Movie review: Crazy Rich Asians
All Singaporeans must, no, need to watch Crazy Rich Asians.
Not just for the movie itself, but for what it means.
I get choked up over the bittersweet fact that this is the first Hollywood movie in 25 years since The Joy Luck Club to feature an all-Asian cast, how a whole generation of Asians weaned on the products of Tinseltown grew up never seeing themselves represented in full force on the big screen.
And I still get goosebumps thinking of how it is also the first Hollywood movie to be set and shot mainly in Singapore - and one that makes us look so good on the international stage.
Crazy Rich Asians is far from perfect, but so was Black Panther, yet the target audience's hunger was not to be denied.
Like the Marvel superhero blockbuster, it is a cinematic milestone worth celebrating.
Not just with words (rave reviews do help of course), but action.
Manifest your support by buying a ticket to boost the profit margin, which guarantees that sequels are greenlit and even more Asian-centric narratives enjoy their day in the sun.
Crazy Rich Asians is an unabashedly frothy, fancy and feel-good Cinderella story, one that has been trotted out ad nauseam over decades of romantic comedies, just transplanted into Singapore and populated by an attractive, sexy, charming and funny pan-Asian cast.
Wu and Golding make for a pleasant central couple, but it is the supporting characters that are most memorable.
As Nick's formidable mother Eleanor, Michelle Yeoh kills every scene she is in, but the viewer is the one who will be floored by the penultimate segment where Rachel and Eleanor face off over a thrilling game of mahjong.
And Gemma Chan is incandescent as Nick's socialite cousin Astrid Leong, the one woman who actually may have more fans than protagonist Rachel.
The criticism about how Crazy Rich Asians doesn't reflect the real Singapore and lacks representation of other races is also debatable, because it's meant to be a satirical fantasy.
Of course I wish there was more Singaporean-ess and Singlish, but director Jon M. Chu strikes a nice balance amid the limitations.
The books zero in on obscenely wealthy Chinese people, itself a niche segment of Singapore society anyway, and it would be inauthentic to shoehorn other ethnicities just for the sake of political correctness and diversity.
Maybe Singapore-born author Kevin Kwan's big sin was not naming it Crazy Rich Chinese in the first place. - 4 Ticks
MOVIE: Crazy Rich Asians
STARRING: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina
DIRECTOR: Jon M. Chu
THE SKINNY: Chinese-American economics professor Rachel Chu (Wu) travels from the US to Singapore to meet her boyfriend Nick Young's (Golding) family, only to find them to be among the wealthiest in Singapore.
RATING: PG13
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