I'm not big on rom-coms but this was a very cute movie. I liked it more than I liked the book. Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) is psyched to meet her boyfriend's (Henry Goulding) family for the first time until she learns that they are beyond wealthy. His mother (Michelle Yeoh) doesn't approve of Rachel and does everything she can to discourage what she perceives as a gold-digging nobody from shoehorning her way into the family. Rachel must navigate the shark-infested waters of the incredibly rich and bored to determine what exactly she wants from this relationship.
The book is okay but the movie really delves into Rachel more, giving viewers more incentive to root for her. Nick, the boyfriend, is treated more like an afterthought. He's mainly just the catalyst to set these two opposing women into motion. Wu is charming and likable without succumbing to most of the annoying tropes of women in rom-coms. ("Insecure" and "clumsy" are not personality traits; they are lazy shortcuts.) Yeoh is a force to be reckoned with, conveying powerful emotions quietly through expressions rather than out loud.
Awkwafina puts in another hilarious role as Rachel's friend from college but Gemma Chan steals the show for me as Nick's quietly desperate cousin, Astrid. She is magnetic.
This is in the running for a Golden Globe but I don't know about its Oscar chances. It's a solid rom-com but it is still a rom-com and the Academy typically doesn't like those. We'll have to see next month.
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