Crazy Rich Asians movie review *mild spoiler alert*

To say I was anticipating the movie is an underestimation. After reading all three of the delectable books, jumping up high when I heard of the adaptation, announcement of the cast, following Constance Wu's every Instagram move and down to the very last minute of the premiere, I have been waiting and waiting. This not only consolidates the success of Kevin Kwan's genius writing, but is a huge inspiration for Asian writers out there. It is an exciting time to see Asian representation from writing all the way to directing and acting. Anyhow, let's get into it:

Given all the details and subplots in the original book, the movie was well paced. It retained the dramatic opening scene in London, quickly breezed through the news of Nick going back to Singapore and also developed the subplot of Astrid's marriage. I love the humor that was instilled into the movie by Ken and Akwafina.

Some scenes that were not in the movie but still very appropriately dealt with was the majong scene. Though arguable a copycat of "Joy Luck Club" was still appropriate and touching (truth be told I cried). Omg the proposal scene was absolutely different but still very cute.

Let's talk music. My gosh, I loved how they rendered old Shanghai tunes but also mixed it up with a Mandarin version of Coldplay's Yellow- an obvious reference to the ethnographic depiction.

I was not quite happy with how they left Astrid's story the way they did. They spent more time on developing Bernard and Kitty than they could have with Astrid in which I think was an important storyline. I don't even know how they will continue that in the next movie.

But in general I liked the adaptation. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and more importantly, it made me think and reflect on the love God has blessed me with in this life time.