Crazy Rich Asians
Premise - When Nick invites his girlfriend Rachel over to Singapore for a family wedding, she doesn't realize that his family is not only rich, but CRAZY RICH. Nick Young is the heir to the richest family in Singapore, with a huge mansion of strict, Asian family members. Thrown into the world of Asia's most elite, Rachel must prove to Nick's family that she is worthy of Nick's attention and love, despite her ordinary upbringing.
Review - I'll start with the movie because I didn't read the book until much later (see below). This movie dominated the box office during its release! Based on the popular book, and featuring an all Asian cast, it was the subject of a plethora of news articles. I never got around to seeing it in theaters, but always I thought I might end up enjoying it. I especially thought my dad would love it. I see the plot as a hybrid of The Prince and Me and Meet the Parents, except Asian.
I was definitely not disappointed when I finally got around to watching the movie. If anything, it far exceeded expectations. This was not just a high quality romantic comedy, but one with high stakes and implications. I was with another Asian friend of mine who almost couldn't bear watching it because she thought it was "too real." She also grew up around... well, to put it bluntly... crazy rich Asians. The stereotypes are spot on, but varied and nuanced enough to not become caricatures.
The film says a lot about very prominent people, in a very prominent region, that somehow STILL doesn't make mainstream media very often. I'm Asian too, and of course I joke about how there are never any Asians in American cinema, but it's not until you watch a whole film of them that it hits you how refreshing it is. I want more. I absolutely fell in love with Rachel in this movie. I felt so much like I could be her (minus the being able to speak the language part, or the finding a hot billionaire to love me part). This film lets us see sexy Asian men, and beautiful non-sexualized Asian women, and those actors are just NOT utilized enough in cinema.
I could nitpick a little bit about how I really don't like films that prosper on highlighting stereotypes, even if they're nuanced. But if more Asians were in cinema to begin with, this wouldn't be a problem. It's not the film's fault that no Asians tend to have leading roles, and therefore any leading Asian role is going to be thought of as THE Asian leading role.
In sum, I loved this movie. Any movie that can make me cry is a good movie, and I cried when Rachel's mom came to the rescue in Singapore. I was also just hit with an overwhelming sense of wisdom when Rachel was talking to Nick's mom at the end. The thing about racists, misogynists, or any prejudiced people, is that THEY are the ones creating a lose/lose situation. These problems can be easily solved, even made into win/win scenarios, if prejudice is taken out of the equation. It's never been clearer to me than in watching this movie, and I included the quote below (93/100).
Quote - "There's no winning. You made sure of that. 'Cause if Nick chose me, he would lose his family. And if he chose his family, he might spend the rest of his life resenting you."
What to watch for - THE FREAKIN' OUTFITS. I felt the same way watching this as I do watching Gossip Girl, which is to say, I watch it for the outfits. I loved the dresses so, so much. I saved screenshots of them.
EDIT: 5/11/19 I did end up reading the original novel and am now very tempted to read the rest of the trilogy. What started out in the first chapter or two as 1:1 ratio between book and film slowly diverged into something unrecognizable. By the end I was stunned by how different the two stories turned out. I suppose one could say the two mediums follow the same bare structure but many of the details have changed.
The biggest difference between the two is that the film is very much Rachel's story of coming into this crazy, rich world. Alternatively, the book bounces between several different characters, with each chapter telling a different character's perspective. It creates more of an overall picture of Singaporean culture, with Rachel's character being the one counterexample of an American perspective. The book is a contemporary exploration of Asian culture, probably even more importantly than it is the telling of any singular story.
Therefore, in the book, there are far more character explorations for who would be considered "side" characters in the film, notably Astrid and Michael. Even when watching the film, Astrid was a character I was exceedingly curious about. In fact, I wanted to read the book just because I assumed she would have a much more developed character, and I assumed correctly. Much of the book is from her perspective.
Another large difference, tonally, is that the film is this giant spectacle of "oohs", "aahs", and laughs that somewhat distract from the intensity of what it has to say culturally. The film can get quite deep, but not to the level of transparency that the novel does. The novel is still funny, but the dark humor sometimes pushes my ethical limits. The intensity of the characters' immorality went beyond what I consider to be amusing and into just pure discomfort. The racism, oblivion, and total disregard for the negative impact they make on the world environmentally and socially... I don't think these rich people's ignorance is very funny. Even Nick annoys me because while he's incredibly well-intentioned, his oblivion to the amount of money he has and what is done with it is irresponsible. At times, the story is about teaching the audience cultural differences. At other times, it's not cultural relativism so much as objective evil that is being displayed. Some people can reconcile their discomfort by calling this satire, but I think it's just a little too real.
There are countless other differences between novel and film, which make it difficult for me to envision how the sequels will be handled. Overall, due to the humor, visual aesthetic, and singular narrative, I prefer the film, though I may be biased because I watched the film before reading the novel. Regardless, I plan on watching and reading the rest. I'll rate the novel (87/100) and update this entry for the trilogy should I continue. That puts the overall average at (90/100).
EDIT 8/30/19: I just finished reading the second book of the trilogy, China Rich Girlfriend, and am now at even more of a loss about how it could possibly be adapted into a film trilogy. I imagine the story (for lack of a better word, but I'll get to that in a moment) would be far better suited for long-form television, where each novel is told over a season of episodes. It operates far more like a soap opera with multiple, interlacing storylines, than a stand-alone film.
My source for this information is Wikipedia, so who knows about its accuracy, but it sounds as though Kevin Kwan did not originally intend to write a trilogy. Crazy Rich Asians was a stand-alone story, and the addition of two other novels was pressured out of him by publishers. This would not surprise me in the slightest. I did not get any sense of story structure whatsoever throughout this sequel. I was waiting for the arc to hit, but it instead felt like constant exposition. The story cycles between so many different characters that it's just about them and the ongoing development of their lives. This is not terrible as a concept, I just don't see how it would work for film. Rachel and Nick are still lead characters, but no more so than Astrid, Kitty, Colette, or others.
Not to mention that the content itself took away from much of the satisfaction of the original story - seeing a regular girl become accepted by this elite culture. In the sequel, we find out that Rachel's biological father is a billionaire, which makes her equal to Nick's family and thereby eliminates all conflict. The conflict is instead that of her being accepted by her biological family. This is what I imagine a film would center around, eliminating the bulk of the other character storylines. However, the first film was a romantic comedy. This was not a romantic-comedy-esque story. Like the first book, it transcends comedy into truly dark and disturbing satire that makes me irrationally angry with the state of the world. Beyond the standard racism and entitlement of these billionaires, this book involves multiple counts of attempted murder or actual homicide. So... yeah. Soap opera. Also there aren't too many plot points around the Nick/Rachel story to have it stand alone as its own film.
I almost gave up reading the sequel halfway through, once I found out about Rachel's biological father's identity. But I persisted because on principle I finish every story that I start. And I am truly fond of the different characters. I'll read the third, but I can't mask my dissatisfaction with the sequel.
If you enjoyed this movie/book, I'd recommend Gossip Girl!
Written by Kevin Kwan
Directed by Jon Chu
Distributed by Warner Bros.
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