Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Movie Review

CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

In 2013, author Kevin Kwan released a novel that would launch the author into worldwide recognition. Titled Crazy Rich Asians, the novel was praised for its satirical outlook on contemporary Asia and its depiction of the differences between upper and lower class people. This would be enough to warrant the series two sequels, both of which were well received. Now five years later, director Jon M. Chu is given the opportunity to bring the highly anticipated book to film adaptation to life. Now its time to find out whether said adaptation is just as critically acclaimed as its novel counterpart.

Following the same plot as the novel, Crazy Rich Asians revolves around economics professor Rachel Chu and Nicholas Young who, completely unbeknownst to Rachel, belongs to one of Singapore’s wealthiest and most respected families. Confident that his family will approve of girlfriend Rachel, Nick arranges for her to meet his family in Singapore all while a family wedding is taking place. Now while I haven’t read the series of books myself, I have heard from numerous sources that they are quite entertaining and are best described as “guilty pleasures”. Thankfully this is one movie you don’t have to have alot of backstory to understand as, not knocking the book, but it is a simple premise. Man and woman visiting one halve’s family and it doesn’t start off well and shenanigans ensue. Despite having a plotline as common as the cold, Jon Chu does a great job at pacing the film, ensuring that the story maintains a steady speed and making sure the movie never feels sluggish and boring to the audience. 

Performance wise, there isn’t too much I can fault in this sense. No one performance stood out to me as scene stealing. All the characters, while different in their personality and attributes, no single actor or actress really owned their role and reached for that all important brass ring. As for the writing, most of the jokes seemed to work in the film’s favour. Now there were some groaners sprinkled here and there but for the most part, nearly every joke resulted in at least a chuckle. Some of these were aided by the characters exclaiming the joke, particularly those jokes involving Awkwafina and Ken Jeong, our main comic reliefs. I said earlier that there were no actors that really stood out to me but if there had to be one, it would have to be Awkwafina’s portrayal of Peik Lin Goh. She would often aid Rachel in any predicament she had to overcome and do it all while making the audience laugh, even someone as curmudgeon as myself. 

All in all, I had a good time with Crazy Rich Asians. With alot of hype surrounding the release of a film like this, I must say I was pleasantly surprised with what I was given. The movie never seemed to drag and continually made me laugh throughout. Even with a plot that was irritatingly predictable, I can’t fault the film too harshly for it as it is based off a fictional novel. So if you're a fan of the novel or just in need of a romantic fix, then Crazy Rich Asians might just be the film for you. 

OVERALL 

6 / 10

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) Movie Review

THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

Espionage has always been one of my favourite genres of films to watch. Whether the film is taking itself seriously or not, movies like James Bond or comedies such as the Austin Powers franchise have more often than not satisfied my need for secret agent flicks. However when I think of a movie like this, ironically it is not the spy antics and jokes I’ll be remembering. It is the friendship and chemistry between our two leads Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon who end up being the driving force behind this fish out of water action-comedy.  

After one of our main protagonist’s boyfriend dumps her, she and her best friend soon become entangled in an international government conspiracy after they learn her ex-boyfriend was a secret agent. The film boasts a simple enough plot but manages to execute the story device in an entertaining and most importantly, funny manner. Using the fish out of water story arch is one that is not an unknown device to spy films, much less comedy films but with the right leads and writing, The Spy Who Dumped Me manages to tell a complete story despite its unnecessarily bloated runtime of nearly two hours. As a result of this, the movie tends to drag out jokes that both hit the mark and completely miss which ends up being a double edged sword. Sometimes a joke will work and result in laughter, other times the joke will fall flat and not work. And unfortunately, these are the jokes the editors decided to draw out. Which is a real shame as there are some great scenes sprinkled throughout the film, one of my personal favourites being the duo’s first chase scene where they encounter an Uber driver whom takes them on a hilarious car chase filled where vehicular antics ensue. 

Now although the premise for the movie isn’t anything original, the execution was done quite well. This was helped by director and head write Susanna Fogel who did a great job guiding the girls in this film how to act and as is her job, giving them great direction. As a result, Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon were easily the highlight of this comedy, having great chemistry and genuinely feeling like best friends. However not is all good when it comes to our main duo. While Mila Kunis’ character was written well, the character portrayed by McKinnon for my money was a bit too much at times. Over exaggerating most if not all scenes, her character was written to be over bearing and quickly became one of my biggest pet peeves of the film. But in terms of Kate’s performance, I must give the devil her due as she did play the character extremely well. 

Overall there was a lot to enjoy out of The Spy Who Dumped Me. Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon were the highlights of the film and were given solid scenarios to act out. Despite this, the film went a little too long nearly clocking in at two hours and by the third act, you could definitely feel it. If you’re a fan of either actress or are looking for a solid comedy you don’t have to invest too much into, this film is one you can easily enjoy. But one you won’t remember too far down the line.

OVERALL

5 / 10