Wait. Wait. Wait. Hold the iPhone. There are commercial airlines with sleeper compartments? Are you kidding me? I can take a long plane trip without feeling like a wrung-out sponge? Do I have to be Crazy, Rich, and Asian to do so? I must know more.
Attracting a film crowd like no other these days is Crazy Rich Asians – which kind of says it all right there in the title- at its root, this is a simple love story made complicated by wealth and familial obligation, but don’t sell the picture short, it’s really all about the wealth.
Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) is a li’l dough-eyed naïf from the wrong side of the tracks who just happens to teach Game Theory as NYU’s youngest prof. Her classes involve live poker matches and reading opponents. Excuse me, Miss, but isn’t that psychology, not economics? Never mind. For a year, Rachel has been dating Nick Young (Henry Golding) and it’s time to step up the relationship. Nick wants to drag Rachel to a friend’s wedding overseas. Apparently, Rachel had no idea she was dating the heir to half the nation of Singapore. Well, c’mon, how could she know that? It’s not like they’ve been dating for a year or that she’s a professor of economics or anything. What is impressive is the speed of technology captured in a montage following Nick’s overheard invitation. Before Rachel has even had time to mull over her answer, the rumor has already traveled to Singapore and back and hit all the wrong people in the process.
Nick’s mother is –forgive the expression- a bit of a dragon lady. Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh) has a very good idea of whom and whom not her firstborn should be dating. Well, gosh, why not have an Asian version of Romeo and Juliet? They have romance in Asia, too, I’m told. The story doesn’t get rolling until Awkwafina shows up as Rachel’s old college bud, Peik Lin Goh. The Goh family, of which she is the spoiled daughter, epitomize the film’s title as their lives are entirely about opulence, leisure, insanity, and opulence. For my money, which is all of $1.63, you gotta love a girl who keeps an emergency dry-cleaned, pressed cocktail dress in the trunk of her ungodly expensive sports car at all times just in case there’s a ritzy party you just got invited to.
It’s probably a good thing that the wealthiest folks in America appear these days to be horrible xenophobes because it’s better they not take ideas from this film. Crazy Rich Asians definitely advertises a t
ongue-in-cheek reverence to wealth. People don’t really rent tankers and cruise into international waters to take advantage of bachelor party hijinks, do they? Well, I’m sure they would if they could. Crazy Rich Asians works because while the film is simple – possible future mother-in-law has issues with possible future daughter-in-law – it is adorned with all sorts of trinkets and baubles including the machinations of the wealthy and a wonderful soundtrack with Asian covers of songs like “Money,” “Yellow,” and “Material Girl.” These songs all take much deeper meaning in the context of the film.
As I understand it, this is groundbreaking material – I’m not exactly sure how, but it believe it’s something along the lines of Crazy Rich Asians being the first major release intended for an English-speaking audience with an all Asian/Asian-American cast. Did I get that right? Well, even if I didn’t, I can honestly say there ought to be more. Many more. I won’t call this a great film; for instance, I liked ending #1 a lot better than ending #2, but I don’t see any reason necessarily why you can’t enjoy this film even if you’re not Crazy, Rich, or Asian.
Far Easterners, come get your kicks
An all Asian cast for your flix
Enjoy while you can
Because here’s the plan:
It next happens in 2046
Rated PG-13, 120 Minutes
Director: Jon M. Chu
Writer: Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim
Genre: Romeo and Xu Li-et
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Asian-Americans
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Xenophobes
