When Rachel Chu (Constance Wu, “Fresh Off the Boat”) finds out her boyfriend, Nick Young (newcomer Henry Golding), is crazy rich — like the Prince Harry of Asia rich — she takes it mostly in stride. “We’re comfortable,” Nick says of his family’s wealth in the trailer for “Crazy Rich Asians.” Rachel wastes no time in mocking him: “That is exactly what a super rich person would say.”
The Warner Bros. rom-com follows Rachel as she travels to Singapore with Nick to meet his family and attend his friend’s wedding. The film’s spot makes it clear that, while she is impressed by the Youngs’ lifestyle, Rachel is with Nick because she loves him. But his mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh, “Star Trek: Discovery”), isn’t so sure. “I know this much,” Eleanor tells Rachel, “you will never be enough.”
Luckily, Rachel isn’t one to back down. “If Nick chose me, he would lose his family,” she reminds Eleanor, “and if he chose his family, he might spend the rest of his life resenting you.”
Seeing Wu and Yeoh in a film together is exciting enough, but “Crazy Rich Asians” is also noteworthy because it’s a studio film that is led by an Asian woman. (Also a rarity: the film’s cast is predominantly non-white.) According to research from Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, Asian women represented just seven percent of female characters in 2017’s top 100 films. They comprised four percent of the major female characters.
Directed by Jon M. Chu (“Now You See Me” franchise), “Crazy Rich Asians” is based on Kevin Kwan’s 2013 best-seller of the same name. Awkwafina (“Ocean’s 8”), Sonoya Mizuno (“Ex Machina”), and Ken Jeong (“Community”) co-star.
“Crazy Rich Asians” opens August 17.
