Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians wasn’t intended to just be another generic rom com of the times when it was released in 2018. Based on the 2013 novel of the same name written by Kevin Kwan, this romantic comedy based around a native New Yorker of Chinese descent meeting the very wealthy family of her Singaporean boyfriend and becoming overwhelmed by the harsh nature and blinding glamour of their lifestyle, may just seem like another stereotypical film in the pot of female-pandering fluff, but it didn’t stop people from showing up to see it. Despite its fair share of controversies surrounding elements like the casting and ignoring aspects of Singaporean lifestyle, the film was a major critic and commercial success, became the first mainstream Hollywood film to feature a major cast of Chinese descent in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club in 1993, balanced the spotlight between several well-known actors and several unknown actors, and grossed $238.5 million against its $30 million budget (making it the highest earning romantic comedy of the 2010s). It was credited for pushing boundaries when they needed to be pushed, but when it comes to actual game-changing material, does the film manage that or does it fall short? Rachel Chu (played by Constance Wu) is a professor of economics and game theory at New York University, and she is asked by her boyfriend, Nick Young (played by Henry Golding) to come to Singapore with him for his best friend, Colin’s (played by Chris Pang) wedding, which would give her the chance to meet his family. Once they arrive, it quickly dawns on Rachel that Nick actually comes from an incredibly wealthy family (essentially being royalty in the area), and they are not too impressed with Rachel, with people either viewing her as a ‘’gold-digger’’ who stole the most desired man in Singapore, mainly Nick’s ex-girlfriend, Amanda Ling (played by Jing Lusi), or a foreigner who is too Americanized to be suitable for someone who is the heir to a Singaporean family fortune, which is a sentiment shared by Nick’s cutthroat mother, Elanor Young (played by Michelle Yeoh). With no one but her former college roommate, Peik Lin (played by Awkwafina) trying to stick by her in this crazy world that is literally foreign to her, Rachel has to find a way to appease these relatives (especially Elanor) if this relationship is ever going to work between her and Nick. As a movie, Crazy Rich Asians has some strong qualities going for it, like its impressive and vibrant production value, some talented actors, and a solid premise that injects some fun and appreciated culture into a seen-before format. However it also suffers from scripting problems, a tonal conflict between the source material and the direction, and a cast of characters that are kooky in spirit, but bland in delivery.

Based on accounts that came from his father reminiscing about life in Singapore while he was dying of cancer, Kwan found success with his manuscript, as coverage of contemporary Asia was not really being utilized at the time, so his book was able to fill said market and it became a best-selling hit, which led to two sequel books and the eventual film. There was this authentic feeling within the text that highlighted the sense of familial pride and culture, but also brought attention to the lavish, almost unfathomable lifestyle that some of the wealthy people lived with in Singapore (he even had to dial back some of his accounts as they would’ve been viewed as too unrealistic). This seems like it has the makings for a solid film, containing enough modern flair and sparkly environments and dialogue to appeal to new audiences, but still features a familiar emotion-led plot structure that centres around personal turmoil and familial relationships in a sense that would nicely bind all of these elements together. It feels like the movie does a good job at emulating the strengths of its original source, as even passing over how cool it is to see this kind of representation presented front and centre in a big-budget Hollywood picture, the rom-com presentation allows the film to have pretty good wide appeal for more than just a select crowd, as well as create an environment where the fantastical and extravagant qualities of the story feel goofily exaggerated, but not fabricated. The plot does contain a lot of familiar tropes you’d normally see in any story regarding cultural and social clashes, like a domineering parent figure, a lead stuck in a ‘’fish-out-of-water’’ situation that relates to their culture as much as it does their upbringing, and a conflict that is more rooted in past traditions than a singular opposing force, and when the movie focuses on those elements, it works passable enough and is decently engaging. However, the screenplay written by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim may be trying its best to bring up these topics in a lighter, more approachable manner, but the candy-floss mentality of the film actively dilutes what could be serious and intriguing elements and makes them feel a little too much like something out of a soap opera. Both have very little credits to their names to begin with, and while there are a few decent scenes and lines, they feel more like a bleed-overs from the source material rather than from their own inclusions. Jon M. Chu as the director is also pretty mixed, as while he effectively shows the culture off in a believable and even homely sense as well as constructs the film in a visually appealing way, the humor never really works, the actors can sometimes feel a little lost and poorly characterized, the style and tone can be a little grating and even generic in parts, and it is also way too long and doesn’t deserve its two-hour length (90 minutes would’ve been perfect).

Some of the casting choices were met with a backlash due to some being biracial rather than purely Chinese, but it doesn’t feel like this movie or the director were coming from a place of hate or exclusion, so it’s hard to properly judge (if anything, some of the casting directors seemed at fault for rejecting people for not being ‘ethnically Chinese’ enough). With that element removed, every actor in this movie feels decently talented and have proven their capabilities in other work, but it’s hard to say all of them really work. It doesn’t entirely feel like their fault as the script can restrict them into very basic archetypes and the directing can sometimes make them come across as too goofy or even too generic. The leads arguably suffer this the worst, with both Constance Wu and Henry Golding both coming across as pretty bland in this, with characters that don’t have much to work with. Neither are awful and they are charming in a generic sense, but little stands out about them from a character standpoint. Gemma Chan feels like she has a decent start to a story as a fashion icon socialite that discovers her husband might be having an affair, but the subplot is so brief and doesn’t factor into anything in the main narrative that it feels entire pointless. Other actors like Ken Jeong, Sonoya Mizuno, Chris Pang, Ronny Chieng, Fiona Xie, Koh Chieng Mun and Jing Lusi are fine for their bit parts, but their characters are either played too goofily to be taken seriously, or to safe to be memorable supporting roles. With that said, some of the characters do stand out well enough despite having their own limitations. Awkwafina is legitimately pretty funny as the supportive best friend (usually taking otherwise generic lines and making them funnier by how she says them), and she shares a few good scenes with Nico Santos, whose also pretty good as the flamboyant second cousin. Tan Kheng Hua provides a modest and gentle nature to the lead’s mother, and Michelle Yeoh really feels like the star of this movie through how well she plays the character of Elanor. While the writing for her can be a little stereotypical, the manner in which Yeoh brings a sense of grace and authoritarian command to the role provides for a character that can still be a loving mother to her son but is a cold-hearted force of nature to anyone else. Conveying this presence through her facial acting alone, the scenes between her and Wu are easily the best in the film, as watching her throw hurtful comments underneath a gentile delivery makes for a lot of fun scenes, and Yeoh is able to take what is a very predictable and cliched character and give a bit more unique dimensions whilst still retaining the familiar tricks of the archetype

The visuals for this movie are brimming with color, life and cultural qualities that provide a fresh coat of paint for the genre, but also helps make the movie feel lively, upbeat, and even unique in some ways. The production design by Nelson Coates feels very well researched and really makes you feel like you are in a Chinese environment without having to portray it in a traditional and distinctly Asian manner. It can be overwhelming and flashy through the set design decorated by Andrew Baseman, which is wonderfully bright, rich in shades of gold and green, and grand in a sense that feels delightfully distinctive, but it can also feel quaint and cosy from a specific point of view so it doesn’t all feel like excess clutter. The cinematography by Vanja Cernjul does a great job showing off the environment and each new location in a cinematic fashion that can be still and quiet in one moment and fluid and active the next moment, with Chu’s past experience with musical properties no doubt assisting with that theatrical flair and presentation. The costumes designed by Mary E. Vogt is another element that feels specifically Chinese and not in a conventional sense, but in a more contemporary way through the color choices and unique garbs and trinkets attached. Even the way the film uses elements like the social quality of how your manner of clothing influences how others react to you, is a nice touch that breaths a new feeling into otherwise recognizable qualities of Asian iconography, it feels well constructed all around and isn’t just decoration. The music for the film is a bit of a mix bag, with the soundtrack providing a lot of cool sounding covers of popular songs sung in the Chinese language (which fits the genre but also manages to slip in something different in order to continuing building the film’s personality), but the score by Brian Tyler can be a little obnoxious in how overly whimsical and in-your-face it can be. It matches the kind of story and genre it’s place in, but something a little more subdued and richer could’ve benefited the film when it tries to take itself seriously, letting the pop songs prep up the film rather than the score.

Crazy Rich Asians gets credit for what it accomplishes from a cultural and representation level, but while most of its content is well-meaning, it is also executed in a sparkly but confused manner. There are decent qualities about this film that make it feel distinct, appropriate to the culture it’s presenting, and likeable in a sense that isn’t ground-breaking, but feels personal and like it understands and appreciates what it’s representing in more than just a superfluous way. With that said, there are a lot of hurdles to overcome which hold this film back from being all that good. The comedy isn’t very strong, the characters feel pretty bland despite having good talent portraying them, and the rom-com element make it wide-appealing but brings over a slight shallowness that hinders a lot of the source material’s engaging and truly human qualities. It is a mixed bag, but for those who are willing to stomach these clichés and get sucked in by the aesthetics, the acting and even the silliness, this escapade shouldn’t be too crazy to deal with.