#63: Crazy Rich Asians

As a huge fan of the 2013 novel, I was happy to see this was being shopped around as a film, and happier still that Kevin Kwan, the author, did not allow them to whitewash it - and Warner Bros. agreed.

I can't touch upon any of the cultural nuances simply because I'm not Asian. I read the series several times, but that's all I did - Read about it.

I'm genuinely proud and happy that this is sweeping the nation. The preview screenings (Which we did not get) were nearly sold out across the country on August 8th! Some theaters had to add another one!

Did I like it? Overall, yes, it's a big improvement over this year's earlier rom-com.

It's astonishingly well made (except for poor sound mixing - Why is this such a trend these days). A lot of the music, score, and camera choices were amazing and really elevated an essentially simple story.

The wedding scene alone was perfection.

Did I like all the changes from the book?

Well.

Spoilers for both the book and the film.



Eleanor is far more over the top and meddlesome in the book, which I enjoyed. I can't hate the direction here because it gives her depth, especially when Ah Ma is constantly criticizing her and she just has to take it. That's stated in the book but only by Nick, not really from Eleanor.


I'm glad the film gave us more Oliver than the novel. In the rest of the series he has a slightly bigger role and is basically Kitty's (Who we also see and she is very much her book self - love) personal consultant.

Same with Peik Lin, Rachel's friend, and Awkwafina does a fantastic job. I expected to be extremely annoyed by her but she was my favorite character.

Edison is an over the top pompous blowhard in the books where it's funny, but here he's a raging asshole. Even his wife doesn't like him, and curiously they change one of his children from a girl to a boy.

But most importantly, Rachel and Nick actually have personalities. They're quite paper-thin and overshadowed in the books by the larger personalities around them. And while they're not quite as bombastic as everyone else, it works. You have to make us want to feel bad for what Rachel goes through, and I'm pleased as punch that Constance Wu and Henry Golding did it so well.

Astrid, possibly my favorite character outside of Kitty, Edison, and Eleanor, is just portrayed as a weepy dumbass who is really kind. In the books she's a humongous people-pleaser who learns to do what she wants in the end, and I do like that that arc is coming sooner rather than later for her. Her story with Michael, her husband, is slightly different than in the book, and the movie is the better version.

I expect the sequel to be even looser-adapted to the novel, China Rich Girlfriend, that this was.

There are moments where everything just stops, most obviously the Colin/Nick and Rachel/Astrid conversations, and people talk for about 5 minutes. It works in a book, and they try to cut back and forth between conversations, but it feels extremely laborious.

This movie is 2 hours long - they really do their damndest to put in most of the first book, and for the most part, they succeed, cutting and adjusting where necessary, but there's still some, not a bunch, of noticeable long patches that are really my only problem with the film.

We better get the sequel. WB, you're not real good at giving out sequels. Fix it.