Review of Crazy Rich Asians (2018) by Grace C — 18 Aug 2018

Crazy Rich Asians is not your average cheesy romance movie. Sure, it's got Sexual jokes, love, and drama-everything that you'd expect in a romance flick. But it's all in moderate quantities, mixed together to concoct a detailed, creative plot that deals with real-life issues and stereotypes surrounding Asians. It uses a flourishing relationship's gradual destabilization to tell a realistic story about a dilemma that affects many couples in real life. Disapproving parents who will stop at nothing to ruin the relationship, a jealous ex who has the same objectives as the parents, and friends/acquaintances who try to get in one's way to halt any progress. It's all there, amplified times ten because the main character is dating someone who's a much higher social class than she is. It's the right amount of everything for a fantastic romance movie. Not too cheesy, not too bland, and definitely not too simple. It also brings awareness to complicated Asian family dynamics and the priority that Asians put on family above everything else, AND how all of that conflicts with the self-happiness-above-all mentality of Americans.

Besides the plot, the characters are also well developed, and their personalities are fleshed out perfectly. The characters are not one-sided or stereotypical, and each character has traits that make them unique, rounded, and like an actual person.

All in all, Crazy Rich Asians is a fantastic movie that may be slightly poignant if you are an emotional Asian ;) It really hits home with the references toward Asian family dilemmas and stereotypes, and that's part of the reason why I, as a Chinese American, enjoyed watching the movie so much.