In the past week I've seen 3 movies in theaters (yay $5 Tuesdays at AMC!): the summer shark attack movie The Meg, the romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, and the critical darling about preteen malaise Eighth Grade. You may be surprised about which one I loved, which one I liked, and which one I merely found tolerable. Below are my (fairly) quick thoughts on each. Keep in mind that my reviews may contain some spoilers, so read on at your own risk.
1. The Meg: I went into this movie not expecting much in terms of plot or acting, and as expected I didn't get much of either. But this didn't matter one bit, because The Meg is well aware that it isn't going to win any Oscars anytime soon, and it cleverly pokes fun at itself by giving viewers the standard shark attack movie tropes with an added dose of comedy. The reasons that 2 giant megaladons make their way to the surface and begin attacking everything in sight aren't the least bit important. What is important is that the shark attack scenes are wildly entertaining and refreshingly unique. That woman is sure to be safe in the underwater cage, right? Well, only until the meg starts to swallow the entire cage whole with her inside. Let's take a picture with the meg that we just killed, oh wait there's another even bigger meg that's eating the corpse of the first meg. So ridiculous, yet totally edge-of-your-seat entertaining and fun. The one-liners from certain characters, particularly Rainn Wilson as the billionaire owner of the research boat and Paige Kennedy as the wise-cracking black guy who can't swim (a tad bit stereotypical, I know) only add to the fun that you will almost certainly have watching this movie. In particular, your mouth will be completely agape (joyfully agape, if you love shark movies like me) while watching the meg (the 2nd meg, that is) attack a crowded beach, including a wedding party, an unfazed little boy, and a dog.
2. Crazy Rich Asians: Let me start off by saying that it's wonderful how this is the first American studio film with an all-Asian and Asian-American cast in many years (although it's sad that it's taken since 1993's The Joy Luck Club). But this movie wasn't what I was expecting at all. The previews and buzz around the film made it seem like it would be an outrageous and bawdy comedy. But this was a typical rom-com, through and through, complete with the best friend and gay guy helping the girl pick out a dress to meet her future in-laws. I found the central couple Nick and Rachel (Henry Golding and Constance Wu) to be quite boring, and most of their family and friends are beautiful but also bland and forgettable. The one exception is Awkwafina as Rachel's quirky friend; the movie needed much much more of her. The main story of Nick's traditional (and rich!) Asian family not accepting the lower-class Rachel is undeniably touching, exploring themes of Asian vs. American culture, but this wasn't enough to keep me checking the time about halfway through the movie. I will also add, however, that the scenery, wealth, and excess on display in this film was absolutely beautiful to behold. It made me want to visit Singapore ASAP.
3. Eighth Grade: I went out of my way to see this movie because it had been widely praised by critics. Written and directed by former You Tube star Bo Burnham, the film follows the last few weeks of middle school for eighth-grader Kayla (Elsie Fisher). She's painfully shy and awkward, even though she makes You Tube videos pretending to be the opposite. The movie follows Kayla through one cringe-inducing encounter after another: a pool party in which she's only in attendance because the popular girl's mother invited her, talking to the boy that she likes at school, who only wants sex, a trip to the mall with her new high school mentor and her friends. Just when things are looking up for Kayla, she's almost sexually assaulted in a car. Poor girl! The film is clever in its use of music (a sexy rock song plays whenever Kayla's crush comes onscreen), and Fisher is a gifted actress who is definitely going places, but the film itself is so depressing that it makes you feel depressed and generally upset about how people treat each other in the real world. Which is generally not how people want to feel when they go to the movies.
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