Film Review: Crazy Rich Asians

Over the past few years, the people who have historically been ignored, overlooked and ostracised from rom-coms are now thankfully re-defining the genre. Love, Simon, All The Boys I Loved Before, The Big Sick and The Incredible Jessica James all featured gay characters and/or people of colour. They were witty, intelligent romance tales, showing that love is universal, even if our representation of it indicates otherwise.

And now, there’s Crazy Rich Asians, a rollickingly fun and visually sumptuous exploration of culture, wealth and family. Featuring a majority Asian-American cast – the first studio film since 1993’s The Joy Luck Club to do so – the film embraces all the tropes of a swoon-worthy romance.

Based on Kevin Kwan’s bestselling book, Constance Wu stars as smart New Yorker Rachel, who travels to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s family, only to discover that they’re one of the wealthiest families in the country.

Rachel acts as the audience’s view of the breathtakingly opulent world of old Singapore money. Chinese versions of ‘Material Girl’ and ‘I Want Money’ accompany scenes where Nick’s family shop for diamond-encrusted jewellery, attend red carpet events, and hold parties themed around rare exotic flowers that only bloom at night. It’s luxury and fashion porn, like The Devil Wears Prada or Sex And The City – but it’s also thoughtful. Crazy Rich Asians is a lavish event experience of wealth – but it’s also about culture and family.

The Youngs’ obscene displays of wealth help to combat the racist condescension they face from Westerners (a scene where a Chinese parent tells their child, “Finish your dinner – there are children starving in America” feels like a delicious and sadly accurate revenge). Meanwhile, though Rachel is the walking embodiment of the American Dream – the successful daughter of a single mother immigrant from China – she’s still not viewed as good enough, or Chinese enough, for Nick.

Each character is interesting, save possibly for Nick himself, who is blandly written – though Henry Golding’s innate charm helps. Awkwafina provides some laughs as Rachel’s college friend, but it’s the fun, the smarts and the great You Show ‘Em, Girl vibes that make Crazy Rich Asians utterly delightful.