"Crazy Rich Asians"

"Nobody likes free stuff more than rich people."

           - One of the better lines from this movie.

One of the big non-comic book movie hits of this Summer season is the romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians", which we took in yesterday afternoon.

As RomComs go, this has all the elements going for it.  New Yorkers Rachel, an accomplished economics professor at NYU, and Nick, a successful young businessman, are in love, and are about to fly off to Singapore (the location scenes in Singapore are fantastic) to attend the wedding of Nick's cousin.  This will be the first time that Rachel will meet Nick's family so she's a bit nervous.  Nick assures her that all will be well, and that everyone will love her just as much as he does.  The thing is, though, Nick's family is rich, indescribably rich, wealthy beyond all imagination, so you just know that trouble lies ahead for the young couple.  And does it ever....Nick's ex-girlfriends see Rachel as an opportunistic gold digger, Nick's mother and grandmother don't think that the "American immigrant" Rachel is good enough for Nick and the family, and conflict arises between Nick and Rachel as a result.  Will they be able to resolve everything and live happily ever after?  Rachel also has a wacky girlfriend - a RomCom staple -  from college living in Singapore to provide comic relief and lend a dose of reality to the whole situation.

Like I said, all the elements of a terrific RomCom are in place here. Change the names and the setting, and this could be a perfect Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, and Carrie Fisher vehicle.  The twist to this movie, though, is that the entire cast, led by Constance Wu and Henry Golding as Rachel and Nick, and as suggested by the title, is composed of Asian actors, and so what?  They are attractive and talented, and who cares so long as the story being told is a good one, and it is.

Will this movie be an Oscar contender and go down as an all time great?  No, it won't, so on the "Comparison To All Kinds of Movies" scale, this one would get Two and 1/2 Stars from The Grandstander.  However, judging it strictly on the "RomCom Movies" scale, The Grandstander gives it a full Three Stars.  A perfect Summer Date Movie.

From a business perspective, it needs be noted that one of the largest, maybe THE largest market for American movies is China, so it is no coincidence that this movie has been made.  Many other movies produced by Hollywood these days are also being financed and/or co-produced by Chinese interests.  I learned this interesting factoid from listening to the always entertaining movie themed Podcast "At The Movies with Arch and Ann".  If you enjoy movies, you should listen to this one as well.