Crazy Rich Asians Review — The Most Fabulous Film of the Summer

So glad the rest of the world has finally joined me on the Crazy Rich Asians bandwagon! This has long been my most anticipated film of the summer, and now it’s my favorite. Yes, it’s a frothy, glittery rom com, but it’s also a joyful, flashy, feel-good pic that takes you on a fabulous field trip you’ll be gushing over for weeks.

I’ve long been a fan of Asian fiction, both historical and contemporary, partially because it provides a window into a profoundly rich culture, helps me relate to roughly 64% of the world population, and it’s superlatively fascinating.

So when I came across Kevin Kwan’s novel Crazy Rich Asians back in 2013, I knew it could become a dazzling, Asian Sex and the City type film, and began dreaming of its cinematic potential.

I’m elated to report that the film version surpasses my wildest and best imaginings. It’s a rare thing when the movie surpasses the book.

The casting is absolutely perfect. Constance Woo is enchanting as Rachel Chu, the brilliant NYU economics professor who is invited by her handsome yet penny pinching boyfriend Nick Young (gorgeous newcomer Henry Fielding) to attend a wedding with him in his native Singapore. He’s the Best Man. Little does Rachel know that Nick is the heir to the largest fortune in the land, and his dragon mom (an elegantly chilling Michelle Yeoh) will stop at nothing to see that her son marries someone she considers to be more suitable.

Lighting up the screen as one of the best sidekicks in any movie ever is  Awkwafina as Goh Piek Lin, Rachel’s former college roommate, now living in glitz in Singapore with her nouveau riche parents. Ken Jeong playing her outrageously funny dad. The rest of the cast is alternately comical, catty and charismatic, in just the right amounts.

How director Jon M. Chu (the Step Up series and Now You See Me 2 and 3) managed such dazzling wealth and spectacle on a $30 million budget is a tribute to his talent and resourcefulness. It’s my fondest wish that Crazy Rich Asians makes pots and pots of money so we can see the film versions of the other two books in the trilogy, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems. Believe me, you didn’t get enough of these remarkable characters in Crazy Rich Asians, and will be thrilled by what’s to come.

If this Crazy Rich Asians review made you want to run out the the theater and see it now (as you should) get tickets at Fandango.com.

Rated PG-13

2 Hours

Crazy Rich Asians Review — The Most Fabulous Film of the Summer