Crazy Rich Asians directed by Jon M. Chu, a pg-13 film, is the first contemporary English-language Hollywood movie that consists of an almost all-Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club. The way this film is received by its audience has huge implications for Asians, Asian-American actors and filmmakers and the Asian-American community as a whole.
Crazy Rich Asians consist of a terrific cast, attractive locations, witty jokes, and a story filled with emotion that will tug at your heart.This movie ended up proving to Hollywood that both stories that are centered around Asians and romantic comedies can coexist in a single film and deserve more attention than it has been receiving. The plot of the film is a shortened version of Kevin Kwan’s 2013 novel of the same name, however, there is a lot of packed into a mere span of two hours. This film has the favorite parts of a romantic comedy and explores class in the midst of a swoony romance.
Even though this film has the same tropes that are a classic of rom-coms, the story feels fresh because the story is foreign territory for Hollywood both literally and figuratively. Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), who is a Chinese-American NYU economics professor decides to go to her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding), the hometown of Singapore to be the best man in his friend’s wedding.
However, Rachel is unaware of the fact that Nick comes from an extremely well to do and wealthy family. She first becomes aware of her boyfriend’s wealth when they travel to Singapore in their private suite on the airplane. Soon Rachel realizes that Nick’s life and social circle in Singapore are wealthier that she believed.
Rachel had been raised by a single mother who had left China to come to America. Nick’s family had come to Singapore from China many centuries earlier and are considered “old money.” His family owns most of the real estate on the island and Rachel finds out about all of this from her old college roommate Peik Lin (Awkwafina).
Nick’s family is extremely close-knit and he has a few cousins who he is friendly with such as and the uptight business executive Eddie (Ronny Chieng) and movie director Alistair (Remy Hii). He is the closest to Astrid (Gemma Chan), who despite being the wealthiest married Michael (Pierre Png) who calls himself a “commoner.” Nick is close to his mother Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh), however, he spent most of his life at his grandmother’s (Lisa Lu) estate.
The arrival of Nick and Rachel in Singapore for the wedding implies that Nick is planning on proposing to her, however, many people aren’t comfortable with that idea. This plot is a setup for an entertaining, eye-popping, over the top spectacle. However, consisting of an all-Asian cast in complex roles changes the film altogether, go against racial expectations and focuses on the voices of a minority.
Besides having an all Asian cast, the movies defies some of the typical characteristics of a romantic comedy. Rachel is not a hot mess, but rather has her personal and professional life together. She has a wonderful relationship with her boyfriend and her mother as well as other women such as Peik Lin.
Even though Rachel is in awe at Nick’s world, she doesn’t submit to its attractive qualities. Nick’s friends and family believes that she is just after his wealth, however, Rachel proves that she just wants Nick, not his money. It is extremely unlikely for a romantic comedy to have a heroine that is independent and knows what she wants rather than be dependent on men. In most romantic comedies, the heroine is a mess in some way.
It’s refreshing and relieving to see a film in which the heroine isn’t a damsel in distress and can stand on her own two feet. Crazy Rich Asians is a movie for everyone to watch. Whether it’s for self-empowerment, parent-child relationships, friendship, or a cute romance, it will end up touching your heart. This movie is revolutionary in many ways, but most of all it shows the journey of a woman who shines to the top and doesn’t lose her true self as she is allured in the high scale lifestyle. I would highly recommend this film because everyone can relate to a part of the story and see themselves in the shoes of the actors.
Your review deeply plunges into the film’s backstory, effectively setting the scene for its introduction as well as introducing many of the main and supporting characters. It does well to distinguish Crazy Rich Asians from other romantic comedies, and sheds light on the film’s significance for Asian and Asian-American roles in mainstream media. Most notably, your review gives an elaborate discussion on Rachel’s character and her significance as a strong and resourceful heroine- a concept that I wished I had better developed in my own review of the film.
This film certainly has captivated the audience with not just the plot of the film, but also with the making of the film. I like how you mentioned that there aren’t that many films that represent the Asian community. I believe that there should be more films like this one made. I agree that it spices Hollywood and adds a bit of diversity to the film industry. I also agree that there aren’t many romantic comedies that display an independent woman. I enjoyed the way that your review flowed with arguments and was backed up with evidence. I believe that there’s more of the film that could’ve been mentioned like the soundtracks, but overall, this was a great review.
I thought your film review was extremely effective not only because it made me want to go watch it right after I read it, but also because it made me think about some of the underlying themes in the film. The flow of your review is really nice, from the very beginning till the end, the themes in the film are developed logically without spoiling anything. The most interesting part was your discussion on Rachel’s character, unique in many ways. I’d love to go watch the film to discover the messages you mention in your film review!