I made a few comments about this movie in the Unpopular Opinions Thread, that probably came across as a bit more negative than I intended. I mean, I liked the movie, definitely one of my favorite Rom-Coms, and I don't especially dislike Rom-Coms or anything. My wife liked it less- she said the plot was cliched and that she could guess every major plot point from the first 15 minutes, but she watches a lot of Korean dramas.
I thought Michelle Yeoh was amazing.
Connnie Wu seems a bit wasted as the straightwoman, given how well she does the more over-the-top comedic stuff in Fresh Off The Boat.
Awkwafina and Ken Jeong were hilarious.
Jimmy O. Yang and Ronnie Chieng played their one-note characters very well. One funny, subtle scene I remember was that Ronnie Chieng's character was trying to put on the stern, Asian, patriarch airs in one scene at a party, and was sort of 'sternly' rebuking his wife (who didn't have a speaking role). Then she just walks away and he follows, sheepishly with his head down.
Anyway, in terms of Asian representation, I'm not sure. Donnie Kwak put it pretty well in that he saw it as us getting Asian Tyler Perry before getting Asian Spike Lee. It's still a step-up, I guess, but it doesn't seem to me to be a revolution of social movement or anything like that. It was just a pretty good, funny, light, fluffy movie.
I liked the movie, Better Luck Tommorow, better. But that's probably because the characters resonated more with me in that stage of my life. It seemed to better capture the pressures and anxieties of young Asian Americans, while Crazy Rich Asians pretty much just depicts Singapore as a fantasy Asian utopia. It also has the advantage of being part of the Fast And Furious extended universe.
