The Corner Penthouse

Is Crazy Rich Asians a movie about Asians who are crazy rich, or a movie about rich Asians who are crazy? Read on to find out...


Crazy Rich Asians, which is based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan, follows New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia, for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick's family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. Not only is he the scion of one of the country's wealthiest families, but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick's arm puts a target on Rachel's back, with jealous socialites and worse, Nick's own disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh) taking aim.


By that description, you will probably pick up on the fact that this is a "chick flick". If that's not your cup of tea, you can stop reading now. I have no problem with the genre, and even have other films from the genre in my collection, but I can't really stand the sappy, emotional kinds of these films. Thankfully, Crazy Rich Asians is not that type of film. It's a modern-day fairytale. At it's base, there's a "handsome prince" and a "peasant girl" who pines for him. Of course, Rachel, the "peasant girl", is a smart, educated college professor who by normal standards, makes a decent amount of money and is quite pleasant to look at. She's just not crazy rich, like Nick's family.


Constance Wu, who plays Rachel, was my primary reason to see the movie. I love her on ABC's Fresh Off The Boat, and she does a fantastic job here, though she takes a back seat to a few scene-stealing actors. I'm referring to Awkwafina (as Peik Lin Goh) and Nico Santos (as Oliver T'sien). Awkwafina was previous seen in Ocean's Eight, and Nico is currently seen on NBC's Superstore. Peik Lin comes across as the stereotypical sassy black friend, but it works here, whereas that shtick would be annoying elsewhere. (Her atrocious haircut doesn't work at all, and is the only distracting part of her character.) Same for Oliver, who would be a stereotypical gay character elsewhere, but doesn't come off as stereotypical here. The only comic relief that comes across as annoying here is Ken Jeong as Peik Lin's father, Wye Mun.


The first half of the movie is kind of slow, and really makes it feel like a 2-hour movie, but things pick up in the second half. Without a doubt, the wedding scene is the most beautiful wedding you'll ever see in any movie.


At a runtime of 2:00:39, Crazy Rich Asians is presented in its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio with an 1080p transfer. On the audio side, there's an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track for English, and 5.1 Dolby Digital audio tracks for English Descriptive, French, and Spanish. The film includes English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. The first print run includes a beautiful slipsleeve.


All of the bonus features that can be found on the disc are in HD.

• Commentary with director John M. Chu and novelist Kevin Kwan
• Crazy Rich Fun (7:18) - The director, novelist Kwan, and cast members talk about the film.
• Deleted Scenes (12:10) - Seven scenes, each with a title card, shown back-to-back: Scene 5-6. Karaoke, Scene 11. Shopgirl, Scene 24. Exterior Singapore Airport, Scene B36. Nick and Mom Fight Over Rachel, Scene 53. Arrival at Bachelor Party (Extended Version), Scene 61. Medevac, and Scene 77. Wedding Dance.
• Gag Reel (1:47) - Outtakes and line flubs.

Also included in the Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack is a second DVD disc, which contains only the "Crazy Rich Fun" featurette listed above. (Yeah, I was rather surprised that the commentary wasn't ported over, too. Usually commentaries are the only bonuses carried over to DVD copies.) The movie on the DVD is presented in its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio with an anamorphic widescreen transfer. On the audio side, there are 5.1 Dolby Digital audio tracks for English, French, and Spanish, plus a Dolby Digital 2.0 English Descriptive track. The film includes English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles.


A Movies Anywhere/Ultraviolet digital copy code voucher is also included in the standard two-disc Blu-ray case.


Crazy Rich Asians is available on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, 4K UHD Combo Pack, and individual DVD. The original novel by Kevin Kwan is also available.


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film. The Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.