Movie Review – Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

The film Crazy Rich Asians which premiered on August 1 2018 in the United States shortly after its release at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles was a major critical and commercial success but, it was more than just a cinematic representation of a romantic comedy. The film was a critique of social distinctions among people of varied fractions.The story revolves around Rachel Chu played by Constance Wu, the lead female protagonist, and her quest for acceptance and attempt to fight cultural shock in her community. A lecturer at a campus in America of Chinese descent she goes to Singapore with her fiancé Nick played by Henry Golding, the lead male protagonist. Imagining a modest house, spending time wandering around the island with the man she loved but she is taken aback when she discovers Nick to be a billionaire with a lifestyle of  unimaginable luxury.

The novel-adapted movie was dubbed “Hollywood’s Glass Ceiling Breaker” since it reflected optimism in the Asian-American community despite encounters of social stratification, classism, relationship issues, as well as a desire for love and acceptance. It drew a lot of attention because it featured the first Asian-based cast in Hollywood in 25 years, following The Joy Luck Club. Coming from Kevin Kwan, who comes from an old-money family in Singapore, it delved into his roots to humorously set the novel in Singapore with the tale of the rich.

The movie begins as a narrative of social distinction and hierarchy in London (in 1995) when Eleanor Young played by Michelle Yeoh, young Nick, and her family arrive at a private hotel. She is immediately faced with racist remarks when she askes for access to her room which was already booked earlier, primarily because she was Asian. The hotel manager in his remark “I am sure you and your lovely family can find other accommodation elsewhere. May I suggest you explore Chinatown?” evidently suggested that Asians belong in Chinatown and that luxury private hotels were out of their league. It is when Eleanor buys the hotel with immediate effect, leaving the staff dumbfounded, that the effect of wealth on social distinctions become evident.

Rachel, unlike Nick and his family, was a typical American-born Chinese girl. Her mother is an immigrant single mother, and her father died before she was born. Rachel’s job as an economics professor at New York University (NYU) fits the typical minority stereotype. She goes through a cultural shock upon witnessing the living standard of Nick’s family. Rachel’s first encounter with Eleanor, Nick’s mother is rocky. For Eleanor Rachel is too American and her family history is questionable. Even before Rachel was born, her father was absent from the picture, and when her mother first immigrated to America, she barely spoke any English. The rest of the family were aware that Rachel did not come from a wealthy family but Rachel herself did not anticipate that meeting Nick’s family would be so difficult for her.

The movie while captivating as a romantic-comedy also draws attention to class distinctions.  In contrast to her Singaporean college roommate Goh Peik Lin played by Awkwafina, who is comically portrayed as nouveau riche, Rachel comes from a working-class background. Class as a social stratification creates a community within a community. Rachel was a role model for a decent daughter-in-law but she is questioned since she does not come from the appropriate “heeled” family. The dialogue of Eleanor Young’s “you will never be enough” to Rachel makes it clear.

However, the film portrays other aspects of Eleanor’s character, she is not the typical negative character, rather, on the contrary, her strictness towards Racheal comes from the emotion of maintaining her social image which she has worked hard to gain and thus has a sting of wariness towards accepting Rachel. The film also touches on the values of relationships and self-respect, towards the end when the character Astrid who is Nick’s cousin decides to separate from her husband Michael because she discovered his extramarital affair and shows him the mirror of how his ego and insecurities became the reason for the falling family. On being questioned about where she would take shelter, she promptly replies to any one of her owned apartments, which highlights the importance of financial independence and self-worth.

On knowing Rachel’s American background, Eleanor takes a jab at her, specifically stressing the unwillingness of Americans to put their families before themselves. This is proved incorrect when Rachel returns the mahjong tile and reveals that she rejected Nick’s wedding proposal so that he doesn’t have to make a decision between love and family, proving her willingness to place family over self. This clearly projects the values and importance of family as well aspoints out the importance of balancing between individualism and family.

However, the film is not without flaws. The misrepresentation of the Singaporean populace was among the key flaws that people were quick to point out. Singapore is a multicultural country with residents from countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. Although they were portrayed as being of the working class, brown or non-Eastern Singaporeans were sought after within the cast. In fact, the notion that Asians can have lighter skin tones is reinforced by this film. The cast was entirely Asian, but only East Asian.

Thus, more diversity could have been present in the movie as Asians come from a variety of nations, each with its own accents and morals, own beliefs, colour, and so on. Furthermore, it is vital to remember that the movie does not attempt to portray the entire Singaporean community because it focuses on a very successful Chinese-Singaporean family. However, the fact that in place of portraying stereotypical roles in which female Asian actors are normally seen as the vengeful dragon lady, the obedient China doll, or the geeky overachiever for decades, the film sparks conversation on issues that are frequently disregarded or barely mentioned among them the difference among diasporic and mainland Asians. In Singapore Rachel is surrounded who look like her but her diasporic upbringing makes her stand apart from them. The most significant take way from the film therefore is that Asians are not a monolithic community something that is very evident in a cosmopolitan environment like Singapore.

Ankita Sen,

Intern, Asia in Global Affairs

References

• Crazy Rich Asians Is Going to Change Hollywood. It’s About Time by Karen K. HO, August 15, 2018
• Asian Representation in Film: The Impact of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, February 8, 2019
• Crazy Rich Asians: The film burdened with ‘crazy’ Asian expectations, by Tessa Wong, August 18, 2018