Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), is a university professor in New York, a successful independent woman with a gorgeous boyfriend named Nick Young (Henry Golding). Things get serious when Nick invites Rachel to Singapore to go to a wedding… and, more importantly, to meet his family. Her man has always been a head-turner when they are out in public, but not simply because he’s pretty. What Rachel doesn’t know is that Nick’s family is filthy filthy rich.
Basically, the Young family is celebrity royalty in Singapore, and Nick is the prodigal son. Rachel may be lovely and smart and successful, but in the eyes of Nick’s ice-queen mother (Michelle Yeoh), she will certainly never be good enough for the family and their business empire. Let the vicious games begin.
Crazy Rich Asians is a pleasingly fun romantic comedy, and is more memorable that it really warrants simply for the fact that it is an American film with an entire cast of Asians. The cast is game, and the plot warrants a sequel (yes, there are more books in this saga by Kevin Kwan), and visually it is a candy coated cornucopia that would make the Trumps proud.
But the best part about this crowd pleaser is the scene-stealer Awkwafina. As Rachel’s Singapore-residing BFF from college, she is screamingly funny whenever she is on screen. A YouTube star? I don’t care where she came from, this woman should get her own movie. Who knows? With the tease of countless offshoot plots from this one, maybe she will.
