Crazy Rich Asians Movie Review

By now you must have heard of the must-see movie of the summer, Crazy Rich Asians.  For the uninitiated, it’s a romantic comedy based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan which tells the story of Rachel Chu, a Chinese-American economics professor who travels to Singapore to meet her boyfriend, Nick Young’s, family.  Much to her surprise, Rachel learns that Nick is from a wealthy family – like crazy rich – and with that came elitist views of Nick being with “commoner.”  Rachel struggles to gain acceptance from Nick’s family, especially from his mother, Eleanor Young.

First Major Hollywood film to be directed by an Asian director

One of the biggest reasons why Crazy Rich Asians has generated so much interest is because it’s the first major Hollywood film to be directed by an Asian director and have a predominantly Asian cast.  The last Hollywood production with an all-Asian lead cast was 1993’s The Joy Luck Club.  The Joy Luck Club was a great movie (I’ve watched it a few times back then and quite recently) but it’s a heavy movie – even at times a bit depressing – and just not as light-hearted and funny as Crazy Rich Asians.  It was nice to see that Lisa Lu, who was in The Joy Luck Club, play Nick’s grandmother (Ah Ma) and matriarch of the Young family in Crazy Rich Asians; I felt like it sort of paid tribute to that film and how it changed the way Asians in Hollywood were seen at the time.

There have been few web productions that feature all-Asian casts.  I’m a fan of Wong Fu Productions on Youtube which has been around for over a decade telling the stories of Asian Americans through web series, vlogs and feature films.  Next to that, I would say a “somewhat” similar show to Crazy Rich Asians would be the Canadian web series, Ultra Rich Asian Girls, which provided a look into the world of the Chinese elite by featuring daughters of affluent Chinese Canadians living in Vancouver.  Ultra Rich Asian Girls was a “reality show” but we all know that these shows have many scripted elements to them.

What I Got Out of the Movie

To start, I hadn’t been to the movie theatre in probably 5 years and Crazy Rich Asians brought me out!  From an entertainment point of view, it was time and money well spent.  The movie was full of eye-candy from the beautiful cast, the sprawling mansions, the outrageous outfits and shots of some very mouthwatering food.  I really liked that there were many funny and sweet moments that made me laugh out loud in the theatre.

I also enjoyed seeing the strong female leads in the movie namely Constance Wu (who plays Rachel Chu) and Michelle Yeoh (who plays Eleanor Young).  Their dynamic and excellent acting really carried the movie; if their acting wasn’t so strong, I’m pretty sure this movie would have floundered.  I was a little concerned about whether Henry Golding could act as this was not only his first leading role but really his first major acting gig.   Furthermore, being the heartthrob of a movie can often mean you get relegated to the typical shirtless scenes and cheesy lines but I thought Henry did well in his role even though there wasn’t a wide range of character development.

One funny thing about watching the movie was that it had me guessing what kind of Asian the actors were.  There were different Asian representation including Chinese, Malaysian, Korean, Japanese and Filipino.  Different dialects were also spoken throughout the movie including Cantonese, Mandarin and Malay.

Overall Impression

I love the meaning of the movie in terms of representation of Asians on film but really I enjoyed it for its entertainment value.  Constance Wu (Rachel Chu) and Henry Golding (Nick Young) make a very loveable on-screen couple that you want to root for.  I’m excited for the sequel where Nick’s cousin, Astrid Leong (played by Gemma Chan), will play more of a prominent role.  Until then, go see the movie – you’ll love it!  Rating: 5/5

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