The Farewell

Family reunion films are in abundance for many audiences as nice comfort food to kick back to relax with. Even that, however, can wear out its welcome with how many repetitive cliches many of the American features tend to have between goofy exaggerated situations, forced drama, and other troupes that just become a blur at some point. However, there are a few examples to where it's done quite well such as with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which managed to be pretty low key and charming for its love story that brought in a large family gathering. This brings us to The Farewell, which was based on writer/director Lulu Wang's own life experience. There wasn’t a whole lot shown in the marketing as it mainly shown the premise and probably the only recognizable mainstream actress in the cast Awkwafina. I entered the auditorium ready to see what it can bring and left it very surprised by its excellent quality work along with the heartfelt emotional substance.

What's it about? The story follows a Chinese family reuniting to keep the matriarch hidden in the dark regarding her fatal cancer diagnosis. This execution of this premise initially sounds like it’s going to be a dramatic lifetime movie but writing choice of treating it more comedy with a few moments of drama sprinkled in there makes the experience feel unique. Taking the main setting over to China provides a distinct cultural display allows it a more subdued natural way of storytelling (as opposed to Crazy Rich Asians which went more over exaggerated and more cliched as a bland product for audiences). While it's not a groundbreaking achievement in filmmaking or anything of a risky arthouse film, going for the direction of a slice of life heartwarming feature delights many in the character interactions and joyous moments to share with loved ones in the limited time to share with one another.

How are the actors? In regards to the cast as a whole, the more recognizable among them would be Awkwafina, whose career got a boost from her standout role in Crazy Rich Asians. She certainly impresses as the center point for audiences as she gives what's likely to be her most subdued performance (given how wild she has been in past roles) and is showing more growth as an actress. The MVP out of the cast is Zhao Shuzhen as the grandmother who is an absolutely entertaining in her interacts with everyone with the amount of sass, hilarity, and wisdom that comes in a caring nature. With a big part in the movie, the actress proves more than enough of a reason to check out the emotional depth it contains. Honorable mentions go to Tzi Ma, Diana Lin and Jiang Yongbo for providing their strong acting chops in the moments that mattered the most for their respective characters.

Overall Consensus: The Farewell is an entertaining family reunion with emotional depth that's bolstered by great acting, solid writing that blends comedy with drama, and great direction. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🎟🍿 Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes PG

Reasons to watch it: You are looking for a small scale comedy-drama that packs plenty of emotional punches with hilarious moments. You don't mind most of the dialogue being spoken in Chinese (with subtitles). You are a fan of the aforementioned actors. You want to take a break from the monotonous blockbusters. You want to see how authentic the Chinese culture is shown on display in the environment. You enjoy movies about relatives reuniting for an event and show of support for one another.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't looking for a small scale comedy-drama that packs plenty of emotional punches with hilarious moments. You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors. You dislike movies about relatives reuniting for an event and show of support for one another.