The Film Reports

Rating 5/5

Comedy, Romance

Easily the most anticipated movie of the year, Crazy Rich Asians has done a brilliant job in all regards. First of all, congratulations to Crazy Rich Asians on being one of the first Hollywood movies to have an all-Asian cast! And, the majority of the film takes place (and was filmed in) Singapore which is absolutely stunning. The movie follows Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she navigates the obstacle course that is being in a relationship with Singapore’s most eligible bachelor, Nick Young (Henry Golding). Other notable characters include Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh) and Astrid Young Teo (Gemma Chan!!). 

I had initially thought it was a romcom but it’s so much more than that. This is a proper family drama, diving deep into a culture that is obviously not shown much in mainstream western media. As Rachel tries her best to fit in with Nick’s family – who are both richer and more Chinese than she is – the audience is invited to share that experience with her. That brilliant shot of Rachel and Peik Lin (a brilliant Awkafina) driving to Nick’s family home and seeing it towering above them is only one small example of that. The really interesting thing about this film is that there seems to be two cultures – one that comes from being Chinese, and one that comes from being super fucking rich. CRA has done such a good job navigating those and having the right balance of being crazy over the top and being heartfelt and genuine at the same time.

One way of doing that is by subverting a western audience’s expectations that come from watching a similar narrative driven by the same culture, over and over again. No spoilers so I won’t say exactly what I’m talking about but I’ll say that speaking as a (non-Chinese) Asian, parts of the plot really did remind more of the kind of storyline that I would expect from my own country. (I’m doing a terrible job explaining, sorry!)

I also noted how the film remained really impartial to everything. Just thinking back, I don’t remember a film that didn’t have an obvious bias. And by that, I mean that while the summary and book might’ve villianised Eleanor Young, the film really remains an observer to everything. And the same with the wealth situation, while it could’ve easily become political (especially because it’s based on real life), it remains an unbiased viewer which is great because the film really has this spirit of being light and happy. Almost like while you’re watching it, you feel like those crazy rich people do.

My last point of this review is me bowing down to Jon Chu who is a master at what he does. There are so many moments and scenes that made my inner filmmaker cheer in my head while I was watching (Rachel running, the music choice at the end!) but there were two and a half scenes that really got to me and I think elevated the whole film to just another level. The first, I’ve already alluded to, was when Rachel and Eleanor Young talk near the end. I can’t even explain how much I loved this scene. The second, is the very last scene, the two very last shots of the film. Watch it to see what I mean lol, but at this point, I was crying and this made me so emotional. The last, my favourite scene of the whole movie and one that I will probably savour over and over again once the DVD comes out is the wedding scene where Nick’s best friend Colin Khoo gets married to Araminta Lee. It was so beautiful, visually, auditory, emotionally. I can’t tell you how much I loved how this was filmed and put together. It’s so romantic and so pure. Every bit of that scene is pure, undiluted magic.

Watch it: as soon as you can.