Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Movie Review
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Movie Review
When this movie was first announced back in early 2018 I thought it was a joke. The title sounded ridiculous (I had never heard of the book), and I couldn’t tell what it was going to be about. My friends and I laughed about it before it came out because we had no idea what it was. Little did I know it would a.) be one of the biggest movies of the year, or b.) be reviewed by me one day. Here’s my review! I saw Crazy Rich Asians! I guess I would say I liked this movie, but it didn’t blow me away. It’s very well-made and as Hollywood’s movies are getting more diverse and inclusive, it fits right in. However, it isn’t a movie that appeals that much to me – which is fine. There are plenty of films out there that I have seen that I recognized as good, but didn’t necessarily enjoy as much as the target audience would have (examples include Clueless and Carrie (1976)). If you like dramatic romances then you’ll probably enjoy Crazy Rich Asians. I’m not really a dramatic romance-type person.
Crazy Rich Asians is about Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and Nick Young (Henry Golding), a young couple who lives in New York. Nick decides that it is time to go back to Singapore, where his entire family lives, because his best friend is getting married there. What Rachel doesn’t realize before they get there is that Nick’s family is a bunch of Crazy Rich Asians™ (well, she knows they’re Asian but that joke needed to be made). Not only are they rich, they’re crazy rich, as Rachel’s friend Peik (Awkwafina) points out. While in Singapore, Rachel has to deal with Nick’s disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh) and her equally disapproving friends. Tough times. Spoiler alert: there is indeed a happy ending.
Like I said, I didn’t love this movie but it wasn’t too bad, either. It had its good qualities for sure. There are some good emotional moments and some funny scenes. That’s another thing – this movie was marketed as kind of a comedy, but it’s really not. If I had to describe Crazy Rich Asians, I would say it’s a really dramatic romance movie with a couple funny moments. It’s not like it is unfunny and has bad jokes, because the film simply doesn’t really try to make you laugh. The main purpose, it seems, is to have you connect with Rachel and hate Nick’s mother, Eleanor, and her wealthy friends. I enjoyed the performances by the actors, especially the male and female leads. I’ll look forward to seeing what they do in years to come. Visually, this movie is stunning as well. The cinematography and colors and movement work really well and look like they took a lot of time and effort.
I hate to point this out, but Crazy Rich Asians is crazy formulaic. It’s just under the guise of being big-scale, modern, and exploring a different culture. The story is not unlike that of Cinderella. The movie does not go out of its way to impress the audience with uniqueness in terms of plot, script, or structure. Instead, it aims to win us over with the romantic aspects and fun dialogue. And that’s fine, I guess, but it would’ve been a little better if it had tried a little harder to distinguish itself from other romantic dramas. I think if it had a few more effective jokes it could have worked as a comedy as well, because it’s not a bad movie; it’s just missing some elements that could have made it stand out. Sure, it’s a great step in the right direction for inclusion of all types of people and actors when it comes to movies. Crazy Rich Asians had the potential to really impact the viewers with a funny and aggressively original movie. What we get instead is a bright, colorful, and steadily dramatic romance for the millennial era (not necessarily a bad thing).
Safety Chart:
Violence: 2/10 - Big bloody fish. A guy gets punched in the groin.
Language: 3.5/10 - Infrequent but occasionally strong language.
Drinking/Smoking: 3/10 - Some drinking. Some talking about smoking and drinking.
In conclusion, Crazy Rich Asians is a movie that will appeal to fans of the romantic comedy genre, even though it’s not really much of a comedy. Don’t watch this expecting to be laughing every minute (even though it has its funny moments). If you’re someone like me who isn’t really into the rom-com thing and doesn’t feel the need to see a movie like this, then great, don’t watch it. However, it’s a great film to watch if you just want to see a fun romantic movie. I’m going to give it a B- as a grade, not because it’s bad (a B- is not a bad grade, by the way), but just because it has a few flaws.
