what makes crazy rich asians the perfect airplane movie?
aka i glaze this movie like there’s no tomorrow
if you’re on tiktok as much as i am, then you’ve no doubt seen videos of people getting on a plane, queuing up crazy rich asians (2018), reclining their seat, and hitting play. there’s a practically universal understanding that crazy rich asians is The movie to watch on any flight, which, in the immortal words of one carrie bradshaw, led me to wonder:
what was it about crazy rich asians that made everyone agree that the best time to watch it was when you were thousands of feet in the air?
a phrase i’ve seen used a lot when describing crazy rich asians is “airplane movie”, so first, i wanted to define for myself what a airplane movie is. planes have movies, duh, but not every movie on a plane is an “airplane movie.”i believe an airplane movie is something easy to watch. there is a simple plot with simple stakes, and it’s an easy way to make the flight feel just a little bit shorter. in addition, i’m in economy1, so everyone’s densely packed together. an airplane movie needs to be one that won’t lead to an uncomfortable conversation if, say, the 10-year old in the row behind mine’s eyes start to wander. so challengers? movie on an airplane, but not an airplane movie. mamma mia? airplane movie. the zone of interest? VERY MUCH NOT AN AIRPLANE MOVIE.
but back to the actual point of this piece. im a man of science (as well as someone who had nothing to do on a 16 hour flight from new york to hong kong) so my investigation into the ultimate airplane movie began.
i should quickly disclaim before we keep going: i really, REALLY LOVE crazy rich asians. it was honestly one of the first movies ive seen where i went “yeah, this is my favorite movie” afterwards, so ill probably come off a bit biased whenever i talk about this movie.
the ultimate definer of an airplane movie is how easy it was to watch it, and i think crazy rich asians is a perfect “let your brain coast and enjoy the vibes” movie. everything flows pretty smoothly and quickly, especially towards the back half of the movie (the wedding —> confrontation —> rachel’s depressive episode sequence is just hit after hit). the plot is simple enough, with the main plot of rachel and nick and the small side plot of astrid’s marital troubles. both of these wrap up nicely at the end, and the good guys prevail over the evil. crazy rich asians really lives up to the “crazy” part of its name, as it feels like im watching a soap opera at times, especially with some of the more cartoony antagonist characters (bernard tai, araminta’s posse, and i think an argument can be made for eddie). the movie also sometimes uses tacky graphics and transitions2 to move the plot along, but because the premise of this movie is about people who are already over-the-top, im willing to overlook it.
also, the acting in this movie is great. i know people are pretty hit or miss on awkwafina, but i think she was the perfect person for peik lin. and nico santos? underrated as hell. go watch superstore.
so yeah, though this movie really just rang up every asian person in hollywood they could find, i think it’s worth it, because who else could properly show asian culture on the big screen? well, i guess scarjo could…but no matter.
the movie’s snappy pace doesn’t just stop at the writing itself (shoutout adele lim! <3), it also includes the music. the score is so deliciously jazzy. i don’t often care about specific songs off movie scores, but you can catch me bumping text ting swing (aka the song that plays as all of singapore finds out nick has a girlfriend) anytime. and the soundtrack is gorgeous. every song in this movie is so beautifully performed and timed within the story that it’s hard to imagine the scene it’s in without it. colin and araminta’s wedding wouldn’t have hit so hard without the cover of can’t help falling in love with you. party scene with a bunch of asian people? well, obviously you need a big band cover of 我要你的愛. just like how this movie stars a character who’s a blend of western and eastern cultures, the soundtrack has a few chinese covers of western songs (material girl and yellow by coldplay), making it accessible to all audiences.
music tangent aside, the second criteria for “airplane movie” is “stuff a 10 or 75 year old could see and not be totally weirded out by.” minus a few raunchy scenes with kitty pong and bernard tai and the scene with the gutted fish, i think crazy rich asians is, generally, visually inoffensive.
tl;dr: whether you’re flying 6 hours or 16, or if you need a way to make time pass by a little quicker (like, say, if you’re waiting for the sequel to be announced…), maybe it’s time for another screening of crazy rich asians.
unless this suddenly takes off and i can start affording first class 👀
tho maybe im j weirded out by them because it’s kind of been a while since ive seen stuff like that in a hollywood movie. we need to bring back silly graphics.
great as always mags
You forget that airplane movies have to be generally absurd to some degree 🤪