dirty and take some risks.

Film Assessment: C+