Everything about this film's promotional campaign made me assume I'd steer clear of it, not in any way because of what it's doing culturally but because the story seems done to death and I'm getting sick of paint by numbers rom coms. I'm here happy to tell you that I was an idiot, because while formulaic this is one of the biggest surprises of the summer, and I really enjoyed it. In case you didn't know why this film is important, it is the first Hollywood film in over two decades to have an all Asian cast.
This film follows a young American-Asian econ professor named Rachel Chu. Her boyfriend Nick invites her to his best friends wedding in Singapore, where she will also meet his family. Little does Rachel know that Nick is the son of one of the richest families in all of China, and she'll have to work her ass off to live up to the expectations of his mother.
Rachel is played magnificently by Constance Wu. Rachel is a smart, beautiful, and determined young woman, and Wu portrays all of that powerfully, and with a fair amount of swagger. Her New York upbringing gives an interesting clash against the high-class Chinese raised people she comes to meet and it in turn makes the many different relationships she has more interesting. Wu was great and I hope this film gives her more opportunities for leading roles in the future. Nick is played by Henry Golding. While Nick is used primarily as the male love interest, he does have some interesting angles to his character. He must navigate the struggles of wanting to be with Rachel while also wanting to be there for his family and it leads to some tough moments for him. I think his struggles could have been more drawn out, as they aren't shown nearly as much as Rachel's, but Golding still brought a good performance and Nick was a solid character. In the role of Nick's mother is Michelle Yeoh, and holy shit was she good. Yeoh is intense in this role, having you fear for Rachel just by the looks Yeoh gives her. This is a character stuck in their ways for a lot of the film, and provides perhaps strongest contrast to Rachel. As for other big names this film features performances by both Awkwafina as Rachel's college friend, and Ken Jeong as Awkwafina's father. I didn't really care for Awkwafina in Ocean's Eight, but she really shines here. She is absolutely hilarious and has some of the film's best moments. Jeong isn't in the film much but I enjoyed the scenes he was in quite a bit.
This film does have some issues. As in most comedies there are moments that fall flat, and the pacing as a whole is a bit inconsistent. The story and how it plays out is very formulaic, and there are elements that I think should have been developed further. Those don't make the film bad in any way though. The comedy fell flat every once in a while, the rest of the time I was laughing out loud at some of the funniest moments in film this year. The story while cliche-ridden is charming nonetheless, and may have made my eyes a lil watery. And if the story, comedy, and incredible chemistry among the cast aren't enough for you, this film is gorgeous. I can't think of a time where more elegance has been captured on screen, and it is brought to life by brilliant set design and solid cinematography.
Give this film a watch if you can, while it focuses only on Asian characters there are still a lot of things in it everyone can relate too, and you get to see a culture you likely wouldn't see otherwise. This is a damn good romantic comedy with some great heart and humour and an ensemble cast with top of the line chemistry.
Rating: 3.75/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
This film follows a young American-Asian econ professor named Rachel Chu. Her boyfriend Nick invites her to his best friends wedding in Singapore, where she will also meet his family. Little does Rachel know that Nick is the son of one of the richest families in all of China, and she'll have to work her ass off to live up to the expectations of his mother.
Rachel is played magnificently by Constance Wu. Rachel is a smart, beautiful, and determined young woman, and Wu portrays all of that powerfully, and with a fair amount of swagger. Her New York upbringing gives an interesting clash against the high-class Chinese raised people she comes to meet and it in turn makes the many different relationships she has more interesting. Wu was great and I hope this film gives her more opportunities for leading roles in the future. Nick is played by Henry Golding. While Nick is used primarily as the male love interest, he does have some interesting angles to his character. He must navigate the struggles of wanting to be with Rachel while also wanting to be there for his family and it leads to some tough moments for him. I think his struggles could have been more drawn out, as they aren't shown nearly as much as Rachel's, but Golding still brought a good performance and Nick was a solid character. In the role of Nick's mother is Michelle Yeoh, and holy shit was she good. Yeoh is intense in this role, having you fear for Rachel just by the looks Yeoh gives her. This is a character stuck in their ways for a lot of the film, and provides perhaps strongest contrast to Rachel. As for other big names this film features performances by both Awkwafina as Rachel's college friend, and Ken Jeong as Awkwafina's father. I didn't really care for Awkwafina in Ocean's Eight, but she really shines here. She is absolutely hilarious and has some of the film's best moments. Jeong isn't in the film much but I enjoyed the scenes he was in quite a bit.
This film does have some issues. As in most comedies there are moments that fall flat, and the pacing as a whole is a bit inconsistent. The story and how it plays out is very formulaic, and there are elements that I think should have been developed further. Those don't make the film bad in any way though. The comedy fell flat every once in a while, the rest of the time I was laughing out loud at some of the funniest moments in film this year. The story while cliche-ridden is charming nonetheless, and may have made my eyes a lil watery. And if the story, comedy, and incredible chemistry among the cast aren't enough for you, this film is gorgeous. I can't think of a time where more elegance has been captured on screen, and it is brought to life by brilliant set design and solid cinematography.
Give this film a watch if you can, while it focuses only on Asian characters there are still a lot of things in it everyone can relate too, and you get to see a culture you likely wouldn't see otherwise. This is a damn good romantic comedy with some great heart and humour and an ensemble cast with top of the line chemistry.
Rating: 3.75/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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