Crazy Rich Asians Review!

The buzz was building for Crazy Rich Asians with it’s featured mostly Asian cast which is 25 years since the last major studio film with a similar cast.  This movie is also based on a novel in this case by Kevin Kwan who is an executive producer and has a cameo in the film. I have not read the book, but now would like to see the characters and elements that were in the novel. The novel was adapted by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim.  The film is directed by Jon M. Chu who last directed Now You See Me 2 (2016).  So let’s get to it, the movie opens with a flashback in London, 1995.  It is pouring rain and the Young family enters a hotel led by Eleanor Sung-Young played by Michelle Yeoh. She of course starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and was featured in the first season of Star Trek: Discovery.  Young Nick played by Evan Koit smears his mud-splattered shoes on the floor.  The hotel staff dismiss her reservation so she makes a call to her husband.  A family friend, Lord Calthorpe (Peter Carroll) rushes down to get the family a room.  He has turned over ownership of the hotel to the Young family to the shock of the staff.   

This shifts to the current day and New York University, the settings are shown in big letters.  We get a poker game held between a student and his economics professor, Rachel Chu, played by Constance Wu from Fresh Off the Boat.  Rachel is intelligent, understands player motivation, but she is out of her league when she reaches Singapore.  She is met by her boyfriend, Nick Young, played by Henry Golding.  It is his first film, but he has his character down here, mysterious and dashing.  What comes through is both actors have chemistry so you root for both of them.  They head over to a restaurant where Nick shares Rachel’s dessert, it makes her suspicious that he might be poor, but he asks on her spring break to go to Singapore.  He hopes to attend the wedding of his friend, Alistair Cheng, and meet his family.  She agrees which is picked up by gossiper, Radio One Asia (Constance Lau) who snaps their pic and sends it to her social network. The author, Kevin Kwan, makes a cameo in that scene. The pop up texts and arrows are an energetic graphic, but this does not continue past the map and flight. 

It eventually reaches Singapore, where the Young ladies are busy reading Bible quotes. This is led by Eleanor while the aunties, Alexandra Young (Selena Tan) and Felicity Young (Janice Koh), receive the text.  Eleanor calls up Nick to set up his room, but he insists on staying at a hotel. Rachel prepares for her trip choosing a dress, her mother Kerry Chu (Tan Kheng Hua) says that she is not ready, and finds a red dress that is a lucky color.  Mothers, their pasts, and their daughters are a critical part of this story.  At the airport, Rachel is surprised that they have been upgraded to first class, it has a lounge and bar more like a hotel than a cramped airplane.  They are given a private cabin and Nick tells Rachel about his family.  This switches to a martial arts movie, we find that Nick’s cousin, Alistair Cheng (Remy Hill) has financed the film to feature his girlfriend, Kitty Pong (Fiona Tie). Then, we get Eddie Cheng, another cousin played the Daily Show’s Ronny Chieng.  He is getting his family photographed and reminds his sons to get the best angle.  Oliver T’Sien (Nick Santos) is another cousin and fashion designer.  

Lastly, we get Astrid Leong-To, played by Gemma Chan.  She is currently in the series Humans, but I noticed her in the Doctor Who episode, “The Waters of Mars” (2009). Astrid buys million dollar earrings and hides them with her other purchases around her house by the servants. Her arc runs parallel with Rachel’s story and only Eddie and Oliver are featured as opposing and supporting her. At the Singapore Changi Airport, Rachel and Nick are met by his friend Colin (Chris Pang) and his fiancee, Arminta Lee (Sonoya Mizuno).  Pang was featured in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016).  Mizuno was in Ex Machina (2014) and Annihilation (2018).  

They are both excited to see Nick and Rachel, but Colin worries about the reaction of the Young family to Rachel.  The couples go eat, Nick remarks that the street vendors have Michelin stars.  Rachel has fun with Nick’s friends and the next day heads over to a mansion.  This is actually the home of her college friend, Goh Peik Lin played by Awkwafina.  She was also in the Ocean’s Eight film earlier this year.  Awkwafina has one of the funniest lines later in the movie with Constance.  Also, there is Peik Lin’s father Wye Mon played by Ken Jeong who of course is known as Mr. Chow in the Hangover films and his own series Dr. Ken. I relate the most to the awkward brother P.T. Got (Calvin Wong).  Peik Lin asks Rachel about Nick and she reveals that he is Nick Young which stuns the entire family, very funny. 

She tells Rachel that the Youngs are “crazy rich”, developers for Singapore and several countries.  Peik Lin takes Rachel to get a proper dress and drives her in a sports car to the secluded estate of the Young family.  They are met by armed guards and drive in to see the party of the year.  Nick invitees Peik Lin to the party and she is ready with a cocktail dress in a dry cleaner bag!   They met some of the family and Nick eventually takes Rachel to the kitchen where Eleanor is busy checking on the food preparation.  Rachel hugs her and Eleanor has an instant disapproval with Nick’s girlfriend.  The reason behind this is of course tied to Eleanor’s past, but we get the mother finding her son’s girlfriend is not up to her standards.  Rachel awkwardly introduces herself to what she thinks is Nick’s Ah Ma, his grandmother, but she eventually finds her, Shang Su Yi (Lisa Lu).  Lu played An-Mei, the mother of Rosalind Chao's character in The Joy Luck Club (1993). 

Ah Ma seems to be charmed enough by Rachel that she invites her to dumplings.  Rachel is invited to Armita’s bachelorette party, makes friends with Amanda Ling (Jing Lusi), and finds that she faces the petty jealousy of other women over Nick.  Meanwhile, Nick is invited to Colin’s bachelor party thrown by Bernard Tai played by Jimmy O. Yang from Silicon Valley. Rachel has to find her strength after facing Eleanor and make the decision whether to stay with Nick who has fallen for her.  The movie is laced with songs in Chinese, I wish there was a hook in English so that I could identify all of them, but the wedding song is a cover of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" is in English.  There is some romance movie cliches, but they worked here for me.  Honestly, I really like all of the cast and hope to see their next films, this movie leaves an opening for a sequel, Nick's father is away on business so we don't get to see him.  This is a romance film about family, a nice showcase of Singapore, and an Asian cast that is likable with characters that are relatable to everyone.   

Four Dumplings out of Five! 

#CrazyRichAsians, #ConstanceWu, #HenryGolding, #GoldOpen