In April 2017, Filipino "Queen of All Media" Ms. Kris Aquino excitedly revealed that she had landed a role in a Hollywood film adaptation of Kevin Kwan's best-selling book "Crazy Rich Asians." That may have been the first time I heard about the novel, but this news excited me, as it did the whole country. When the first trailer of "Crazy Rich Asians" was released in April 2018, we did not see Kris at all, further whetting the mystery of her cameo in the film. To be completely honest, I wanted to watch this movie just to see Kris Aquino in it.
This was the first Hollywood movie with an all-Asian main cast since the film version of Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club." It seemed so opportune that the release of "Crazy Rich Asians" would happen on the 25th anniversary of the release of Wayne Wang's beloved film back in 1993. Timely yes, but also this also highlights the reality of how slow the progress of casting Asian actors in major Hollywood roles had been over the years.
Rachel Chu was brought up by her single mom Kerry who immigrated from China to the US for a better life after her husband died. Rachel is now an economics professor at New York University. Her boyfirend Nick Young invited her to go with him to Singapore, where he will be the best man at his friend Colin's wedding. When Nick booked the VIP section of a plane for them to fly home, that was the only time Rachel realized that Nick belonged to a very rich family. When in Singapore, her friend Peik Lin helped her prepare to meet Nick's family. Rachel's first encounter with Nick's mom Eleanor was very icy, as expected.
Constance Wu is 36 years old and already played the role of a mother of three boys in the TV sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat" yet here she is playing a 20-something ingenue (and pulled it off). Wu gave Rachel a palpable sort of maturity (to deal with all the indignities she was subjected to) and confidence (to confront the odds and hostility she faced). Rachel's final face off with Eleanor at the mah-jongg parlor (where the game paralleled her major real-life decision) was Wu's most memorable and impactful scene (especially for those who knows how to play mah-jongg, like most of us).
Henry Golding is a 31-year old British-Malaysian actor on his first major film role. He had an ethnically-indistinct look with a trace of Asian, but definitely not pure Chinese. Golding possessed all the qualities of a fantasy ideal husband for all the ladies in the audience. Handsome and well-built, he had Nick Young's billionaire aura around him the way he carried himself, but despite this, he also radiated kindness and humility. With Golding, the production showed the world that Asian men are credible as Hollywood leading men.
Michelle Yeoh as Eleanor was the perfect portrait of the proverbial fierce Asian tiger mom. She would go to lengths to protect the interests of her son (no matter how old he already was). Her resistance to Rachel was obvious from the moment they met. Her disapproval may have only been implied at first, but it would not take long for her emerald-studded claws to come out and go for the kill. And boy, was she relentless and vicious!
Lisa Lu played the supreme matriarch of the family, Nick's Amah or grandmother Shang Suyi. She is 91 years old this year with a silver crown of hair, and she can still own the screen whenever she is on. 25 years ago, Ms. Lu was in the cast of "The Joy Luck Club" as An-Mei Hsu, the mother of Rose Hsu Jordan (played by Rosalind Chao).
There were a number of attractive actors of Asian descent who played Nick's relatives and friends. Chris Pang and Sonoya Mizuno played the groom and bride-to-be Colin Khoo and Araminta Lee. Gemma Chan and Pierre Png played Nick's ultra-glamorous cousin Astrid and her ex-military turned businessman Michael Teo. Remy Hii and Fiona Xie played Nick's movie producer cousin Alistair and his sexy social-climbing girlfriend Kitty. Jing Lusi played lawyer and Nick's ex-girlfriend Amanda.
Awkwafina played Rachel's kooky Singaporean friend Goh Peik Lin. The Goh family were "new rich" and they were comically portrayed here for their gaudy tastes and ostentatious show of wealth. Ken Jeong and Koh Chieng Mun played Peik Lin's wacky parents, and Calvin Wong, as Peik Lin's creepy brother P.T. Other Asian comedians in the cast were: Ronny Chieng (as Nick's cousin Edison, a banker who was obsessed with social status), Jimmy O. Yang (as Nick's friend Bernard, who planned Colin's offshore elaborate bachelor party on a barge) and Fil-Am Nico Santos (as Nick's cousin Oliver, responsible for Rachel's glam makeover), .
Kris Aquino appeared only briefly during the wedding scene. Dressed in an elegant yellow gown, she played the mysterious Malaysian Princess Intan, who did not want anybody else to sit with her on her front-row pew. That she was actually able to engage the princess in a lively conversation about economics was Rachel's first major statement of confidence against Eleanor and the other snobs of the Young family seated behind her. It was a turning point, yes, but I was hoping Kris' Hollywood moment would last longer than that.
This movie was practically a 2-hour episode of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" in Singapore. Of course, there were super-opulent settings, like the bachelorette party on the island of Langkawi to the wedding ceremony at the CHJMES, the reception at the Supertree Grove at the Gardens by the Bay to the final party on the rooftop of the Marina Bay Sands. The soundtrack of Chinese songs and US Top 40 songs translated into Chinese (like Madonna's "Material Girl" and Coldplay's "Yellow") was very interesting as well. Director Jon M. Cho brought in the kinetic style from films he had directed before like the "Step Up" sequels, "GI Joe: Retaliation" and "Now You See Me 2".
The conflicts about a poor girl marrying a rich guy had been the main topic in various film and TV melodramas probably since the beginning of the motion picture medium itself. People do not seem to tire of this cliched relationship conflict, as is just spun around in many different ways and genres (family or historical drama, animated, musical, telenovelas, etc...) to make it seem fresh. The interesting thing about the central conflict in this film is the additional ingredient of Asian culture and sensibilities that gives it its distinctive flavor that we in Asia will really appreciate, specifically the Chinese.
Among the Chinese in the world, there are distinctions between native Chinese from mainland China with Chinese overseas. Within Chinese overseas, there are distinctions between Chinese in Asia and those from America. With a single line delivered in Hokkien, Eleanor subtly revealed the most probable reason why she was not the favored daughter-in-law in the Cantonese Young family. The depiction of these intra-cultural, intra-family politics made "Crazy Rich Asians" an incisive social commentary as well about the Chinese, which the whole world will find most fascinating. 8/10.
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