'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