You’ll fall in love with rom-com ‘Crazy Rich Asians.’
The Hollywood rom-com with an Asian cast is bright, delightful
There’s no doubt that “Crazy Rich Asians” leans on a conventional classic romantic setup. Don’t let that fool you. Something much greater is afoot, even if the plot — a smart young woman finds out that her chiseled Mr. Perfect has an massively wealthy family in Singapore — gives off a certain deja vu from romcoms past.
Yes, its “Cinderellaesque” storyline has been done before, but “Crazy Rich Asians” is quietly revolutionary. And it’s funny as heck.
Adapted from Kevin Kwan’s best-seller, “Asians” is a rare occurence, a major Hollywood production that’s not only about Asian characters but stars Asian actors and actresses. That it’s been 25 years since an all-Asian cast emerged in a mainstream modern Hollywood film is absolutely crazy (and let’s not even get into the whitewashing scandals, from “Ghost in the Shell” to “Aloha”). Imagine never seeing yourself, your friends, your loved ones represented on the big screen since Wayne Wang’s “The Joy Luck Club” came out. That’s embarrassing, Hollywood. This film could change that.
But “Crazy Rich Asians” is also just generally funny and lively, one of the better rom-coms produced in recent
time.
The clever screenplay from Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim doesn’t balk from addressing issues many Asian families encounter, specifically the clash between modern sensibilities and ancient familial traditions. That it does so blithely, at times poignantly, is a credit to the source material and director Jon M. Chu. The Palo Alto native smoothly handles the drama while never forsaking the comedy in the romance between New York economics professor Rachel (a radiant Constance Wu from TV’s “Fresh Off the Boat”) and Nick (a suave, Cary Grant-like Henry Golding). Then she meet his relations in Singapore, where they are gathered for Nick’s best bud’s extravagant wedding.
To say that Nick’s brood represents the 1 percent is like saying Steph Curry is a decent basketball player.
The friends and family members are a kooky, colorful and sexy bunch of oddballs
dealing with their own problems. Nick’s stunning and elegant shopaholic sister Astrid (Gemma Chan) is buttoned up in an unhappy marriage with Michael (Pierre Png), who never feels like he measures up. Others are played broadly, including a rigid father and husband (Ronny Chieng) who’s overly concerned about his image, along with a horny film producer (Remy Hii) besotted with a talentless but curvaceous vixen of an actress (Fiona Xie).
But it is Nick’s cold front of a mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh in a masterful performance), who is the impenetrable iceberg Rachel can’t unthaw. Eleanor doesn’t give Rachel an iota of a chance, assuming the American is utterly unsuitable for her son.
As Eleanor and one of Nick’s former flames do their darndest to extinguish the relationship, Rachel finds solace — and some comic relief — by hanging out with former college roomie Goh Peik Lin (Awkwafina)
and her gaudy-licious rich family (including Ken Jeong). Awkwafina is the film’s MVP and firecracker, arriving with the gusto of an Auntie Mame with her distinctive fashion sense (the production and costume design are epic) and blunt observations. She doesn’t just steal scenes, she runs away with them, shopping bag in hand.
The rest of the large cast can’t keep up, but the performers are dynamite just the same, able to shift deftly from comedy to drama. But at two hours, “Asians” is a tad too long and drags at times, including in an overdone bit at a bachelorette party. An edit here and there would have made this better.
But all that is negligible. What matters is that this is a high-quality rom-com as well as a game changer. That it’s taken so long for Hollywood to do this is pathetic. And I’m all for bringing the next two books in Kwan’s series to the big screen, if the results are as fun, insightful and entertaining as this one.