Full of Eastern promise

The cast and producer of Crazy Rich Asians were present at the screening I attended and said a few words to kick us off. At this point the film — the first with an Asian-American principal cast since The Joy Luck Club in 1993 — had been number one in America for three weeks, so they talked about a ‘cultural shift’ and how this was ‘as much a movement as a movie’. I confess, a lump came to my throat along with a tear to my eye, which is odd, given I’m usually such a hard-hearted old trout. It’s now difficult to know what to say next, but the safest thing has to be: while I’m pleased the film exists, and we should all be pleased this film exists, it is still only an average romcom. Or to put it another way: it is not a terrific film but it is terrific that it’s a film, if that makes sense.

Based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan, and directed by Jon M. Chu, it features Constance Wu as Rachel our heroine, who is an NYU economics professor — always an NYU economics professor, or a human-rights lawyer; never a chicken farmer. She has been dating Nick (Henry Golding) for a year in New York, and they are wholly in love. But what she doesn’t know is that he is the beloved scion of one of the wealthiest families in Singapore. Putting aside the fact that this scenario may be somewhat implausible in the age of Google and so on, you do have to wonder what they’ve talked about for the past 12 months. The weather? Is it reasonable to wonder about this? Or am I just being too old-trouty?

However, the truth dawns when Nick invites her to his best friend’s wedding, which means a trip to Singapore and being inculcated into the world of the super-rich with its lavish banquets and lavish gems and lavish clothes and the sort of eye-popping profligate spending that you may or may not get off on.