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It takes a lot to get me out to a movie anymore. It literally had been years since my sister and I went to see a movie on the big screen. But earlier this week, we went to see Crazy Rich Asians and loved it. In fact, I would like to see it again.
This film opened just last week — the first major Hollywood movie in 25 years to feature an all Asian cast (the last one was The Joy Luck Club in 1993 and I think before that you go all the way back to Flower Drum Song in 1961). How delightful it is that Crazy Rich Asians immediately surpassed financial expectations, earning $34 million in its first five days and has now topped $50 million. Not bad for any sort of rom-com, and like the success of sci-fi blockbuster Black Panther earlier this year, a sign that inclusion is really, really good for business.
Crazy Rich Asians is based on Kevin Kwan's bestselling book of the same name. The heroine of the story, Rachel Chu, is a twenty-nine year old professor of economics in NYC. She’s been dating another professor, Nick Young, for the last two years. Nick decides he wants to take her on a trip around Asia for the summer, starting in Singapore where he grew up. Nick’s best friend, Colin Khoo, is getting married and Nick is his best man. So the plan is to go to Singapore, have Rachel meet Nick's family, go to the wedding, and then travel around the region. What Nick doesn’t tell Rachel is that his family is one of very old money — they are fabulously, “crazy” rich, actually — and that this wedding is going to be the social event of the century in Singapore because Colin Khoo is a fellow scion of a very wealthy, influential family. Rachel, on the other hand, comes from a very modest background. Her widowed mother came penniless from China, with nothing but her baby in her arms. Mrs. Chu worked in very menial jobs in the U.S. for years until she earned her real estate license and entered the middle class. She is understandably proud of her daughter Rachel who got her PhD from Stanford and is doing very well in academia.
The plot of this film (and the book on which it is based) is a twist on the Cinderella story. Here, the handsome Prince takes Cinderella to the ball without her knowing beforehand what she is getting into. The mean people of the fairy tale are represented by all the women in Singapore, both old and new money, who have designs or plans for Nick — beginning with Nick’s mother. Oh, there are a few allies for Rachel. Her good friend from her Stanford days, Peik Lin, is from a wealthy Singapore family. Nick’s cousin, Astrid, had met Rachel before in New York and liked her very much. And the self-described “rainbow cousin”, Oliver, has Rachel’s back. But other than for them, Rachel will be among very vicious sharks who want to see Rachel's relationship with Nick end. Fortunately, Rachel is a very smart woman of great integrity whose specialty in economics is game theory. Your heart will be in your throat as you watch her thread her way through a seemingly impossible situation without losing herself in the process...*
Like the book, the film is a breezy romantic comedy — pure escapist fun with a gorgeous setting. It is really well cast, beautifully directed and pretty faithful to the novel on which it is based. In all respects it is a solidly excellent movie with a robust rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But it is much more to me for a couple of important reasons. The first is the matter of inclusion. The second is what it has to say about the rich.
Inclusion! This movie has been a major emotional lift for Asian American people who have waited for years to see faces like their own on the big screen like this, not just in supporting roles but in lead roles — romantic, complex, and sexy roles. Twitter has been alight with expressions of pure joy about this aspect of the movie. Mind you, Asia is a vast region containing a variety of ethnicities — and Singapore itself has a varied population. This movie is mostly representing people from the Chinese diaspora but even so, it is a wonderful start.
The director, Jon Chu, went through a lot of effort to find Asian talent for this movie. Because there have been so very few roles available for Asians in Hollywood, the bench, as it were, was not exactly deep. So he did something different, something very smart and farsighted — he put out a worldwide casting call via video, inviting two minute YouTube videos from English speaking Asian aspiring actors.
It looks like the sequel to Crazy Rich Asians, "China Rich Girlfriend", is moving forward — so there is even more to look forward to! And casting won’t be such a challenge the second time around.
The fact that movie-goers are so enthusiastic about this film has not been missed by its producers, you can be sure. Check out this interview with them on Entertainment Weekly. Here is a snippet:
PENOTTI: It’s easy to throw the words “watershed moment” around this, but I think it’s exactly that. I’ll tell you that starting not just this weekend but the last four months as anticipation for the film grew, we’ve been pitched some of the most terrific Asian-focused, global films [at Ivanhoe], and it’s just incredibly heartening. We have hired another executive at my company who’s going to focus a hundred percent on [representation]. We’re making sure there’s not another 25-year delay. We just won’t let it happen.
In your opinion, there’s been a definite push for inclusion, then?
PENOTTI: Yeah. Let me be clear: It’s not even chatter. You’ll start seeing announcements, even beyond our company but for sure from us in the coming weeks on films that are absolutely now a reality because this film has demonstrated that there is a voracious appetite for diverse stories. Crazy Rich Asians is just one story. There are countless more.
Yes, inclusion is a winner. In these dark days when white nationalists have marched in American cities (including my own) and racism and misogyny are inappropriately enabled from high places, it is encouraging to see a movie like Crazy Rich Asians do so well. It is clear from the opening that the broader American public loves inclusion and will support it with their pocketbooks. And you know something...I think by extension this bodes well for November elections, as well.
As for the rich people portrayed in this movie, most are far less than admirable. I don’t think I could put it better than Jeff Yang:
But as much of an event as this is for us, the truth is that anyone -- Asian or not -- should see the movie. It achieves what few films in recent memory have accomplished. It reminds us that the ultra-wealthy generally don't live up to the sales pitch that they, Hollywood and the Republican Party have collectively tried to sell us.
This narrative consistently presents the staggeringly rich as different from -- and better than -- the huddled masses….[snip ]
If you're wealthy, you must be a stable genius who's earned and deserves it.
Consider "Crazy Rich Asians" something of a second opinion. Most of the rich folk in the movie are indeed "crazy," if you redefine crazy as "petty, tawdry, narcissistic and devious."
(emphasis mine)
Jeff Yang, "Why 'Crazy Rich Asians' is the right movie for this moment"
Yup, wealth is not, in and of itself, a character reference. Not in this story, not in real life.
So! My suggestion for a weekend entertainment that will help you beat the heat and leave you feeling good, go see Crazy Rich Asians. Consider it an exotic mini vacation in this time of Resistance. Have fun! I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. If you have already seen it, please give your thoughts about the film in the comments!
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* Jeff Yang explains the nuances of the mahjong scene here — Spoiler! Don’t click if you haven’t seen the movie yet!
How Chinese Covers Of Madonna and Coldplay Made The 'Crazy Rich Asians' Soundtrack
The weekend begins now. Come in, be comfortable, and share your day, your weekend plans, your menus! This is an open thread.