Why you need to watch Crazy Rich Asians
Friends, I have a public service announcement:
RUN… do not walk… to see Crazy Rich Asians. I just watched an advance screening of it, and I’m serious.
Why should you watch this? Here are a few reasons:
1. We can’t wait another 25 years to have an all-Asian cast in a Hollywood movie.
The last time we had a movie with an all-Asian cast was 1993’s Joy Luck Club.
1993.
That means an entire generation of people has grown up NOT seeing their faces, their heritage, and their stories represented in media.
What I love about the book and this movie is that thrusts our humanity into the spotlight. Asian and Pacific Islander stories and our characters are more than the ninjas, the kung fu masters, the nerds, or the exotic unattainable women that gets written and cast by traditional Hollywood and media.
2. Basically all of the Asians in Hollywood are in this movie.
You have Asian-Americans, Asians from Asia, like Filipina Kris Aquino, and even Asians from Europe. Asians are everywhere! And it’s amazing to be able to just visually see them on screen playing beautiful, romantic, funny, endearing, complex, well-rounded characters.
Awkwafina was hilarious. Constance Wu was a class-act. Michelle Yeoh was terrifyingly perfect. Henry Golding was smoking hot. And Gemma Chan was my fav!
3. What I also loved from the book, and enjoyed in this movie, is that it exposes another side to Asian identity.
A lot of the Asian stories we hear about in America are wrapped around the immigrant narrative, and it sounds silly to say, but reading this book is the first time I could actually picture myself in a wealthy person’s shoes. When the only images of wealthy people you see are of old white men, it’s hard to imagine yourself there.
And while the movie focused on ultra upper class Asians (hence the title), there were glimpses of life beyond the crazy rich, and I hope they dive into that in the future.
4. Asian-Americans, and really any “hyphenated” American, will appreciate and empathize with the feeling of being ostracized in both your home in America and your homeland.
This movie does a good job of letting you feel the disconnect of not belonging and the search to find your home. Growing up, the white kids in school would call me racist names, would laugh at the Filipino food I’d bring to lunch, and would mispronounce my name — which is why I shortened it to Rey! (My full name is Reynaldo, FYI.) And as much as I love being back in the Philippines, since I only have about a fifth grader’s comprehension of Tagalog and I speak it with a deep American accent, I stick out like a sore thumb there. My relatives don’t let me forget that. It’s a pretty unique feeling of disconnection, and I’m glad that the movie touches on this through Rachel Chu’s character.
5. There are literally 4.5 billion more untold stories and characters we can pull from.
We need to tell the stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders. We need more API representation in American media. We can’t wait another 25 freaking years for another movie with an all-Asian cast. And it’s become less tolerable to watch non-diverse movies, TV shows, and other media. We can do better, and we’ve got a lot of material to pull from.
Some of the most wonderful parts of the movie are the most mundane scenes (the time they go to a hawker center / open-air food market and ate really delicious looking food, or the time they sit at home and roll dumplings) simply because it was so nice to see something both familiar and also completely different and refreshing for a Hollywood movie.
And lastly, it’s actually a really funny, fun, and effervescent rom-com. You’ll enjoy yourself and send a message to Hollywood that API representation matters.
So join me. Go buy a ticket or two. I’m going to watch it again at next week’s opening, and I want you to come with me.
