Jon M. Chu creates Hollywood-changing film
Rachel meets boyfriend Nick’s grandmother. Photo courtesy IMDb.
Directed by Jon M. Chu, and released Aug. 15, Crazy Rich Asians adds a bit of diversity into the well-known romantic comedy genre.
The film is about a young woman, Rachel Chu, portrayed by Constance Wu, and her relationship with her boyfriend, Nick Young, portrayed by Henry Golding. The couple travel from America to Singapore together Nick’s best friend›s wedding. Rachel is meeting Nick’s family there for the first time, and she realizes her boyfriend is from a very wealthy family. Rachel finds out that her boyfriend’s mother, Eleanor Young, portrayed by Michelle Yeoh, doesn’t seem to like her, and that some family friends believe Rachel is a gold-digger. Rachel’s college friend, Awkwafina, portrayed by Gemma Chan, helps her though the family drama.
The setting of the film is beautiful, and the scenes were shot very well. The comedy is actually funny and doesn’t feel as forced as other comedies tend to. The storyline is enjoyable, even though it is not very original. The “mother hates the new girlfriend” story has been way overused, but this film does a good job making it seem new with the very rich family and the drama-filled sub-storylines.
Most disappointing about the film, though, was the ending. No spoilers, but the story didn’t feel complete. The dislike of Rachel by Eleanor was not fully resolved, and some scenes with key conversations seemed to be left out. The ending would have been way more effective if it didn’t feel so rushed over, even with the two-hour runtime. Other than the ending, though, the rest of the film had great pacing that kept it entertaining.
This film had a huge hype leading up to its release based on the fact that the cast is all Asian actors, similar to the Feb. 16, 2018, release of Black Panther with a mainly African-American cast. Many reviewers believe these two films will help add diversity to Hollywood and work against racial stereotypes in movies.
Overall, the film was entertaining, even with its ups and downs. Crazy Rich Asians is comedic while also taking itself seriously. It was a fun film to watch, and will be an enjoyable film to re-watch. Crazy Rich Asians deserves a 7.5/10.
