Crazy Rich Asians

What I liked: One of the earliest scenes has a flurry of social media. I liked the way it was filmed and thought it was funny and effective. The best friend is remarkably well prepared for almost any eventuality. If she could fit her closet in a utility belt she would be a fashion batman. Without all the cool gadgets and fighting. Just clothes and accessories. Worst Batman ever. I liked her collection of outfits in her trunk. The whole family making dumplings together was surprisingly cute. Until it reminded me of the recent Pixar dumpling short. You can't unsee it now can you? Really, that short is this movie in about 5 minutes. So if you want to save your self some time... The mom is a very effective villain, I think she and Lady Tremaine would get along well. I liked the proposal scene. Of the whole movie this is the part the seems the most realistic.

What I didn't: Ok even if we buy the "I just wanted to be a peasant and my true self with you" non-sense, under what circumstances would it ever be considered a good plan to not inform your girlfriend that the event where she is going to meet your entire family is formal dress. If she hadn't had a best friend who conveniently lives in the same town, is magically her exact size, has no job and nothing better to do than pick out outfits, and has an absurdly stocked closet, she would have been completely unprepared for the entire trip. First class seats on an international flight is a great surprise, showing up under dressed to an occasion where you really want to make a good first impression: not a great surprise. Maybe you should have mentioned that there would be no fewer than 7 red carpet events when she was packing. Don't get me wrong, I love me some cargo pants and t-shirts but even I would not roll into the Oscars in my Walmart slacks, a sweater, and no makeup, even just to watch from the balcony. So obviously if flying halfway around the world to be the star of many such gatherings advanced warning would be necessary. While the networking to get a great seat at the wedding worked well, never once has telling someone that I read their paper and liked it gotten me a good into a better situation. Best case scenario you do get the fancy seat at the wedding but find yourself surrounded by other people who also read the paper (in greater detail than you did) and are trapped discussing it in fine detail for about 3 hours pretending that that is exactly what you meant to have happen and not wishing you were shamelessly chasing the waiter carrying delicious hors d'oeurvers. While not a real example, I definitely seeing this plan backfiring. Why was there no canoe?! There was a tiny river, that was cool. But obviously the logical follow on is to arrive in a tiny canoe, not to wade through mid-calf deep water wearing a dress with a train! There is no way to do that gracefully. Who flew the helicopter to the little island? Did they steal the helicopter? How did they land the helicopter on the sheer cliff, how did they get down from the cliff, was the raft in the helicopter? They skip over all these rather important details but really it could be a whole heist movie on its own! Also showing off the priceless engagement ring on a wood raft in the ocean=not a great plan. I do feel like there is some middle ground a person could find between making a scene and smuggling a barracuda out of your room in a duffel bag. I'm not saying fish smuggling is the wrong answer, just that putting it in a large trashcan or under the bed might have been easier.

Who should watch this? People who like Rom Coms. People who want to feel better about their crazy relatives

Would I watch it again? It was fun to see once.