Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Chinese-American
New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), a NYU economics professor who has been
dating the handsome, sensitive Nick Young (Henry Golding) for more than a year,
will be traveling with him, to his Singapore hometown to be at his friend’s
wedding, and he wants to take the opportunity to introduce his family to Rachel
— a big step in their relationship. But when they land, Rachel hastily discovers
he comes from one of Asia's most wealthy, prominent families. A commoner among
the social elite, Rachel becomes a target for single women vying for Nick's
attention as well as for his judgmental mother Eleanor's (Michelle Yeoh), who
doesn’t pelt her constant disapproval towards her. Chinese-Americans feel a
tension with friends and family back home who regard them as too westernized.
Eleanor, the family matriarch, is displeased with the kindly, thoughtful Rachel
entirely because she has grown up in America, viewing her as symptomatic of all
the ways that her son has turned his back on Chinese tradition. Never mind that
Rachel was raised in poverty and had to work hard to achieve everything she
has: in Eleanor’s eyes, she’s merely a self-centered American distracting Nick
from his destiny of taking over the family empire. Rachel and Nick have a
flirty, adoring rapport that makes it easy to root for them to overcome his
family’s objections, thus in my perspective at a certain finale point Crazy
Rich Asians finally gets around to arguing that Rachel and Nick’s love
outweighs material possessions. Crazy Rich Asians is a party stuffed with
laughs, tears, romance and opulence — pity someone decided to invite so many
clichés to the soiree as well. In my perspective rambunctious crowd-pleaser,
director Jon M. Chu succeeds when he allows likeable leads Constance Wu and
Henry Golding to work their charm. Hence it clarifies to me that ‘Crazy Rich
Asians’ takes best comedy in critics as it parodies the gauche opulence of
stereotyped Asians as well as it undercuts the modern-day Cinderella story’s pathos
and warmth by hassling us with an endless avaricious worldview, implying the
universal question; whether love or money matters more. But mostly, the comedy
is breezy, smart and tethered to issues far more universal than the obscenely
rich high-society milieu would suggest.
On arrival
to Singapore, Rachel visits her college friend, Peik Lin (Awkwafina) who
discloses to her ‘These people aren’t
just rich, they’re crazy rich’, and the Young family as an extended network
in which pride and prestige are the ultimate determinants of a given lineage's
social capital. Every one of the characters is acutely aware of his or her
place in an array of hierarchies. Nick’s desire to explore a relationship with
Rachel on equal terms, unimpeded by his elevated social status, soon proves
naive, especially once his hyper-vigilant mother Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh) gets
wind of it. Eleanor however instantly dislikes Rachel, because in spite of her
Chinese-ness, “Pursuing one’s passion.
How American”; she
sees in her ambition and passion; traits that an American upbringing encourages.
And as an American-Born Chinese, Rachel has been brought up with differently.
Hence one of the central tensions in the movie: sharing the same ethnicity
doesn't mean you share the same culture;
Thus in my perspective Eleanor’s attempts are to state that Rachel and
Nick’s relationship isn’t compatible due to their differences in almost every
aspect, specifically between Eleanor and Rachel.
“So, have you prepped Rachel to face
the wolves?” Astrid(Gemma Chan), Nick’s sister who’s more than in amicable
terms with Rachel, and entirely accepts her into her embrace as a family
member, is anxious about Rachel; that she inspects from Nick whether he’d
warned her of the predators in this, opulent elites world; which she proves to
have had experience with. At
Araminta's bachelorette party, Rachel encounters Amanda, who reveals she is
Nick's former girlfriend and hints Rachel may not be able to integrate into
such a high-class family with her lower background. Rachel finds her hotel room
vandalized by the other girls, who deem her a gold-digger, but is comforted by Astrid.
Thus romantic stakes are misinterpreted as gold-digging aspiration only by
judgmental snobs, whereas for the couple at the mercy of gossiping meddlers and
suspicious relatives, dizzying wealth and all its attendant clubby insularity is
an obstacle to be surmounted.
“It's because we know to put family
first, instead of chasing one's passion.” Eleanor wants Rachel to see the sacrifice she made, doing
what was expected of a dutiful wife and giving up her passion in order to raise
her son. Money may be the surface
distraction here, but the true theme is family — and what it means to Asian
culture in particular. Rachel may be an embodiment of the American dream,
having been raised by a single working-class immigrant mom, but her lack of
family ties is an issue with the Young clan, whose many generations are
assembled for the occasion. Eleanor criticizes Rachel’s American-ness to be
independent and follow once dreams; consequently in my perspective it proves
the clash between cultures and views. Apparently Jon doesn’t fail to prove the
universal complications when it comes to matrimonial propositions; in
intertwined with the plights of the characters. Also unlike most Hollywood chick flicks or romcoms,
this movie adaption lends emotional depth to its characters and understands why
they say what they say. For instance, Eleanor’s skepticism about her son’s
girlfriend doesn’t solely stem from Rachel’s ordinary background. Her thinking
mirrors society’s age old outlook towards women. If a woman isn’t willing to
pick family over career, she isn’t good enough.
“You know, I bet if you told her
you’d leave Nick for like a million dollars, she will write that check. They do
that around here.” Peik
Lin demonstrates in her conversation with Rachel regarding Nick’s highly
attached to traditions family, the dramatic clichés often seen in typical Asian
romantic dramas; thus Jon also tags some ironical stereotypical labels to
Asians; in a way making the film a romantic comedy, satirizing racist
perspectives.
Following a
series of endeavors, Rachel is led to a heartbreaking dilemma as she’s
disclosed into her hidden unknown family history, “We cannot be linked
to this sort of family.”; due
to Eleanor’s endless schemes to demonstrate her unworthy to link their family. “Marry me, and we’ll start a new life
together in New York” at a
certain point in the film, Nick’s blind, true love is implied when he proposes
to Rachel, with a vow that if she accepts to marry him, he’ll leave his whole
family behind just to be with her. Such reciprocated love, makes Rachel reflect
Nick’s own happiness before hers. Showcasing the sights and sounds of
Singapore and a girl’s struggle to fit in, the film subtly speaks of breaking
norms and accepting people for who they are.
“I just love Nick so
much. I don’t want him to lose his mom again.” Rachel proves the film to be
a fairytale romance set in contemporary times that cleverly exposes class discrimination
and our need for social acceptance. So it’s refreshing to watch a movie that
can get along fine with a heroine who doesn’t need saving. She just wants to
continue loving Nick, who loves her back. Crazy Rich Asians is a ground breaker
for lots of reasons, but having a woman at its center that grows and becomes
stronger without compromising her own moral center in the midst of unimaginable
glamour is one of them. Even
before any actual talk of wedding bells is broached, multiple forces are conspiring
to separate Singapore's golden child from the perceived interloper. Thus it's
the heroine who doesn't know the identity of the man she's fallen in love with.
And finding out proves a pretty traumatic experience for everyone involved. But
as with most fairy tales, things do work out in the end. In this version, we're
invited to ponder the differences between two contrasting cultures when it
comes to matters of the heart: the Asian values of loyalty and family, and the
American values of individuality and passion. Both sets of ideals have their
strengths and weaknesses.
Crazy Rich
Asians is a pretty good romantic movie released in 2018; even suitable to be
watched in 2020. It’s romantic comedy that describes the struggle of lovers due
to their cultural differences. Despite its conventional story, 'Crazy Rich Asians' is a pretty romantic
ride, rich in emotions and Asian in its sensibility and values. It will make
you believe in love and what’s meant to be, will be. But with their love so
great, their struggle to get a very beautiful ending, very touching. The movie
is less satirical in tone than the novel; as a result it has the necessary
depth of feeling to make us root for the beleaguered lovebirds to beat the odds
and make a go of it. I was elated to identify with the struggle of juggling
parents’ approval with feelings for a partner. It elucidates to me, while Crazy
Rich Asians seems to be hitting all the right notes with its funny,
feel-good factor, it is
not a perfect film, but it has the potential to open doors for more Asian-led
projects. And it’s a film that, for once, allows Asian women to just slide the
glass slipper on, even for a moment.
Crazy Rich Asians
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