Crazy Rich Asians: Movie Review

"Crazy Rich Asians" is a no-nonsense romance comedy that is just plain fun at its core. You get nothing more but also nothing less. While the film may not shake the genre, the feel-good nature of the film makes it a light-hearted and enjoyable experience.

Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) accompanies her boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited and nervous about meeting Nick’s family, Rachel is surprised and unprepared to learn that Nick is a member of Singapore's wealthiest families but also one of its most eligible bachelors. This alone makes Rachel’s time in Singapore complicated but it becomes worse as Nick’s mother (Michelle Yeoh) clearly does not approve of her to be his son's partner. Will Rachel stand up and get her man or will she fold to all the pressure and craziness happening around her?

As the title might imply, "Crazy Rich Asians" might make you think it would showcase the zany, indecent, and extravagant nature of ultra-rich of the region. What we actually get is sort of the middle ground. This is also probably the same case for the adaptation itself. For fans of the novel, the adaptation was not a faithful one but the changes made were understandable in the context of it first, being a movie and second, the uncertainty of any sequels being made. Now don't think of these as bad things. In fact, these changes made this adaptation work. While the screenplay delves into the darker sides of the rich families it presents, it never gets too serious about it. It showed that these rich people, as perfect as their lives may seem, have their own issues and agendas that make them human but in a very light-hearted style. The overall arc had little or no surprises and quite honestly predictable. Thankfully, the chemistry and acting of the cast though made this issue forgivable and forgettable. We loved how we could relate to Rachel Chu and her struggles to cope with all the madness happening right in front of her eyes. Constance Wu was a revelation while Awkwafina and Nico Santos provided some timely-comic relief when we needed it most. "Crazy Rich Asians" should do enough to hook audiences in from start to finish and even if money may not buy happiness, it at least bought some heavy dose of amusement and intrigue.

Rating: 4 reels




Why you should watch it:
- great chemistry between the cast
- does enough to hook you in from start to finish

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the screenplay was pedestrian and predictable