I got Crazy Rich Asians book in 2017 and I am so in love with it. But when they announced that there is gonna be a Hollywood major motion picture based on this book, honestly I'm a little bit skeptical. Hollywood is known to whitewash POC (people of color) character (just like how they messed up with Dragon Ball and Avatar: The Last Airbender) so I just don't want this masterpiece get ruined. But thankfully the author himself is being involved as an executive producer.
Based on the best-seller novel written by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians is a light, heartwarming, romantic-comedy movie starring Constance Wu (also known as Jessica Huang in ABC's Fresh Off The Boat) as Rachel Chu, an American-Born Chinese woman who is also an Economic Professor in New York University, and Henry Golding (a Malaysian actor, model and TV host) as Nicholas Young, the Singaporean hottie that stole Rachel's heart. Have been dating for like a year, Nick invited his girlfriend to his hometown to attend his best friend's wedding and introduce her to his big family. Unbeknownst to Rachel, Nick's family was one of the richest in Singapore but somehow he hid that identity from her. It wasn't easy for her because many people (mostly the old-money fella) thought she wanted to date Nick because of his money. Not to mention Nicholas' mother Eleanor (played by the living legend Michelle Yeoh) didn't seem to like her due to her ABC (American-Born Chinese) background and stuffs.
Yes, based on the synopsis you guys might think this movie is so basic and typical Korean drama/Indonesian soap opera plot. But fortunately it's also supported by a whole great casts, flawless characterization and nice adaptation, I totally recommend you to watch this movie. Even though this is Henry's first movie, he portrayed Nicholas Young perfectly (despite of the his casting controversy due to not being a Chinese). Constance also did a good job as Rachel and they both have a great chemistry as a couple. And I have no words how to describe Michelle Yeoh as Eleanor Young... Ugh, she's just too good to be true! Besides those three, there are also other great characters such as Astrid Leong (Gemma Chan), the closest cousin of Nick and big supporter of their relationship; Goh Peik Lin (Awkwafina) who is Rachel's best friend; Shang Su Yi a.k.a Nick's grandmother (Lisa Lu); Nick's best friend Collin Khoo (Chris Pang) and his bride Araminta Lee (Sonoya Mizuno); Peik Lin's father who stole the scene (played by the most hilarious Ken Jeong); another cousin Oliver T'sien (Nico Santos) and so many more. My favorite in this movie is Peik Lin, because they developed her character more eccentric and memorable.
As someone who had read the book multiple times (what can I say? I'm obsessed), I don't mind with some scenes that had been added or removed from the book, such as how they didn't put Astrid and Michael Teo's (Pierre Png) complete story and how they added dumpling and mahjong scene to the movie. (Please google the story behind the mahjong scene because they don't just add it to make the movie become "more Asian.") What else? Oh, also they also did some alteration to show how Collin and Nick is such a bromance goal and Astrid and Rachel's relationship. This movie also captured Singapore perfectly (I've never been there but my Singaporean friend has mentioned this) that I think it makes some viewers want to visit this country (including me). Especially that hawker food scene, it makes me craving chicken satay and char kway teow so much.
However, I kind of wish they mentioned (or at least referred) about Nick's profession here as a fellow Professor in NYU who graduated from Oxford because for someone who never read the book, they might think he's just a pretty good-looking guy who has a decent job in New York. Also, I don't understand why they didn't show Nick's father here since in the book (and the second sequel too) he's the one who approved Nick and Rachel's relationship. (But well, the movie kinda has a slightly different ending from the books so maybe that's why having his father on screen would be irrelevant?) But alas, the movie is still enjoyable though.
Crazy Rich Asians is not only a romantic-comedy movie but it's also a Hollywood's breakthrough. Do you guys know that this is the first movie in 25 years that featured Asian casts in modern setting? That's just CRAAAAAZEEEEHHH!!! And as Asian myself, I feel like I need to support this movie 😁 Okay, that sounds a little bit biased but seriously go watch this movie while it's still available!
