Crazy Rich Asians - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Crazy Rich Asians

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I started hearing buzz about Crazy Rich Asians about 6 months ago when female friends of mine started getting super excited that the trilogy by Kevin Kwan was actually going to be made into a movie. At that point I really paid the twitter no mind, as it was being directed by Jon Chu (the guy who did G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Step Up 2, Step Up 3, Now You See Me, Now You See Me 2) and I really didn’t see him making a GREAT romantic comedy. Not to mention that I wasn’t exactly stoked about a movie titled Crazy Rich Asians either. Little did I know that this would be the rom-com to take the U.S. by storm, as it raked in a STUPID $235 million off of a “meager” $30 million budget. By this time EVERYONE that I knew in the film industry was raving about the movie and I had missed it in theaters by my “meh” attitude. Curious, intrigued, and totally wanting to see it now, I was more than eager to review the film on Blu-ray (sadly no 4K UHD, even though some places posted a pre-sale for the 4K disc) and ended up LOVING the movie. Sure, it’s a rom-com. It has some cliches, but those cliches are surrounded by a layered film that actually gives depth to one of the most light and fluffy film genres out there.

Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) is in love. She has hunky boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding), and a fantastic career as an Econ professor at NYU. When Nick offers to take her back home to meet his family in Singapore she has no idea of what she’s in for. When they get on the plane she gets just an inkling when the low key Nick surprises her with a luxury first class trans-Atlantic first class sweet, but it’s not until they get to Singapore that the daughter of a lowly migrant realizes that her boyfriend comes from money. I’m not talking about “my parents are well-to do”. We’re not even talking about “My parents own a bunch of real estate”. We’re talking Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates level of old established billionaire money that makes the Young family something of local royalty back in Singapore.

The cliches of the film come to light here, as the movie borrows from the tried and true Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner trope of having the fish out of water come home to meet the judgmental parents. In this case the judgmental parent is Nick’s mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh, who at 56 is still one of the most stunningly beautiful women I’ve ever seen), the second in line matriarch of the Young family. Like usual, mommy dearest doesn’t think that Rachel is nearly good enough for her son, and Rachel is faced with an uphill battle to gain the acceptance of her new “family” as well the respect of those around her.

Now, you might say that outside of the incredible Asian cast, there’s nothing special about Crazy Rich Asians. We’ve seen it all before. The tropes, the basic story structure, and even the ending is straight out of a fairy tale that is home to a hundred other romantic comedies. However, it IS the cast that gives it much of the flavor, but that is only half of the equation. The other half stems from the fact that Jon Chu and his writers have crafted a bevy of characters that add their own layer of complexity and differences to the main story. Astrid, Elanor herself, and even Rachel’s mother Kerry (Kheng Hua Tan) have their own special side stories and nuances that flesh the movie out from simple love story, to one draws you TO the characters and their own personal struggles.

That being said, the cast itself is so dynamic and vibrant that you can’t help but fall in love with them. There’s a sense of charm and style to many, but also goofiness and ludicrous insanity to them as well. Astrid (Gemma Chan) is the sweet and kind one, Ken Jeon plays a hilarious cameo as the father of Rachels’s friend Peik Lin (Awkwafina), and Michelle Yeoh is both intensely hate-able, but gracefully elegant and pained at the same time. To be honest, the movie itself is just as over the top as it’s cast. The term Crazy Rich Asians is not just a title. The whole film is crazy, full of insane rich parties, and a wonderful amount of charm to it as well. One of the biggest boons to the tone and feel of the movie is the pop culture sound track that accompanies the mix, with covers of Madonna, Elvis and even some rockabilly songs (many of which are in Chinese) to make the colorful movie, just that much more colorful and flavorful.

There’s a few things that pull it down from a perfect movie, mainly to do with the fact that romantic comedies have been done to death and some of the tropes really are just that, well worn tropes. Nick and Rachel’s ups and downs have certain amount of predictability to them, but even that is not enough to really bring down the movie. Crazy Rich Asians is just infectiously fun, and so charming (along with the insane box office pull) that there is NO DOUBT that the other two films in Kevin Kwan’s novel trilogy are going to make it to the big screen (Jon Chu is already in per-production for the sequel).




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for some suggestive content and language




Video:

Crazy Rich Asians was shot with a mixture of digital and film, and then transferred to a native 4K master for home video. From what I gather there was either SUPPOSED TO BE a 4K UHD disc to be released with this, or it has just been delayed for the future, but this is a film that was made for the 4K format. The Blu-ray itself though is no slouch in that department. The 2.39:1 AVC encoded image is just abundantly saturated with bright colors, tropical settings, and luscious saturation levels for all these colors. Everything from pinks, blues, golds, greens (the greens of Singapore are stunning), and every shade in between is represented in the film. Whether it be a giant social gathering, or the streets of the city itself, everything is bright and shiny with a colorful veneer that literally pulls the eyes straight to the primaries. Detail levels are exquisite, with intimate clothing details replicated with razor sharp precision, with faces showing almost as much depth (there is some mild softness around Michelle Yeoh’s face and a few of the other older guests, most likely to de-age them ever so slightly). Blacks are deep and inky and the overall clarity of the disc is exemplary. All around an eye catching film.





Audio:

No Atmos or DTS:X this time, but Warner’s 5.1 DTS-HD MA lossless mix is incredibly complex and diverse, making the best of the “meager” 5.1 channels at hand. The track is definitely forward heavy at times, but those times are never prolonged. The copious use of remixed pop songs throughout and the wild parties thrown by these people keep the surrounds in full use, and the LFE channel quite actionable. There’s a few scenes that stand out such as the bachelor party on the boat, or Peik Lin driving Rachel TO Nick’s house where the audi she’s driving just pulsates with low end power. The track is simply wide open and spacious, allowing firecrackers, rumbling guests in the background, and crisp dialog to intermingle effortlessly and create a 5.1 mix to die for.





Extras:

• Audio Commentary by Director Jon M. Chu and Novelist Kevin Kwan
• Crazy Rich Fun
• Gag Reel
• Deleted Scenes

Final Score: ​

Crazy Rich Asians is an absolute blast to watch, and a charming all Asian (or ALMOST all Asian) cast that really feels exciting and fresh in a stale genre. I’m a jaded guy when it comes to rom-coms, but this one really did surprise me and I feel it deserves all of the good press that has been lauded on it over the last 6 months or so. I was a bit sad that Warner didn’t deign to release the film in 4K UHD though, as the film’s bright and colorful scheme would have been PERFECT for the next generation format (there have been pre-orders for the 4K UHD, but Warner has confirmed that there will be no 4K UHD, at least at this point in time), so this fantastic looking/sounding Blu-ray will have to do. The extras are a bit mediocre, but that’s a small negative in a package that is largely 4.5/5 rated by yours truly. Go out and watch it, this is definitely a great watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, Harry Golding, Ken Jeong, Awkwafina, Lisa Lu, Genma Chan, Nico Santos, Jimmy O. Yang, Chris Pang, Sonoya Mizuno
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Written by: Peter Chiarelli, Adele Lim (Screenplay), Kevin Kwan (Based on the Books by)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish DD 5.1, English DVS DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 121 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 20th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[Asere]

Thanks for the review. My wife has been wanting to watch this one. I will watch it with her.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. We saw this one in the theater and the entire family enjoyed it.

 

[Todd Anderson]

We just caught this at the theater - great flick. Really enjoyed it!

 

[Jack]

Thanks Michael, this looks good. Another order today

 

[Michael Scott]

Thanks Michael, this looks good. Another order today

hope you Enjoy Jack. I really REALLY liked it. It was a breathe of fresh air for the Rom-com genre.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Looks like this has in fact been released on 4K... were you expecting that to happen this quickly??

 

[Michael Scott]

it's weird. Warner denied profusely that they were releasing one, and even their press releases all stated Blu-ray and DVD only, but I've seen it at Walmart and Amazon (though not at other stores). Maybe it's an exclusive.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I know... very strange.

 

[Asere]

Saw this one with my wife. We really liked it I think all the actors did a great job.

 

[JBrax]

We’ll be watching this tonight. Honestly forgot about it but looking forward to it.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Do tell what you think. I saw it in theaters and really enjoyed it

 

[JBrax]

Do tell what you think. I saw it in theaters and really enjoyed it

I thought it was ok. Maybe I was just tired because we watched it very late last night. Some funny parts but not as many lol moments as I was expecting. On a side note I thought Free Solo was very good. Anybody who hasn’t seen it might want to check it out.