Crazy Rich Asians

Modern romantic comedies have a hard time being distinguishable from one another as the years move forward with audiences looking for something that catches their eye. It's not to say that most of the modern ones are bad but when being given some of the same formulaic beats and adult related humor, it takes efforts such as The Big Sick to showcase to the public how meaningful and heartfelt the genre can be when done well. This brings us here to Crazy Rich Asians, a new entry within this topic that's based on the novel of the same name and directed Jon M Chu (known for Step Up 2 & 3, Jem and the Holograms, and GI Joe Retaliation). This project was making some big progress as the first Hollywood studio film to feature a majority Asian American cast since The Joy Luck Club. The marketing campaign didn't exactly entice excitement out of me to watch it right away but it was a crowd pleasing success with critics and audiences upon its release. One month after its release, I finally went to see it to see how much of the buzz geared towards this hit was warranted and left the auditorium somewhat satisfied with the experience but disappointed in its missed opportunities.

Plot: The story follows an American professor who goes with her boyfriend to meet his wealthy family in Singapore, a fact she wasn't aware of until he tells her on the way over there. The charm in terms of visual quirks are shown well in the beginning during a gossip channel of social media and is a nice creative treat to see. In regards to this premise, there's a lot of potential to make this type of dynamic feel unique and heartfelt as the drama between the boyfriend and his mother creates some nice ideas to explore. However, the biggest problem holding this back from being good as it could have been is the treatment of its script. The flow of the central arc is interrupted by an unnecessary plot line that takes away the attention needed to try and care about its leads protagonists.

So much of the dialog between the romantic pair is repeatedly expositing about how they changed since they met instead of showing the development (ignoring the important Show Don't Tell rule). If there was a scene to show the couple meeting for the first time to show the evolution to where they are now, any sense of attachment would have greatly benefitted the story. It also doesn't help that the runtime is too long for its genre along with how the first act drags a bit until it gets into the real meat of the conflict. However, there are a few scenes that shine strong for demonstrating the great film this could have been that help out its quality..

Characters: The people to focus on are Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and Nick Young (Henry Golding). Rachel is Nick's girlfriend who meets his rich family and learns about the cultural differences between one another that causes conflict in their relationship. Constance suffers in her performance from the repetitive nature of the script she's given as it feels like she's directed into the same mundane motions over and over, which is a shame where it feels like her acting chops are limited here compared to her role on the show "Fresh off the Boat" and makes her the weakest actor by default (though she's trying her best). Nick is Rachel's charming boyfriend (the Prince Charming in this tale) whose drama with his mother causes issues with Rachel while in Singapore for a friends wedding. Henry also suffers similar to Constance with the script but not as rough as his character has slightly better material to chew up and his charismatic performance helps him elevate the role (in fact, his presence will be encountered again in my next review 😉). It should be noted that these two actors have some good chemistry in their scenes together, despite the aforementioned writing issues.

Honorable MVP mentions go to Eleanor Sung-Young (Michelle Yeoh) and Goh Peik Lin (Awkwafina). The former delivers an excellent dramatic performance in her scenes that commands attention with her role while the latter is delight to watch in her comedic antics that actually brightens up the energy whenever the dull nature of the screenplay is becoming too much. Anytime they are on screen, it helps this romantic comedy rise above the mundane screenplay. If it wasn't for these two actresses, my overall score would have been lowered. 

Singapore Catalog: Since this does take place in Singapore, it should be noted that this is also part travel magazine for the area as there are some good looking spots to visit. To distract from the aforementioned issues, there are locations showcased from the standard transition shots of beautiful mansions to some of the surrounding islands. The interior of these places does live up to the extravagant nature of the “crazy rich” aspect so kudos there. Even the production design from a wedding down to the outfits are a highlight that lives up to the fictionalized version of a Hollywood studio production. Make sure you bring something to eat since there are two scenes where the characters are either having delicious looking street food or are making dumplings.

Black Panther Comparison: Earlier this year, another genre movie also broke new grounds on the diversity aspect: Black Panther. Surprisingly there are a few things that they have in common with one another: some of their best features is the production/costume design, a comic relief character is a highlight, and their main character is the least interesting. The only difference is the quality difference between the screenplays and genres, which makes Black Panther function as a better film by comparison. It’s worth recognizing that regardless of the faults Crazy Rich Asians has, it can provide exposure to a collective Asian American actors in its large cast and can bridge an gateway to new projects that take a similar route with the exposure to that demographic.

Overall Consensus: Crazy Rich Asians had good intentions with its talented cast performances, a light hearted tone, and great production design, but it fails to reach its potential through its cluttered disappointing script and lack of investment in the main conflict. ⭑⭑⭑1/4💻 Runtime: 2 hours 1 minute PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You enjoy seeing representation of the Asian demographic on the big screen, by modern Hollywood studio standards. You enjoy romantic comedies. You love visual eye candy with production and costume design.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You hate seeing representation of the Asian demographic on the big screen, by modern Hollywood studio standards. You hate romantic comedies. You want to have emotional investment in the romantic leads. You hate clunky and cluttered writing.