I do recall seeing trailers for this movie back in 2018 and it looked to be a fairly humorous romance movie and I was intrigued enough, fast forward seven years and...it's okay. Granted I love how unabashedly it revels in the asian heritage, from the music to the food to the architecture of Singapore, and how it digs into the shall we say differing if not archaic principles of how family units and relationships are handled there. Now speaking as a dumb white boy from Texas I'm not saying I know better or how to fix it, but I can tell you I don't agree with it for even a millionth of a micro-second. It starts extremely innocently enough with a young professor named Rachel who is going to Singapore to accompany her boyfriend Nick for a wedding but to also be introduced to the family, as she gets thigh deep into the opulence and debauchery of the most lucrative family in China. This movie does firmly deepen the fact I do not want to be stupid rich or even moderately wealthy, it really does not paint such boujee antics in a positive light, maybe that's just my upbringing speaking but it is incredibly vain and shallow though I will admit the wedding reception was lovely. What I did appreciate to a point was the fact that not every member of Nick's family was a massive raging cock to Rachel, a good few in fact welcome her with open arms which is lovely! Constance Wu plays the sweetest most down to earth girl imaginable as Rachel, who really has to deal with so much shit I was kinda hoping this would turn into a villain origin story or at least contain a few murders, now that would make this movie vastly better! Henry Golding as Nick honest to God, he's kinda husband goals like the man is maybe too nice, acknowledging, and caring for his own good cause even I was like damn dude I simultaneously am crushing and aspire to be that great myself. Very interesting to see Michelle Yeoh take on a much more antagonistic role as Eleanor, almost an evil stepmother who wants two things to do with Rachel, jack and shit, but it certainly doesn't end on a happy note with her which admittedly is more realistic but Jesus Christ. Awkwafina our girl still shining bright as ever here as best friend Peik Lin, still an oddball, still hilarious, nothing but love from me on this character! Also Gemma Chan you have precisely zero right being that absurdly pretty, and not to bash Rachel or anything but I was kinda invested in her story more probably because it didn't feel needlessly dramatic or eye rollingly stretched out but rather a unique relationship dynamic that has solid potential for storytelling. And yeah the last 30 minutes of this movie simply did not have to exist, this is a two hour movie that has an obligatory third act breakup tacked on to a story that honestly if you stopped it at the end of the wedding would be a beautiful and sweet ending, because the movie fucking ends the same way either way so I thoroughly checked out after that. Such a shame because while I strongly detest drama with a force that even God has to reckon with, but at least the instances before were manageable. Like okay, I get the whole putting a spotlight on the perhaps toxic lineage of parents over controlling their children and how marriages and relationships are still being held up as if it's still medieval times and we gotta form that bond with Spain so time to marry the Spanish Infanta, which what the fuck that is not how you achieve a life of peace and happiness in every day! I really understand what the writer and director's intent was and indeed I don't hate the acknowledging of the problem, I just fucking despise the problem to begin with. Some traditions have to die. There is a very fine line to walk where you can uphold your past while still embracing the future, and I just wish it was different. But then again I suppose that is good storytelling if you can get someone from a different culture to think about and feel something that strongly, so props to them for that. The production design really does show every penny on screen and for a budget of I believe thirty million dollars, consider me impressed because you can see the rapacity in stark display. It's shot competently albeit basically, the soundtrack is good, the technicals are done solidly, so I really can't harbor any serious grievances with it. If memory serves there is a sequel but we'll just have to see when I get around to that. 2.5 stars, 7/10, see you on Valentine's Day for hopefully the best of the lot for this week.
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