Crazy Rich Asians movie cover
“Crazy Rich Asians”— which is based on Kevin Kwan’s novel, Crazy Rich Asians— has made news. It’s is the first movie with an all-Asian cast since 1993, which was the release of “Joy Luck Club.” It has also currently hit over $34 million in the box office according to Vox, and is certified by Rotten Tomatoes at a 92% rating, which was previously at 100%.
The movie has also become the first romantic comedy movie in three years to have a box office debut of over $20 million.
Historically Asian characters in movies or TV have been known for being portrayed by white actors. A recent example of this would be Scarlett Johansson in “Ghost in the Shell.”
If Asian actors were on the screen, they were usually given a purple streak in their hair, to show that they were edgy or rebelling against cultural stereotypes, which was recently debated on social media.
“Crazy Rich Asians” gives the chance for Asian actors to show the world that Asian characters can be in Hollywood too, and not misrepresented by actors of different races.
The director, Jon M. Chu, has directed a few movies such as “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” and “G.I. Joe: Retaliation.”
Additionally, notable actors in the movie are Constance Wu, who is in the TV series “Fresh Off the Boat,”Awkwafina, who acted in “Ocean’s 8,” and Michelle Yeoh, who has appeared in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” and “Kung Fu Panda 2.”
The movie centers around Rachel Chu, played by Constance Wu, and her boyfriend Nicholas Young, played by Henry Golding, who are going to Singapore to visit Nicholas’ friend’s wedding and parents. What Rachel does not know is that her boyfriend comes from one of the richest families in Singapore.
The movie placed a heavy focus on the difference between being Asian and being Asian-American, which is a theme many people who come from immigrant families, not just Asian-Americans, can relate to.
The movie gave more screen time to certain characters not fully developed in the book, and took away screen time for other characters in the book, which was interesting. This not only fixed some plot holes from the novel, but gave a different perspective to the movie which can make it more interesting for people that have already read the novel. Some viewers might have found the movie easier to follow than the novel, or more light-hearted as it was more of a romantic comedy than a drama, which the book tended to portray itself as.
Additionally, the scenery in the movie was intricate, grand, filled with color and accurately portrayed the luxury of Singapore. For example, there was a heavy focus on food towards the beginning of the movie, which Jon M. Chu had to fight for, since he believes that food is a large part of Asian culture.
One of the only problems with the movie were a few awkward scenes; this was Henry Golding’s first time acting in a movie, which was slightly obvious in a few scenes between Nicholas and Rachel.
There has also been some controversy surrounding the lack of representation for other Asian races and not just East Asians, but Golding has described the movie as only the start to more frequent and accurate representation for non-white characters in American media.
According to HelloGiggles, he has said that the movie is unable to represent everybody, but the films that will be able to represent the other Asians will come and hopefully the success of “Crazy Rich Asians” can help lead to that.
With the amazing plot, beautiful scenery, and historic cause, “Crazy Rich Asians” is definitely a movie to watch this fall. It has the potential to continue the growing diversity and representation in Hollywood.
