I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with this film. From the trailer I thought that there was going to be a lot more humour than there was, instead the plot was rather heavy going and plodded along.
Crazy Rich Asians centres around the relationship between Nick Young (Henry Golding) and Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) who have been dating for a year in New York. Young’s best friend is getting married and he asks Rachel to accompany him back home to attend the wedding and meet his family.
Part of the problem with this film is that I didn’t feel any sympathy towards the characters. Nick Young acts like his family having a load of money is a massive burden, and Rachel Chu deserves all she gets for not doing some research on Nick’s background – she’s not met his friends or family? Doesn’t this guy have a Facebook profile?
There are two standout performances in this film that save it from going totally down the drain. The first is by the ever-magnificent Michelle Yeoh (Young’s mother) who carries herself with elegance and poise, she was the one character that I felt any sympathy for and through her great acting you really feel for her character and why she is acting the way she is to protect her son.
The other great performance is by Awkwafina who plays Rachel’s friend and advisor to the world of the rich Peik Lin Goh. She brings much needed comedic relief to an otherwise heavy script and lights up all of the scenes that she’s in.
I don’t know if I went into this film with my expectations set too high, but I was rather disappointed with the lacklustre storyline and character development. I think this film is one to miss.
