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On August 7, 2018, Warner Bros. went into history by presenting the premiere of his new romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. This film, based on Kevin Kwan's novel in 2013, is a big deal for the Asian-American community as it is the first film in 25 years to feature an entirely Asian-American cast. The film grossed $ 143.9 million, received rave reviews from critics, and will have a sequel; but does the film live up to its hype?
The film begins in 1995 when Eleanor Young (played by Malaysian actresses Michelle Yeoh) takes her family to a posh hotel in London, England. The staff at this hotel tries to discriminate against their family until they realize that the owner of their establishment sold the place to the Young family. In 2018, we meet Rachel Chu (played by Taiwanese actress Constance Wu), a professor at New York University, invited by her boyfriend Nick Young (Malaysian actor Henry Golding) to take part in the wedding of a friend. It is during this evening that she realizes that she is dating a member of one of the richest families in Singapore.
The film has all the nonsense of your standard rom-com, in the context of tropical Southeast Asia, in a world where extravagant mansions, exotic cars, and raging parties are the norm. While the scenes of "crazy rich people" are ridiculous and excessive, the film still manages to give a serious message about some of the problems that many Asians overseas are dealing with. Rachel Chu faces the rejection of her boyfriend's mother, as she believes an Asian-American immigrant is not worthy of being part of his ultra-rich Singaporean family and old money. This problem is just one of the many problems that Americans of Asian descent sometimes encounter when they return to their ancestral homeland. The most poignant scene is that of the "Mahjong Lounge," where Rachel plays mahjong with Eleanor. The scene shows the struggles between a commoner and a wealthy member of the elite in a deeply symbolic way. The film, perhaps unintentionally, also shows the differences in wealth between other Asian nationalities. Although all wealthy Asians are Chinese or Malaysian, their servants are Indian or Indonesian. The book itself actually mentions that the Young family hired Filipino domestic workers.
Beyond the deep messages that the film wants to convey, "Crazy Rich Asians" is always a funny and crazy movie.
The film has many appearances of Asian celebrities. Rachel's friend, Goh Peik Lin (the Korean-Korean rapper Awkwafina) is absolutely hilarious and adds many colorful moments to the film. Astrid, Nick's cousin, is performed by Gemma Chan, an Anglo-Chinese actress who appeared inDoctor Who"and"Sherlock". Nick's classmate, Bernard Tai, is portrayed by Hong Kong actor and comedian Jimmy O. Yang, who also plays in the HBO sitcom.Silicon Valley ". Kris Aquino, a Filipino personality from the ABS-CBN TV channel, also appears as the Malaysian princess Intan.
Overall, I think this film is an important step to bring more visibility to the Asian-American community. Let's hope this film encourages more Asian-American filmmakers to make movies about their life experiences.
Eastern Echo Grade: A, Must See
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