The 10 Crazy Ripped Hunks of "Crazy Rich Asians"

I don't usually watch romantic comedies, but Crazy Rich Asians (2018) was set in Singapore, it had an all-Asian cast, and it was based on a novel with a gay character.  Plus it was $2.99 on Vudu, so I figured, why not?

It is definitely bright and glittery, with lots of interesting location shots in Singapore and Malaysia.  But the premise is a bit strained:

Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), who grew up in a poor household, is now an economics professor at NYU, which I don't believe for a second.  She doesn't say anything that sounds the least bit knowledgeable about economics, or for that matter about anything else.  She's something of an airhead.

Her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding, left), a history professor at NYU (I don't believe that for a second, either), invites her home to Singapore to go to his best friend's wedding and meet his back-home crew.  Not until the flight begins does he reveal that he's crazy rich, heir to the biggest financial empire in Asia.

Rachel is introduced to various crazy-rich friends and relatives, all of whom have colorful back stories.  It's hard to keep them all straight; I had to take notes.

 Some welcome her as a potential sister in law, and others aren't aware of her poor origins and keep asking "Are you related to the Taiwan instant noodle Chus?"  But Nick's Mom snubs her as a gold digger.

Like usual soap operas, there are affairs, long-simmering feuds, sabotages, and shocking revelations.  The biggest is that Rachel actually comes from crazy rich money, too: her mother had an affair with some big wig and then fled to the U.S. to avoid the scandal.

There are some gay-subtext scenes: bff Colin (Chris Pang) tells Nick, "If I wasn't marrying Araminta, I'd ask you to marry me."

The only actual sign-wearing gay person is the super-flamboyant Cousin Oliver, who gossips, comments on fashion faux-pas, and out-twees Truman Capote.

Other than the settings, the main draw of this movie is the beefcake.  The crazy rich Asians know their way around a gym.

Here are the top 10 Crazy Rich Hunks:

1. Nick

2. Colin

3. Bernard (Jimmy O. Yang), Nick's "I'm super rich.  I can afford to buy France" friend.

4. Ronny Cheung as one of Nick's cousins.

5. Remy Hii as another cousin.

6, Pierre Png as Michael Teo, who is married to Nick's cousin Astrid.

7. Harry Shum Jr. as Charlie Wu, whose character was actually cut from the movie.  I understand that he appears during the closing credits.

8. Charles Grounds as Curtis, one of the few non-Asians in the movie.

9.Shuhei Kinoshita.

Sorry, I ran out at #9.  But here's Henry Golding again, barbecuing with his buds.