In Crazy Rich Asians, Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) is set to fly to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) to attend his best friend’s wedding, and finally meet his family. On their way from New York to Singapore, Nick finally reveals to Rachel that he is the wealthy heir to a real estate empire run by his infamous Singaporean family. Faced with this new information, Rachel must combat suspicious and judgy relatives, jealous socialites, and Nick’s disapproving mother Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh).
The first thing about Crazy Rich Asians that catches your eye as a viewer is, appropriately, its visual aesthetic. It is an extremely stylish film full of rich, vibrant colors, high fashion, flashy décor, and even an eye-popping font style on much of the location and title cards throughout the film. This is appropriate considering the film’s themes that explore the perils of image as it pertains to wealth and how image causes the characters at the center of the plot to treat and view others, and ultimately how they come to view themselves. This theme is explored through two couples in the film, both the main coupling involving Rachel and Nick, and the relationship between Nick’s cousin Astrid (Gemma Chan) and her former military officer husband Michael (Pierre Png) who like Rachel, also comes from humble beginnings. Rachel and Astrid’s story arcs in the film show the effect that wealth can have on how you may feel about yourself vis-à-vis others, but in different ways. For Rachel, it was her lack of a wealthy background in comparison to Nick that brings much strife to not only their relationship, but how she is made to feel once she arrives in Singapore to meet his family. As her family origins of being the immigrant daughter of a single mother becomes known to Nick’s family, we’re treated with the disdainful looks of pity she receives as well as escalating accusations of being a golddigger. After a year of bliss being attached to Nick, once their class stratification becomes clear, Rachel is left wondering whether she is the right woman for him and whether their love and devotion to one another can survive the outside judgement of others; a concern and thought that had never crossed her mind until the knowledge of Nick’s privileged lineage became apparent.
For Astrid, her conflict with class stratification also came with her romantic relationship, but from the opposite side of the spectrum. Astrid’s immense wealth and access to material things cause a ripple in her marriage because of how this reality caused her husband Michael to view himself. Her shopping habits, which she attempted to hide from him, only reminded him of his lower position on the socioeconomic totem pole; breeding resentment that would fester and brew throughout their marriage. For Astrid and Michael, wealth caused him to feel less than a man, as if he didn’t matter nor measure up to what Astrid cared for or needed. Astrid felt the need to hide her access to wealth and shrink herself in order to assuage Michael and lift him up within their household. Both Rachel and Astrid’s experiences bring into focus the immense impact that one’s financial standing can have on their sense of self-worth, how others feel about them, and how their presence makes others feel about themselves. The issue of class in a hyper-capitalistic society separates and classifies people into boxes where certain behavior is expected and limitations are placed on what and who they can be. Those who inhabit lower rungs on this ladder internalize their diminished standing, wondering what their true worth is and where they belong, as Rachel struggles with at certain points in the film. Wealthier people like Astrid, and Nick, who do not take their privilege to heart and wish to remain down to earth also develop a self consciousness about their class standing, hoping to hide it so they may not be judged in the opposite, but just as limiting, way.
An aspect of this film’s release that cannot be separated from any analysis of it is the fact that Crazy Rich Asians is the first mainstream American film with a cast composed exclusively of actors of Asian descent since the 1993 classic Joy Luck Club. This insanely long wait provides an added importance, and bit of pressure, to this film’s release. The mere presence of Crazy Rich Asians at multiplexes around the country and what that means to a demographic long underrepresented in American cinema will, and should, color reactions to, and conversation around, the film. Crazy Rich Asians is full of subtle cultural cues and significance that although I couldn’t immediately recognize, I was aware was presence just by using common sense (i.e. the Chinese versions of popular songs that were sprinkled throughout and a nice touch) and taking into account the reaction of the many Asian viewers who made of the audience of my screening. As mentioned in my BlacKkKlansman review, 2018 has been a notable year in black cinema. In watching films like BlacKkKlansman or Black Panther, the themes presented in those films held extra resonance and I am sure were also more easily identifiable to me as a black man than they were for people of differing backgrounds. My ability to recognize and understand these culturally specific aspects definitely informed the weight and strength of my reviews as a result; for instance, I liked and rated Black Panther much higher on my list of the year’s best films than other, non-black cinephiles and critics have. I kept this in mind as I left Crazy Rich Asians thinking of it as simply a pretty good romantic comedy while my Asian American friend from the gym that I happened to bump into after the screening was beaming ear to ear, exclaiming that she had just seen her family onscreen. While I did like the film and rank it pretty high on my year’s best list as of the time of this writing, I do recognize it’s greater importance for a specific community at large. And that’s ok. As reactions pour in upon this film’s release, having such disparate views is to be expected. As Hollywood figures out its diversity problem and a greater influx of culturally specific films make their way to theaters, many people, both audiences and critics alike, must accept that everything can’t be for everyone. Some things will speak to others more loudly and more specifically, while you may have to observe from the outside; able to pick up some things and miss others. And that’s ok. This expanded accessibility for others will make the art of cinema itself more accessible to more people. And what’s more grand than sharing the magic of film-making, the wonder of human imagination made observable and real, with as many people as possible?
Crazy Rich Asians consists of a huge ensemble that, although tough to keep track of in moments, is capably acted by all who appear. Constance Wu is the emotional heart of the film and shines in the starring role, hopefully serving as a launching pad for more work front and center of the camera (note: I am an unapologetic Fresh Off the Boat/Constance Wu fan who has been pulling for a rise to fame for the actress). Michelle Yeoh’s steely mother-in-law of nightmares is expertly played and really moves the film’s narrative of class forward and is the source of its tension. Gemma Chan’s performance as Astrid and the emotional turmoil from the other side of the class divide that it represents is also well done and a highlight of the film. Awkwafina, who stars as Rachel’s best friend from college Peik, adds a dose of comic relief along with golden cameos from Ken Jeong and Calvin Wong as her father and brother. Crazy Rich Asians manages to add a bit of freshness to the rom-com genre and hopefully continues to allow the push for diversity in film to continue forward.
Image: Warner Bros.
