Crazy Rich Asians Review - A Wildly Funny Romantic Comedy

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Category: Film

Published on Saturday, 11 August 2018 22:30

Written by Janet Walker

Crazy Rich Asians, from Warner Bros. and SK Global, presents the story of love, money, romance and family as an impossibly well-adjusted heir brings his intellectual equal and longtime girlfriend home to meet his family.

Directed by Jon M. Chu, Crazy Rich Asians stars Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Chris Pang, Sonoya Mizuno, Lisa Lu, Harry Sum, Jr. Felicity Young, Kheng Hua Tan and Harry Shum Jr. and is based on the book of the same name by Kevin Kwan.

The film begins on a raining night in London in the 1990’s, Eleanor Young, played by Michelle Yeoh, her sister, Felicity Young, played by Janice Koh and Eleanor’s two young children Nick and Astrid arrive at a glitzy hotel and are denied the suite they had reserved even with their Louis Vuitton.

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The hotel’s concierge Reginald Ormsby, played by Daniel Jenkins, explains as Eleanor asks simply to use the phone in the lobby as it is pouring rain outside, she is refused and told to leave or she will leave them no choice. She returns and the owner arrives from the penthouse, rushes across the floor explaining his conservatorship of the hotel ends at midnight so he has decided to sell it to his good friend Eleanor Young and her family.

Ten years later the Young Family, now of Singapore, own real estate in most major cities and half of Asia and the heir, Nick Young, played by Henry Golding, lives in New York far enough away to enjoy some anonymity and in the instant messaging world close enough to handle business and spend a few minutes of SKYPE time with his over anxious mother, Eleanor.

We meet Rachel, played by Constance Wu, at the poker tables. She is about to teach everyone poker is more than a game of cards. As the lights go up we see a classroom of students, and the gold NYU symbol over the door and one embarrassed poker champion as she explains the psychology of the game.

Rachel, as we learn is an NYU Economics Professor, smart, accomplished, living in Manhattan, and is meeting Nick for dessert as he explains his best friend, Colin Khoo, played by Chris Pang, is getting married and he is the best man.

Within seconds of sitting down, we see he is well known in Asian circles, he is immediately photographed and the pic sent out on Instagram by Asian One media and in seconds the entire known Asian world has tweeted, retweeted, and sent the photo across every social media channels. This is done well in the film with the screen populating with avatars, names, messages, punctuation, hashtags and every emoji possible and suddenly in a ladies meeting, Mom and all those presents hear the ping of the phones.

Nick Young, as we find out has been skirting the issue of his family. Not quite knowing what to expect, Rachel agrees to the trip. The secret he has been keeping begins to unfold as the two are met at the airport by the airline staff. Soon they are headed to first class, with fold out cabins, champagne and all the special touches First Class offers.

As the plane lands they are swept up into the world of Asia’s super wealthy, the uber rich, and the lives, with the good, bad and unbearable, that they live.

Crazy Rich Asians has so many good moments, funny, comical, genuine, as we meet wealthy Goh Peik Lin, played by Awkwafina, and her eccentric family, who finds out at the dinner table that Nick Young, the Nick she has heard so much about from her college roommate, is that  Nick Young.

Oliver T’sien, played by Nico Santos, is a stand out as family friend, fashionista, stylist, and fixer when Auntie Eleanor calls.

Crazy Rich Asians, with so much going on, is really a romantic comedy. And the course of true love never runs smooth and with this family well imagine Meet The Parents Singapore style, as the realities of social economics, matriarchal determinations and the mindset of the uber-wealthy, are played out.

With big money comes all the toys, fast cars, jewels, plenty of shopping and extravagant parties and this film has them all and more from dinner parties for 1000’s to a Bachelor Party on a barge and a Bachelorette Party on an island and of course the wedding.

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As most of the all Asian cast are global players, to say it Crazy Rich Asians is world class cinema is an understatement. The very talented cast bring an exactness, a believability, shock and the familiarity of friendships in the chaos and confusion. Nico Santos and Awkwafina play well off each other and bring really funny moments.

Opening Wednesday, August 15, 2018, Crazy Rich Asians has taken the opulent lifestyle with its western influence and made it even bigger, more abundant, more crazy, lavish, luxurious and wildly funny. See it.