Crazy Rich Asians

Official Australian release date: 30/8/18. Viewed: 26/8/18.

Director: Jon Chu

Actors: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina

Genre: Comedy / Romance

Rating: PG

   

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is both very simple and subtly intricate, for a romantic comedy. The plot is pretty straightforward – Nick (Golding) & his girlfriend Rachel (Wu), live in New York and are visiting Singapore for Nick’s friend’s wedding. The trouble comes from Nick’s mother, Eleanor (Yeoh) and the fact that he hasn’t disclosed that he comes from an obscenely rich family and that everyone’s going to be judging Rachel.

There’s plenty of things going on – mummy issues, historical Asian family traditions, culture vs modernity, being set almost exclusively in Singapore, rather than America – but it mostly boils down to the old adage of it’s what’s on the inside that counts. While there is some drama, family politics and serious moments – mostly with Eleanor, Astrid (Chan) & Michael (Png) – they’re offset by the varied cast, with some great comedic moments from Peik Lin (Awkwafina), who steals the show in her scenes, Bernard (Yang), Eddie (Chieng) & Wye (Jeong).

It’s probably a little long at two hours, but the Singaporean/Malaysian scenery is great to see, as is the soundtrack, with Chinese versions of popular English songs. Both Golding and Wu are likeable leads, with good chemistry. Overall, it’s a well-made & balanced film – not too stupid, not too sappy, not too unrealistic.

Overall: Assured, mostly-fun rom-com

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.