I haven't read the novel but it feels like it was written from a novel - it has a strong array of characters who are well fleshed out. The driving force is only slight - man introduces girlfriend to family - but so was Jane Austen, which this reminded me of: what it's really about is a dissection of society, in this case upper class Singapore.
It is very upper class - I enjoyed the food and fashion porn to a degree but after a while I started wondering "gee there would be a lot of servants for all this probably being paid $50 a day if that" and I don't want to be woke about this truly but it dig bug me... because it's not just things it's events which need a lot of staff.
Anyway, that aside this was a lot of fun - director John Cho really nailed it. The script is good, well structured, lots of little things pay off eg mention of a private eye, and it seems (through my white Anglo eyes anyway) to capture the culture. The characterisations are vivid - the handsome prince hero, the modern day princess heroine (widowed mother, college professor), the gay BF, the wisecracking BF, the bitchy ex... actually writing all that out I'm going "these are tropes" but having them played by Asians and be Singapore characters (except for the American princess) gives it immense freshness. It looks gorgeous.
I loved all the Aussies in it too like Ronnie Cheung and Remy Hii. Constance Wu and Henry Golding deserve to become front-tier stars - actually so does Awkwafina. Great fun.
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