Crazy Rich Asians: A Joy to Behold

Three years ago, I waxed poetic about my love for Kevin Kwan's novel, Crazy Rich Asians. Since then, I've read the sequels with similar joy, and when I heard John Wu would be making a movie, I was beyond excited. Much was said about how this was the first Hollywood movie in 25 years, since The Joy Luck Club, to feature an all-Asian cast. One must hesitate to add we're talking about Southeast Asian, as there have been movies featuring South Asian actors. And that kind of nitpicking gets into how this movie needed to be everything to everybody and means so much to the whole Asian diaspora. But guess what? Go into the theater and watch Crazy Rich Asians for two hours. And regardless of whether you're Asian or not, whether you're a fan of romcoms or not, you will come out of the theater feeling more joyful than you have felt in a LONG while.

First off, the cast. Almost every single cast member is a standout, and if you didn't know them before watching this movie, you will certainly be clamoring to see them after this film. Constance Wu is magnificent as Rachel Chu, an NYU Economics professor who has fallen in love with Nick Young (the delicious Henry Golding in his first ever movie role, but certainly not his last), a fellow professor who seems to be a "normal" man. When he suggests that she fly over to Singapore with him for his best friend's wedding and meet his family, she agrees; but when they board the plane and get upgraded to super-fancy First Class with their own private suite, she finally starts to understand that this man might not come from the same humble background as her and her single mother. When they arrive in Singapore, she is immediately swept away in a whirlwind of decadence, and when she visits her college friend Peik Lin (played by the hilarious Awkwafina, who really needs to be in ALL THE THINGS immediately), she is informed that her boyfriend is considered to be Singaporean royalty.

This is a classic romcom with soap operatic family drama courtesy of Nick's mother, Eleanor, who is played by Michelle Yeoh in the most riveting performance of the evil mother-in-law that you will witness on screen this year. Despite being the villain in this love story, you fully understand where this woman is coming from and her fear that her son has picked an ABC (American-born Chinese) instead of a traditional Singaporean woman who would know that she needs to put the needs of the family ahead of her own personal ambitions. As you get more of Eleanor's backstory, you see how she suffered the same persecution at the hands of Nick's grandmother, who never thought Eleanor was good enough for her son, and thus, we have the classic Asian history of mothers-in-law sabotaging their son's wives through the ages.

What makes Crazy Rich Asians so spectacular is the loving detail in the cinematography by Vanja Cerjul. I saw this film with my friend Katie, who is a fellow lover of the books. Thanks to our jobs, we have both also spent time in Singapore and were thoroughly delighted with how that city was depicted throughout the movie, particularly the hunger-inducing shots of Singaporean meals. Food is such a central theme of the books and Singaporean culture, and you need to ensure you bring a snack as you watch the cast munch on satay, dumplings, and all manner of delicacies that I pine for on a daily basis.

In addition, costume designer Mary Vogt does an excellent job of attiring the entire cast in just the right outfits to indicate their level of wealth. There's the flashy opulence of Eddie Cheng and his family, in contrast to the simple but powerfully wealthy elegance of Astrid Leong, who can shell out millions on earrings without a second thought, in further contrast to Rachel's Gap aesthetic. All of the accents also make it very clear where everyone lies in the social hierarchy - the wealthy families all sport English accents thanks to elite schooling at private schools and Oxbridge, while Peik Lin's nouveau riche family or Astrid's "commoner" husband, Michael, speak with much more Chinese-accented English. And let's not forget the brilliant score by Brian Tyler or the magnificent soundtrack featuring Cantonese pop covers of famous English songs. You may not understand the words but you will quickly recognize the tunes, and the foreignness of this setting instantly feels a bit more familiar.

Crazy Rich Asians might feel like it's dealing with people and places you know nothing about, but what is truly remarkable about this movie is the universality of its story and its appeal. It's a classic rags-to-riches tale, a Cinderella story about a poor woman who found her prince and the obstacles in their way towards finding true love. And it all takes place in a breezy two hours that will have you beaming from start to finish. I honestly don't know when I have seen a movie that delighted me so thoroughly in every single scene. I was overjoyed when I left the theater and I cannot wait to see every single sequel as well as what this cast goes on to do in the future. This movie hasn't just established a franchise. It has ushered a whole new way forward for Hollywood. 

BlacKkKlansman: History Repeats Itself

If you've seen the trailer for BlacKkKlansman, you expect it to be hilarious. Disturbing, but hilarious. The movie is based on the memoir of Ron Stallworth, the first black detective in the history of the Colorado Springs Police Department, who in 1978 set up an operation to infiltrate the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Give that story to Spike Lee, and what you get is a movie that is based on some fo' real, fo' real shit.

John David Washington (son of Denzel, if you weren't already aware) plays Stallworth, sporting a great afro and the ability to codeswitch between talking "jive" with his 70s brothers and sisters when he's undercover and then speaking the "King's English" when he's dealing with his white police colleagues. He teams up with a Jewish detective, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver at his best), to play the "white" Ron Stallworth at Klan meetings, while Ron will continue to talk to the various members on the phone and infiltrate their ranks. Obviously this is taking the buddy cop storyline to the extreme and it is extremely funny to watch how Zimmerman and Stallworth work with each other to sound more alike and get their stories straight. Which makes for a very entertaining first half of the film.

However, as the movie progresses, you are gradually reminded that as absurd and hilarious as this premise might be, we're still dealing with the Klan, a virulently racist and hateful group of men and women. Zimmerman is put into danger more than once by antisemitic Klan members, and as their operation goes deeper into the KKK, the stakes get much more higher. Yes, at first it is great to laugh when Stallworth manages to call up David Duke (played by Topher Grace who looks EERILY like Duke in the 70s), and hear him explain how he knows Stallworth's white because he doesn't pronounce the word "are" like a black man would. But sadly, that's just the tip of the racist iceberg.

The pacing of this film is a bit odd - the scenes are long and languid at the beginning, taking their time to set up the plot and the characters and steep you in the two different worlds Stallworth has to inhabit on a daily basis. But things pick up steam towards the end, moving quickly and tying up a lot of loose ends in extravagantly Hollywood fashion. Which is worth it, because you do want to celebrate the extraordinary work that Stallworth accomplished. But don't start feeling too good, because this movie ends on a shockingly sobering note. I won't give it away here but suffice to say, there was a woman loudly sobbing in the theater when the end credits started to roll and the rest of the audience were deadly silent. I remember sobbing last year when I saw the events that unfolded on the screen, so don't expect to feel terribly uplifted when you leave the theater. But it's still an excellent history lesson that will burn itself into your brain.

BlacKkKlansman is a thought-provoking and well-crafted movie, brimming with excellent performances, a brilliant soundtrack, production design that immerses you in the 70s, and a story that is so unbelievable it has to be true. It tackles the history of white supremacy and black power in the United States, and while it discusses these themes in the context of the 70s, it eventually makes it clear that this history hits a little too close to home in 2018. Watch this movie and get righteously angry. Then come up with a plan for what we're going to do so history can stop repeating itself. 

Netflix Stand-Up Specials: Comedy with a Twist

Stand-up specials are a difficult and wondrous thing. A person comes up on stage and makes jokes for an hour. Usually those jokes are of a personal nature, and whether or not the audience laughs is an indictment of whether or that comedian's life is worthy of entertainment. It takes guts to lay yourself bare in front of a sea of strangers, and lately, Netflix has offered up a slew of stand-up specials that showcase some of the best comedians out there. In this post, I want to highlight three comedians who really spoke to me. Not because they are raucously funny, which they are, but also because they present a different perspective, showcasing a life that is not like the one I live, and help audiences discover a whole new world outside of their own personal bubble.

Ali Wong: In her stand-up specials, Baby Cobra and Hard-Knock Wife, the one immediately obvious fact is that Wong is massively pregnant. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a pregnant woman perform stand-up. Turns out, it's pretty hysterical. Particularly when that pregnant woman is prone to delivering filthy jokes and discussing her prolific sex life in vivid detail whilst miming plenty of sexual activity in her pregnant state. If I was the kid in that womb, I'm not sure I would be delighted or utterly mortified when I came across these specials ten years' hence. Apart from that aspect, there's also the fact that Wong is half-Chinese and half-Vietnamese, which allows for a lot of Asian stereotype jokes (which is fine because she's Asian, OK?) The two specials are a perfect set because they logically follow from each other and demonstrate the trajectory of Wong's life. She was not a well-known comedian when she made Baby Cobra, but its popularity on Netflix meant that she is now a household name and Hard-Knock Wife outlines how she has been dealing with some of that newfound fame. Plus we get more stories about her marriage and her husband, a man who I would dearly love to meet because he seems like the complete opposite of his wife.

Hari Kondabolu: I'm Indian (shocker, I know) and I always enjoy watching an Indian perform stand-up and make fun of all the things about my culture that I have hitherto only viewed as annoyances. The first time I saw Hari Kondabolu was when he did a short set on a late-night talk show about how his father came to pick him up at JFK Airport, and a total stranger got in the car and started barking directions, assuming the brown man was a taxi driver. Then, of course, there was his wonderful The Problem with Apu documentary that took a look at all the reasons why Apu from The Simpsons was highly problematic. And now, there's Warn Your Relatives, an hour of him doing jokes on Netflix about how it feels to be a brown first generation immigrant. There's a long segment just about mangoes, and another on airport security. It is all topical, empathetic, hilarious stuff, and the highest praise I can give it is this: I immediately sat my parents down in front of the TV and told them they had to watch it. Reader, they chuckled.

Hannah Gadsby: Gadsby's special, Nanette, has spawned a thousand think pieces and received widespread acclaim. You shouldn't need me to tell you to watch it. But in case you do, here's the gist. Gadsby is from the island of Tasmania in Australia, a highly conservative part of the country where the fact that she is a lesbian wasn't particularly welcome. The special starts out conventionally enough, with jokes about Australia, being gay, and ordinary moments of everyday life, made extraordinary by Gadsby's verbal dexterity and ability to turn anything into a joke simply with her delivery. But the second half of this show is where things take a turn. A dark, uncomfortable, and remarkable turn. No need to spoil it, you can see for yourself. Just know that at the end of it, you will feel a deeply personal connection to this woman and the others like her who have to put up with a lot of shit everyday that is not always easy to turn into comedy.

So there you have it. Three very different individuals, in terms of gender, ethnicity, and sexuality, but all delivering incredible comedy. Perhaps you identify with some or with none, but regardless, the minute you are done watching their specials, you will have a much more expanded world view. To me, that is the greatest power of stand-up comedy. Its ability to make you laugh, but after the jokes stop, to also make you take a deep breath and think.

Blindspotting: Black & White Identity

Blindspotting is my instantaneous pick for Best Original Screenplay. The dialogue in this movie captured me from the first scene to the last, and in one climactic moment, had me at the edge of my seat, as Daveed Diggs' rap burned itself into my psyche. Written by Diggs and his childhood friend Rafael Casal (who co-stars in the movie), this movie is a searing look at race relations, identity politics, and the perils of gentrification.

Diggs plays Collin, a man who is on the last three days of his parole and trying his level best to keep his head down and come out unscathed. Unfortunately, that plan goes awry when he witnesses a white Oakland police officer shoot a black man on the street. He drives off, afraid to say anything or do anything as no one will believe his word as a convicted felon, but that moment is the beginning of a series of mishaps that reveal to him exactly how much being a black man in Oakland has cost him. Casal plays his best friend Miles, a fellow Oakland man, born and raised, who is tatted up and prone to some foolishness. As the movie progresses, we see how he is able to get away with this behavior much more easily because he is white, while everyone automatically assume the quiet and rule-following Collin is the troublemaker.

That's the harsh premise of the film, but make no mistake - this is a hilarious movie that will make you burst out laughing at multiple moments. It is scripted and edited impeccably, with not a single wasted scene or line of dialogue. Everything is set in motion to deliver an epic payoff, and when you get to that climactic moment when Diggs raps about everything that has happened to him over the past three days and led to this heartbreaking point in time, time seems to stand still and you simply cannot take your eyes off the screen.

Director Carlos Lopez Estrada has crafted a masterpiece, with evocative set pieces (who knew a pimped out Uber could be the setting for so much hilarity?) and a flair for creating tactile scenes that make the audience feel like they are a part of this world. I know nothing about Oakland, but after this movie, I feel like I have understood where exactly people come from when they complain about gentrification and the manner in which the takeover of their neighborhoods slowly erases their existence from the world. And I was watching with my friend, Lynsey, who is from Northern California and confirmed this story certainly rang true.

Blindspotting offers up an interesting take on what it is like to be from Oakland, whether you are black or white. There is a telling exchange in the film where Diggs asks Casal why it's OK for him to use the n-word, but Casal would never use it himself. There's another moment when Casal is percevied to be a white hipster posing as a "brother," and this misrepresentation of his identity infuriates him. While this is emphatically a movie about Collin and how his blackness makes him a target in all social scenarios, it is also cleverly a movie about whiteness and how it leads to misperceptions of its own. Ultimately, when you find out why this movie is called what it is, it leads to a whole host of revelations that will shake you to your core and make you look at the world around you in a whole new light. 

Eighth Grade: Childhood in the 21st Century

Eighth Grade is the kind of movie that is both extremely real and extremely fantastical. Which makes sense because that is how life feels when you're a thirteen-year-old girl: everything is hyper real, but a lot of it is also in your head. And thanks to writer-director Bo Burnham, we now have the chance to experience what exactly is going on in a young teen's head in our digital age.

The wondrous Elsie Fisher (give her all the Best Young Artist awards now) plays Kayla Day, an eighth-grader in her last week of middle school, who wins the dubious honor of being named "Most Quiet" by her classmates. She doesn't appear to have any friends, though she tries her very best to force herself to say "Hi!" and "Good job!" to the kids around her, all of whom are too busy checking their phones to give her the time of day. When she goes home, she makes motivational YouTube videos, where she dispenses wise thirteen-year-old advice on how to boost your confidence and make friends. No one, except her dad (the equally wondrous Josh Hamilton), appears to be watching these videos, but that is immaterial. They probably help Kayla more than she realizes, and give her the courage to put herself out there more before she transitions to the wilds of high school.

There's nothing more I want to give away about the plot because it is a film that needs to be experienced as it quietly unfolds. What I will say is that I was pleasantly surprised at how incredibly funny it was. I don't expect such movies to inspire laughter; I expect angst-ridden drama. However, thanks to Bo Burnham's comedic roots, the entire movie has a deft, light touch that reveals how, while teenage life can feel catastrophic when you're a teenager, in actual fact, it isn't that much of a tragedy at all. It is also scary to see the impact social media has on kids today - in one telling scene, we see how high schoolers who are merely four years older than Kayla already feel like she is a generation away from them because she got access to Snapchat so much earlier than they did. There is an odd generational hierarchy based on the arrival of various social media platforms, and it a complicated web to navigate amongst the other perils of adolescence.

Of course, there is one scene where my friend Katie and I started bawling, and that is when the much-needed heart-to-heart takes place between Kayla and her dad. This is where the "fantastical" portion of the movie comes in - most fathers have no idea how to talk to their daughters, but this movie will give them the ideal template. This father says exactly the right thing and reassures his child in a manner that will make every woman in the world sob. And of course, the reason he is able to say the right thing, is because Kayla is able to articulately voice all of the troubles that are swimming around in her brain. This is a conversation that both children and parents can benefit from; they may not be able to engage in it in real life, but they need to at least watch it in the theater so they can be reassured that this is how both sides feel about each other, even if they lack the vocabulary to communicate it.

Eighth Grade feels almost improvised - the dialogue is natural and never clunky, and you feel fully immersed in the world of this young girl and the trials that lie ahead. The sound design is particularly effective, with the use of loud music or complete silence so you can't hear certain conversations, because sometimes you don't need to know what people are saying to know exactly how they are feeling. It is sweet, funny, sad, and uplifting, a rollercoaster of emotions that captures the rollercoaster our heroine is going through. Everyone can relate to this girl, and everyone needs to see this movie. 

Queer Eye: Five Gay Guys Changing the World

A lot of people told me to watch Queer Eye but I was too busy watching "serious" things. Why would I bother watching a reality show on Netflix, based on a Bravo series I quite enjoyed a decade ago, but was definitely over now? Thankfully, my friend Laura made me watch an episode when I visited her, and after that, I binged two seasons in short order. My word, how the world has changed.

A primer for those who are in the dark: Queer Eye is a show where five gay men (the Fab 5) take over the life of a person (usually a heterosexual man, but more on that later) and give him a makeover in a week. The man is usually some kind of shlubby man-child who can't get a date or has a wife who wants to see him in a nice suit for once, and at the end of the week, the Fab 5 have given him a new wardrobe, a haircut, completely re-designed his home, and given him some basic life skills to make him a better human. The original Bravo show was titled Queer Eye for a Straight Guy, but there is a very important reason why the Netflix reboot is only titled Queer Eye. Instead of solely catering to Straight Guys, some of the best episodes deal with gay men or straight women who need to zhuzh up their lives.

The crucial component of the reboot is the cast. The five men are masters of their craft and pros at what they do. But beyond that, they never impose their views on the people they are helping. Instead, they see their role as partially therapeutic - they want to understand why these people have let themselves go, and then work with them to come up with solutions that will genuinely be embraced and used for the long term. So no one is forcing anyone to wear a pink shirt or shave off their beard - instead, they consult each individual to see what they are comfortable with before irrevocably changing their lives. In addition, we also get a lot more backstory about each of the Fab 5, many of whom are married or have kids. This is progress we never got to see in the original show where the gayness definitely felt very foreign. Here, these five men are living their lives, and their sexuality is simply one facet to extremely multi-dimensional personalities.

The other crucial component is location. Unlike the Bravo series set in New York City, this show is set in Atlanta, Georgia, which means a lot of the people they deal with are white Southerners who voted for Trump and haven't always had a favorable view of homosexuality. This is where we see the two sides reconcile and have sensitive philosophical debates about the great divide in America. The Fab 5 come in with their prejudices too, and over the course of the week, it is often miraculous to watch how both sides chip away at each other until they become the closest of friends and vow to never pre-judge others again. There's the episode where they had to help a white cop and Karamo, who is black, had a heart-to-heart with him about police brutality. There's the episode where they help a trans man, and Tan, who is a British Muslim who had to live a quieter gay life and didn't immerse himself in gay culture, had a heart-to-heart about how he never understood why trans people wanted to go through surgery until he met this man and finally felt his pain. Over the course of that episode, we also got to see the struggle this man went through just to get his gender marker changed on his driver's license, as well as the extreme panic that could be occasioned through the unbelievably fraught task of getting fitted for a suit.

Queer Eye is a show with the simple but devastating goal of engendering empathy. Not just empathy for the five gay guys, but for the people they help as well. It is a profound commentary on humanity and stripping away the labels that people put on themselves to reveal the common human beings underneath. People may claim to not understand one another and profoundly disagree on many fundamental things, but it turns out that when you just have a conversation and try to understand where the other person is coming from, you learn more about yourself than you could ever imagine. In each episode, the person they're helping has a different struggle and different goal in mind for the end of the week. By the time you reach the end of the episode, you'll discover that your heart had a little bit of a makeover as well.