Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy which, having come out quite recently, has found success in box offices across the United States, making over $117 million. Rachel Chu, an economics professor who is an American-born Chinese woman and Nick Young, Rachel’s boyfriend, both go to Singapore for Nick’s best friend’s wedding. While discussing Nick’s family, whom Rachel has never met, she makes it a point to meet them. Rachel is then subjected to cruel, old fashioned ideals by Nick’s extremely wealthy family.
Regardless of one’s cultural background, “Crazy Rich Asians” offers a universal take on contrasting old fashioned ideals regarding social status and wealth. The movie had an interesting take on Asian culture, as well as what it would be like to be a “Crazy Rich Asian” in the country of Singapore.
Before watching this movie, I had heard much excitement around it, which I assumed was because it is the first Hollywood film in 25 years to feature an all-Asian cast. While I never actually read the book, I assumed it to be a dramatic Cinderella-like love story. It was, to my surprise, very comical. The movie supplied a bundle of rich humor with the mixture of sass; for example in one scene, Peik Lin Goh (Rachel’s friend) and her father Wye Mun Goh spoke during a lunch get-together. Rachel said, “Let me get this straight. You both went to the same school. Yet someone came back with a degree that’s useful, and the other one came back as Asian Ellen.” This comedy made it enjoyable for most teens and adults.
For those who have not been to Singapore, this film had a bit of insight on what their culture is like as a rich Asian. It was very interesting. Examples include the food and the preparation of that food, and in one scene, the game mahjong, which is a tile-based game that was developed in China during the Qing dynasty, being played toward the end of the movie by Rachel and Eleanor Young (Nick’s cruel mother).
As the movie concludes, one gets a certain understanding of what it is like not to be accepted in any situation, which gives the feeling one must prove themselves worthy of something, regardless of your difficulties, race, or how rich you are. Rachel, an accomplished economics professor, captures the difficulties of being a common person to a rich person.
Altogether, I would rate the movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. The movie portrayed an average person dealing with the struggles of acceptance. In this case, the struggles were wealth and social status.
