Tag Archives: Awkwafina

Movie Review ~ The Little Mermaid (2023)

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The Facts:

Synopsis: A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince.
Stars: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem
Director: Rob Marshall
Rated: PG
Running Length: 135 minutes
TMMM Score: (9/10)
Review:  Of all the live-action remakes the Walt Disney Studios had announced, I was most apprehensive about The Little Mermaid. It’s not so much that I had been holding the library of Disney animated classics close enough to my heart that I couldn’t see the vision of transforming them for a new generation; it’s that I didn’t want a new audience to be robbed of the magic I felt when I saw the original in 1989. It was Thanksgiving, and my mom had taken a few friends and me to the Southtown, formerly one of the few Cinerama houses in MN before it was twinned. I’ll never forget being in that audience and seeing Disney’s take on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale for the first time.

Of course, the rest was history. Going on to become a multi-Oscar-winning lifesaving hit for Disney and ushering in a second golden era for the studio, there wouldn’t (couldn’t) have been a Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin without the blockbuster red carpet The Little Mermaid laid out. The film would get poor-quality direct-to-video sequels, a truncated theme park show at what was then MGM Studios in Orlando, and a full-scale ride/attraction in the Disney theme parks. A Broadway musical was well-intentioned, but with mermaids floating around on Heelys and the dimensions not quite right, it felt like a more expensively priced version of the show you could have seen as part of your day at the park.

A partially live-action version was presented on television in 2019, with filmed portions interspersed with the animated film. In that eye-rolling endeavor, Queen Latifah played Ursula, ’90s musician Shaggy was Sebastian, and Moana breakout Auli’i Cravalho was Ariel. Yet in the multitude of Disney big screen adaptations, there was a noticeable gap The Little Mermaid had yet to fill. In truth, any success has been spotty, with 2015’s Cinderella the high point and 2022’s straight to Disney+ Pinocchio the absolute dregs. Landing somewhere in between, you have Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast, Dumbo, Mulan, Lady and the Tramp, The Lion King, and The Jungle Book.

Could it be that The Little Mermaid was waiting this long to surface because it was going to, like its cartoon inspiration, signal a turning of the tides for the simple remakes that have come before it? Or maybe Disney Studios has taken enough queues from what didn’t work in their previous attempts and vowed not to make the same mistakes again. Either way, The Little Mermaid emerges as the studios most assured and shimmering live-action revision to date, one that takes the original off the shelf, lightly dusts it off, and puts a shine on it for the viewer of today without forgetting about the audience that made it a classic to begin with.

Crashing waves and a ship unwilling to yield to a thundering sea determined to swallow it whole are the first images we see in director Rob Marshall’s (Into the Woods) interpretation. Here, Prince Eric (dreamy Jonah Hauer-King, who often looks strikingly like his animated inspiration) is the adopted son of a country dependent on its export business and grieving the loss of its King. It’s now time for Eric to return home and get serious about the responsibilities bestowed on him by his Queen (Noma Dumezweni, Mary Poppins Returns). Yet, he longs to explore other territories of the ocean not mapped out, wild undiscovered waters they only sing about in sailor songs (and one he power ballads about in a new tune).

Gliding just below the water’s surface is a young mermaid, Ariel (Halle Bailey), who is also struggling with living up to the expectations of life in royal service. As one of the daughters of the seven seas, her father, King Triton (Javier Bardem, The Good Boss), demands that she participate in the duties assigned to her at birth. Her curiosity couldn’t be contained in any number of oceans, though, and she can’t help but wonder about the world above the water, hiding away any object that falls into the sea in her secret cave of treasures. Accompanied by sidekick Flounder (Jacob Tremblay, Doctor Sleep) and the King’s servant Sebastian (Daveed Diggs, DC League of Super-Pets), she occasionally gets (wrong) advice from dotty bird Scuttle (Awkwafina, Renfield) about the items she happens upon.

Watching Ariel from afar, and clocking her desires for something more than what she has, is Triton’s sister Ursula (Melissa McCarthy, Spy). A tentacled sea witch with a fishbone to pick with her brother that banished her years before, she’s found a vulnerable spot in his impenetrable armor in the form of his youngest daughter. When Ariel saves Eric from drowning and quickly falls in love with him, dreaming of a life out of the sea, Ursula exploits Ariel’s plans for her gain. She entices her to strike a deadly bargain, bringing about a tidal wave of danger for all swept up in the churn.

Purists will find that not much has changed between the 1989 movie and the 2023 adaptation from David Magee (The School for Good and Evil). The story is essentially the same, with a few tweaks here and there to remove dated references and smooth out passages that even the most ardent viewers would admit were growing a bit stale. It hasn’t been woke-ified but has made it even more of Ariel’s story of reclaiming her voice in a literal and figurative manner during the film’s highly stylized final act. Whereas the finale of the new Pinocchio found the filmmakers committing the grave mistake of making a change they thought the audience wanted, here the studio has trusted that the original story has stood the test of time and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. 

I’m not going to comment on the nasty debate that has gone on over the casting of Ariel because none of those people had seen the film yet. I have seen Bailey’s performance as Ariel and can attest that it gives the Disney princess a beautiful new face and, if possible, an even more gorgeous voice. Unlike the original, it takes a while to get to Ariel’s first song, ‘Part of Your World’, but it’s a build-up worth waiting for. Time freezes for a bit the higher Bailey gets up in her dynamic range, creating a goosebumpy ride for a song we’ve heard hundreds of times before but never sung so stirringly. There’s more lovely singing as the film goes on, but this initial intro sets the bar high for everything that follows.

Another surprise I wasn’t prepared for was how good McCarthy is as Ursula. When I first heard of her casting, I felt it was…oh…too expected? Couldn’t Marshall/Disney dig a bit deeper into their creative wells and find a name that would be more exciting? As it happens, McCarthy is a spitfire as the villain, largely eschewing her usual schtick and instead tipping her tentacle to Pat Carroll’s original take on the role. McCarthy can add some of her own shade to the part with her skilled line readings, and her singing is solid, but the overall mood of the interpretation works like a charm.

Marshall fills the rest of the cast with solid actors and good singers. Diggs is a scream as Sebastian, as is Awkwafina, who takes a usually annoying role and makes it memorably funny. Diggs and Awkwafina are saddled with the wackiest of several new songs (written/contributed by Lin Manuel Miranda…still desperate to EGOT by hook or crook) but make it singular because of their delivery. 

More than anything, this new version of The Little Mermaid retains the spirit and soul that has kept the original playing on repeat in homes for the last three decades. It’s swoon-worthy romantic when it is called upon to do so and a five-hanky weepie when the time comes to shed a tear. I should also say that the scary moments back in 1989 (i.e., the shark and the Big Ursula finale) are extra scary here – this leans heavily into a strong PG at times. See it on the most giant screen possible to catch the expressive creatures brought to colorful life by the Disney effects team and hear those earworm Alan Menken tunes at the maximum volume possible.

Movie Review ~ Renfield

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The Facts:

Synopsis: Count Dracula’s lackey R. M. Renfield finds a new lease on life in modern-day New Orleans when he falls in love with Rebecca Quincy, a traffic cop, and decides to finally stand up to his creator in hopes of finally breaking free of his servitude.
Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Bess Rous, Brandon Scott Jones, Caroline Williams
Director: Chris McKay
Rated: R
Running Length: 93 minutes
TMMM Score: (7.5/10)
Review:  In 2017, Universal Studios hoped a modern version of The Mummy would kick off a new Dark Universe and allow them to open their vaults to let their cadre of monsters out to play. Starring Tom Cruise and female mummy Sofia Boutella, the drab movie unfortunately unraveled all these plans before they could even get started, which was unfortunate because the projects in the works sounded kind of fun. (Angelina Jolie as The Bride of Frankenstein? Sign. Me. Up.)   So, the Dark Universe faded away, and the executives have had to rethink their strategy to reinvent their existing IP…because we all know original ideas are hard to come by.

Along with Frankenstein, Universal has always been keen on finding a way to resurrect Dracula in some form. When the enjoyable but dismally received Dracula Untold failed to go anywhere in 2014, plans by the studio to revisit The Count in a larger tentpole franchise were quickly dashed before they could even come up with subsequent titles. Now, with the rise of comic crossover vampire fare like What We Do in Shadows (both the film and television series), we have Renfield, which has taken the unique approach of making Dracula a supporting character, bumping his henchman up to leading man status.

As it turns out, Renfield may be the lifeblood needed to get innovative minds working again for the next stage of Universal Monster flicks. While hardly the most sophisticated (or, let’s be honest, original) take on in the horror-comedy oeuvre, it’s an absolute bloody blast that gobbles up 93 solid minutes of ghoulish fun without making many compromises along the way.

With a nice nod (you could call it a wink) to the most famous Dracula of the past, screenwriter Ryan Ridley and director Chris McKay springboard Robert Kirkman’s original idea forward into the present. That’s where we find Renfield (Nicholas Hoult, Warm Bodies, which has a similar feel) at a support group for those in unhealthy relationships. As Renfield listens to the woes of the men and women with toxic partners, he muses about his neverending bond with Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage, Color Out of Space), a demanding vampire he’s been bound to serve for over a century. 

Due to his last great battle, Dracula is low on power and desperately needs the victims Renfield gathers from his meetings (all the deadbeat boyfriends that get brought up magically vanish after their significant others have a group share with Renfield in attendance) but after decades of mistreatment from his boss, Renfield dreams of being free from his employer. Things get dicey when he picks the wrong ex to whack, taking out one with ties to a powerful mob boss (Shohreh Aghdashloo, Run Sweetheart Run) who sends her goons after him, unaware that he has protection up his sleeve that’s literally out for as much blood as he can drink. Can Renfield survive long enough to get an exit interview with Dracula and not burn a bridge, or will his relationship with brusque cop Rebecca (Awkwafina, Crazy Rich Asians) get them all packed up in a coffin that never sees the light of day again?

There’s an old-school, throwback feel to Renfield that will give viewers the kind of significant thrill often missing from this genre. The action sequences (incredibly gory to such an extreme that they become visual jokes in and of themselves) are creative and staged with an eye on the funny bone, and Ridley’s script has had all the excess shaved off. What remains is a trim picture that works like a well-oiled machine on paper and is amped up by a cast of funny players and gilded by the lily of Cage, bringing his gonzo energy to the role of Dracula. It’s well known this is a character Cage has longed to play, and the further into the movie we get, the more we see how perfectly pitched an actor like Cage is for this role. Cage and Hoult work off of one another nicely, and their rapport is a prime factor as to why it’s believable this oddball pair has become inseparable over time.

I enjoyed Renfield’s attempt to think outside the box, building off what we already understand of the Dracula legacy and molding it with a present-day twist. If it falters, it’s in the finale, which doesn’t feel as well thought out as the first two acts. That’s likely due to some studio tinkering because you can feel some corporate shenanigans at work that curiously drain creative juices that had been flowing nicely up until that point. At least by then, you’re too invested in shaving off many points from the good graces Renfield has found itself in. With a wealth of humor and buckets of viscera to please hungry audiences, hopefully Renfield signals a positive bar raising in Universal’s latest attempt to mash their monsters into something fresh.

Movie Review ~ Raya and the Last Dragon

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The Facts:

Synopsis: An ancient evil has returned to the fantasy world of Kumandra and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people.

Stars: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Benedict Wong, Izaac Wang, Alan Tudyk, Lucille Soong, Patti Harrison, Ross Butler

Director: Carlos López Estrada, Don Hall

Rated: PG

Running Length: 108 minutes

TMMM Score: (6/10)

Review:  It really is fascinating to see how far animation has come, specifically Disney animated features, over the last three decades.  As hand-drawn animation was being phased out in favor of the faster speed of computer rendered movies that could produce stunning life-like characters, Disney managed to have their cake and eat it too when they brought Pixar into the fold while maintaining their own feature animation department.  For a while, it was Pixar that ruled the roost and turned out motion pictures of high caliber that recalled that Disney renaissance of the late 80s/early 90s that all but saved the studio.  The hand-drawn side had measured success with strong films but it wasn’t until the one-two punch releases of Frozen in 2013 and Moana in 2016 that made it clear there was still life left in the format.

Evolving from simply bringing classic fairy tales to life, the studio has listened to their audiences around the globe and continued to create work that represents people from all walks of life from shore to shore.  Now, instead of asking “What bedtime story are they bringing to the screen” we ask “what country/culture are they using as an influence this time around?” and I think that aside from it being a necessary business move it shows a company changing with the times and leading the way, not struggling to catch up with their competitors.

That’s not to say each film is easy.  Take Raya and the Last Dragon for example.  This new feature went through some interesting press as it made its way to a release since first being announced back in 2018 thanks to a small bit of business regarding the voice casting of its lead female.  Though she had originally auditioned back in 2019, Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) was not cast as Raya, a young warrior princess on a quest to restore order to a divided land.  The original actress that was cast wound up not bringing the kind of maturity the filmmakers had wanted so they returned to Tran a year later and Tran re-recorded the role.  It’s not the first time Disney has done this (2015’s The Good Dinosaur was almost entirely scrapped after it was completed and redone from the beginning) but it was interesting that they could have had Tran all along but opted in another direction first.

Inspired by the culture and communities found in the Southeast Asian islands, Raya and the Last Dragon is an original story from your usual full table of writers that contributed bits and pieces and rewrites over the course of production, but it is surprisingly full in its mythology and storytelling.  Hold on tight because the opening narration from Raya swiftly relays via flashback the history of the land of Kumandra and how it became split into five separate tribes after evil spirts named the Druun ripped through the bountiful landscape.  This was a time of dragons that drew on their own magic to protect the people of Kumandra from being turned to stone by the Druun that continued to terrorize the land.  In doing so, they fell victim to the grasp of the evil entity and the magic was transferred to a single dragon that finally unleashed the might of the power and restored balance.  The people were saved but divided and the dragons were no more.  Only the power source of their magic remained, housed in a glowing orb held in a sacred temple by one tribe.

Continuing in flashback, we see how Raya’s father (a mother is never mentioned), the leader of the tribe and tasked with protecting the orb, only wishes to unite the five tribes again but his efforts fall on ears that won’t hear, bringing out the worst in the visiting leaders.  During this visit, young Raya bonds with Namaari, the daughter of another tribe leader but the friendly interaction turns unexpectedly sour.  True intentions are revealed and in doing so sets into motion a tidal wave of events that have long lasting repercussions for everyone, sending Raya on a quest to the ends of the mighty rivers in search of answers from a source only spoken about in legend.  By the time she’s found the right river’s end, she meets the dragon Sisu (Awkwafina, The Farewell) that holds a key to uniting the tribes…but a familiar foe from her past has also been seeking the mythical creature and will stop at nothing to get what they want.

To summarize any fraction of the remaining plot of Raya and the Last Dragon would be impossible in the space I’ve allotted for myself here and would reveal too much of the unique characters of the real and imagined kind the Disney animators and directors Carlos López Estrada and Don Hall have in store for viewers.  It’s a more complicated plot than most and younger viewers may find it harder to follow from a story perspective, though I can imagine older adults will find the addition of a narrative that involves more political maneuvering and topical contemplations on community agreement that are strikingly reflective of our own current woes quite intriguing.  It also finds time to have the typical Disney humor and the laughs are welcome among some of the darker subject matter.

As expected, the animation work is stunning and not only is the amount of detail that can now be displayed totally mind-blowing, but some scenes look like an actual live-action film and I still am on the fence if it really wasn’t.  Was it?  With the story taking up our attention and the visuals leaning toward the overwhelming, it’s the voice work that tends to be a little lacking in this one.  That’s not faulting the actors in any way, but the focus just isn’t there as much as it has been in other films.  Tran has the right balance of passionate fight within her and sensitive care that she shares outwardly; clearly the filmmakers made the right choice to use her.   In smaller roles, Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians), Daniel Dae Kim (Hellboy), Sandra Oh (Tammy), and Benedict Wong (The Martian) are pleasant but, again, never ‘pop’ like I’m used to voice talent doing in the past.  Only Awkwafina drums up some energy with her line readings and you can’t help but hear a little bit of Aladdin’s Genie in the performance…which is fine…but it’s definitely there.

Lacking the kind of big moment that were defining pieces of Frozen and Moana, I’m not sure where Raya and the Last Dragon will wind up within the Disney Animation roster when the rankings are reshuffled.  It has the prestige of a well-honed plot and is one of the classier screenplays Disney has produced in some time, but in other ways the film has a flatness to it that it can’t quite rise above.  It achieves a beautiful moment of harmony right at the end…but by that time we’ve waited nearly two hours for that tug at our hearts and for Disney, that may be too long of a wait.

 

If you catch Raya and the Last Dragon in theaters, you’ll also see Walt Disney Animation Studio’s first animated short in five years, Us Again.  For those watching the movie at home, Us Again will be available on Disney+ in June!  Check out my review of Us Again here.

31 Days to Scare ~ Paradise Hills

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The Facts:

Synopsis: A mysterious boarding school perfectly reforms wayward girls to fit their surroundings’ exact desires.

Stars: Emma Roberts, Eiza Gonzalez, Awkwafina, Danielle Macdonald, Milla Jovovich, Jeremy Irvine

Director: Alice Waddington

Rated: NR

Running Length: 95 minutes

TMMM Score: (6/10)

Review: When Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives was first published, in 1972 it came at a time when the women’s liberation movement was starting to gain greater momentum on a national level and the book served as a good reminder that conformity could be downright dangerous.  Adapted as a chilling movie in 1975, the term “Stepford Wife” became a term used to describe a woman who appeared submissive to her spouse – not the nicest of terms.  A 2004 remake tried hard to update the social satire for a different generation in the new millennium but studio tinkering and behind-the-scenes turmoil turned the film into a sour mess.

There’s a whiff of Stepford hanging over the new release Paradise Hills but don’t go looking for extreme similarities between the two because this is better than just another reimagining of that original text.  Written by Nacho Vigalondo and Brian DeLeeuw working from a story by director Alice Waddington, it takes some ideas from Levin but largely cuts its own path in creating a creative narrative.  Waddington, a Spanish artist making her feature directing debut, contributes a highly visual film that doesn’t compensate flair for plot.  It’s artsty-fartsy but still takes time to connect the dots.

Kicking things off with a glam wedding designed to the hilt, Waddington takes some inspiration from Tarsem (The Cell) in her camera movements and attention to details in the foreground and background.  It’s nuptials day for Uma (Emma Roberts, We’re the Millers) and while she smiles, greets her guests and sings a song for her new husband, something doesn’t seem quite right.  Later that evening we’ll find out why but not before flashing back several months to Uma arriving at Paradise, an isolated island she’s been sent to for refusing to marry the man her parents set her up with.  Independent and single-minded, she loves another (Jeremy Irvine, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) and wants to live free from the constraints of her family and societal norms.

Ruled by the Duchess (Milla Jovovich, Zoolander 2), Paradise is a tranquil finishing (more like re-finishing) school wealthy families can send their daughters to if they are in need of a little attitude adjustment.  Maybe they need to lose weight like Chloe (Danielle Macdonald, The East), perhaps they struggle with anxiety disorder like Yu (Awkwafina, The Farewell) or, in the case of famous pop singer Amarna (Eiza Gonzalez, Welcome to Marwen), they could just need a break from mainstream culture.  At first, the courses administered are designed to change their outward appearance but things take a darker turn when the inward feelings are targeted.

As the girls get closer they begin to see the island and its presiding Duchess have a devious plan for them all, one that’s been hidden in the depths of the labyrinthine estate they live in.  When girls start disappearing and the Duchess begins to demonstrate some rather strange behavior that seems to have a direct impact on the island’s flora, Uma leads her new friends in a plan to escape before their nightmare stay in Paradise becomes permanent.  Unable to stay awake through the night to explore what is being kept from them, Uma and Amarna team up to find a way to outwit the authority figures and get to the bottom of what seems to be coming for them.

While not as outright a horror film as I could see it tiptoeing around at times wanting to be, enough of the action is steeped in mystery that you can’t help but feel its occasional electric charge when it uncovers another clue.  The solution is fairly obvious but the answer isn’t as simple as you’d expect.  The performances are strong throughout, with Roberts continuing to hone her skills and improving with each role she takes on.  I especially liked Jovovich playing a quasi-fairy tale queen with a sinister edge.  If this had been made ten years ago, I could easily have seen Jovovich in the Roberts role.  Though hampered by some limitations in budget and issues with follow-through of the intriguing ideas it introduces, it succeeds more than I anticipated it would.

Movie Review ~ The Farewell

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The Facts:

Synopsis: A Chinese family discovers their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies.

Stars: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Ines Laimins, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong, Jiang Yongbo

Director: Lulu Wang

Rated: PG

Running Length: 98 minutes

TMMM Score: (10/10)

Review: In recent years, I’ve come to be mighty skeptical of any movie that has buzz coming out of the Sundance Film Festival. Though the fest has produced several hits throughout its time, lately its been more infamous as a birthing place where great, good, and so-so movies without distributors get gobbled up by studios who then don’t know what to do with them. The great ones see their releases totally bungled, the good ones rarely find a wide-release, and the so-so ones usually get the most eyes on them.  Thankfully, most of the just plain bad ones disappear quickly into your streaming service library.

This year the two movies that I heard the most about were female-led and female directed. The first to arrive was the moderately well-reviewed comedy Late Night, starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling. Though it was positioned well by Amazon Studios as counter-programming to the summer blockbusters that were in full swing when its June release date rolled around, it tanked. Big time. So big that its rumored jobs were lost at Amazon Studios and a complete revaluation of their film acquisition policies in progress. As much as I would have liked to see that film do better business considering the stars, I kind of get why it didn’t catch on. Though it had laughs, I didn’t leave the theater wanting to tell my friends about it.

The same can’t be said about the other Sundance favorite now arriving in theaters. I’m telling all my friends, family, co-workers, and even a few people off the street that look like they’d be up for it about The Farewell. Lulu Wang’s semi-autobiographical dramedy is the absolute most winning film I’ve seen all year, equal parts comedy and drama and never less than 100% authentic in its emotions. It’s a film that starts strong and just continues to build and take root in your heart over the next hour and a half. If a PG rated film like this can’t get families (with older children) into the theater and be a sleeper hit of the summer, then nothing can.

While waiting to see if her grant proposal is approved, a thirty-year-old struggling writer in New York City arrives at her immigrant parents house to do, what else?, her laundry. It’s here Billi (Awkwafina, Crazy Rich Asians) learns her beloved Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) is dying of terminal lung cancer. Her father (Tzi Ma, Skyscraper) is grief-stricken while her mother (Diana Lin) explains to Billi that the family has decided not to tell Nai Nai about her diagnosis but instead will gather in China to say their goodbyes under the pretense of a shotgun wedding for Billi’s cousin. What’s more, Billi can’t come along because she won’t be able to keep the secret. Recognizing this will be her only chance to say goodbye, Billi makes her way to China several days after her parents, surprising them and threatening to upend the plan.

Over the course of the multi-day wedding celebration, Billi gets an education about China’s cultural complexities of withholding a terminal diagnosis from a loved one and how it’s not just about “lying” but about showing respect for their final days. Additionally, she finds a greater understanding of her parents difficult immigration to America and grapples with the ripple effects it had on her upbringing. While Nai Nai stresses over crab being served at the wedding instead of lobster, her family is agonizing over making sure she doesn’t accidently see her test results and finding a way to say good-bye without actually saying it.  As the family participates in numerous traditions leading up to the big day, we get a small insider view of Chinese culture and, while certainly not comprehensive, it’s valuable to be a fly on the wall for many of these celebrations, discussions, and remembrances.

Though it sounds like the makings of a dreary, teary film (and trust me, there are tears), Wang’s film is overflowing with life and demonstrates an assured way with comedy as well, drawing laughs from unlikely places and characters. Much of the comedy comes from the differences between cultures and customs but there’s a fair share of one-liners that are howlinginly funny. Family reunions are stressful enough and with emotions dialed up, everyone is on edge and that leads to a number of funny sequences and some especially awkward wedding speeches.  All of the moments feel unexpected and off-the cuff, never straying into the saccharine areas we think they’re going to go and which they maybe might have the tendency to lean.

Known for her stand-up and previous comedic roles, Awkwafina does, if not a complete 180, then a 165 degree turn as Billi. Finding a way into the comedy without being the center of it, she also doesn’t grit her teeth to get into the drama of the film either. This feels like an actress taking on another role and knocking it out of the park, not simply a comedian stretching outside her comfort zone and achieving an unexpected bullseye. Tzi Ma and Diana Lin are wonderful as her parents, both getting key scenes with their daughter that tell us much about their life and love for their family, with Lin specifically tackling a difficult arc accepting responsibilities for how she raised Billi. The real standout here is Zhao Shuzhen in a performance that has Best Supporting Actress (or at least a nomination written all over it). Warm, wise, and always with a twinkle in her eye, each frame of film she’s in is enriched by her presence and each line of dialogue is of sage import. It’s fairly unforgettable, as is her final scene.

Sure to be the best film to come out of the lackluster summer of 2019 and absolutely the one of the top movies of the year, The Farewell is a real treasure to be treasured. I haven’t stopped thinking about it nearly a week after I’ve seen it, nor can I stop telling people how good it is. Opening in limited release before expanding wider, this is one to keep your eyes open for because I have the feeling this is the “little film that could” hit everyone has been waiting for.

Movie Review ~ Crazy Rich Asians

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The Facts:

Synopsis: This contemporary romantic comedy, based on a global bestseller, follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s family.

Stars: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Lisa Lu, Sonoya Mizuno, Chris Pang, Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Remi Hii, Nico Santos, Jing Lusi, Ken Jeong

Director: Jon M. Chu

Rated: PG-13

Running Length: 120 minutes

TMMM Score: (9/10)

Review: So here we are in the final weeks of summer. The kids are getting ready to go back to school and adults (at least this one!) are breathing a sigh of relief.  As far of summer movies go, over the course of the last few months we’ve had some highs (Avengers: Infinity War), some lows (Book Club), and some downright stinkers (Breaking In). If you asked me a few weeks ago what would be the best film of the summer my vote would have been Mission: Impossible – Fallout. I mean, that Tom Cruise vehicle was a real corker, firing on all cylinders and delivering a massive jolt of adrenaline…a perfect formula for a memorable summer blockbuster.

Well, right before the summer season finish line we have a late breaking champion that swooped in and stole the Best Of prize from Cruise and company. Yep, Crazy Rich Asians is, for me, the best film of the summer and the one I think you’ll have a lot of fun at. It’s been quite some time since we’ve had a movie this fresh and satisfying, a romantic comedy that’s effervescent but not operating twelve feet in the air. It’s a grounded, well-made film that’s exuberantly fun and endlessly charming.

Though I failed to make it through Kevin Kwan’s bestseller (the first in a trilogy) before seeing the movie, I knew enough to see that Crazy Rich Asians stays respectful to its source material. Readers will remember the zinger of an opener set in the past that leads directly into the present where we meet economics professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu, Sound of My Voice) and her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding, the upcoming A Simple Favor). Nick wants Rachel to accompany him to Singapore for a friend’s wedding and to introduce her to his family. Though Rachel has met some of Nick’s friends already, meeting the family is a whole other ball of wax and it’s an invite she’s eager to accept.

It’s not until they are seated in a deluxe first class cabin on their international flight that Rachel starts to realize her boyfriend is a tad more well-off than he has led her to believe (remarking at how frugal he is, Rachel says “You even borrow my Netflix password.”). Turns out Nick Young’s family is well known throughout much of Asia and they haven’t even touched down in Singapore before nearly the entire country knows of their arrival. Over the next week of celebrations leading up to the wedding, Rachel will meet Nick’s tradition-minded mother (Michelle Yeoh, Morgan), his adoring grandmother (Lisa Lu, The Joy Luck Club), his cousin Astrid (Gemma Chan, Transformers: The Last Knight), and a whole host of other relations both crazy and rich to varying degrees.

Much has been made that Crazy Rich Asians is the first studio film with an Asian cast set in the present day since 1993’s The Joy Luck Club and it’s a headline worth taking note of. Thankfully, the film doesn’t hang its hat just on this distinction but instead presents itself as a fully-formed, gorgeously made, romantic comedy that feels almost immediately like an instant classic. The characters are broad but relatable…even if you’ll likely be drooling at the kind of opulent lives they lead. The comedic entanglements from screenwriters Peter Chiarelli (Now You See Me 2) and Adele Lim are familiar but delivered with a zest that clears away any stale smell of retreading clichés, and the message about tradition/home/family feels exceedingly timely.

Director Jon M. Chu (Jem and the Holograms) has fashioned a handsome looking film that feels like every single dollar was put up on screen. With no huge names in the cast, the budget went intro production design and the movie benefits hugely from it. Not that the cast is bargain-rate by any means. Wu is a fantastically contemporary leading lady, a smart woman of today that doesn’t lose herself within the confines of visiting a culture very different from her own. Newcomer Golding is a real find (and the product of a lengthy casting search) and the chemistry he has with Wu and the other cast members is electric. Chan has an interesting arc as Nick’s sister in a difficult marriage and by the time her storyline wraps up expect some applause as she delivers a killer takedown. Yeoh has a fine line to tread between being too much of a villain when she’s not really a bad person and she expertly navigates this minefield with class and in countless glam gowns. Keep your eyes and ears open anytime Awkwafina is onscreen as she steals scenes even more than she did in Oceans Eight earlier this summer.

From it’s eye-popping displays of the lifestyles of the crazy, rich, and famous to its smart soundtrack featuring Asian remakes of pop songs, this is a movie that knows exactly what it is and who it’s for. Even better, this feels like it was made for one type of audience but winds up likely appealing to many more. If this does well we can hope not only for a sequel but for studios to wise up and greenlight more projects with casts that represent our world.