'Crazy Rich Asians' tops Box Office
It’s the first Hollywood production featuring an all-Asian cast in 25 years since “The Joy Luck Club” in 1993. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- It stars Constance Wu and Henry Golding in a love story complicated by his dazzling wealth and treacherous mother.
- Powered by jubilant reviews and pent-up demand for a major Hollywood film led by Asian stars, it took in a strong sh4 billion ($39 million) at North American theatres and landed easily at number 1 in its first week.
With Asian actors so often forced into roles where they either serve as the butt of a joke or a sexualised object of desire, the groundbreaking film “Crazy Rich Asians” arrives as Hollywood is being pressured to feature greater diversity on screen.
It’s the first Hollywood production featuring an all-Asian cast in 25 years since “The Joy Luck Club” in 1993. As a result, “Crazy Rich Asians” was seen as a watershed moment by many Asian-Americans, echoing the emotional manner in which African-Americans responded in February to “Black Panther” which was rooted in black culture.
It stars Constance Wu and Henry Golding in a love story complicated by his dazzling wealth and treacherous mother.
Powered by jubilant reviews and pent-up demand for a major Hollywood film led by Asian stars, it took in a strong sh4 billion ($39 million) at North American theatres and landed easily at number 1 in its first week.
SEQUEL
So it's no surprise that the Asian-American community is rallying behind this film, which is reportedly getting a sequel directed by Jon M. Chu.
Asian representation in American pop culture has been, well, terrible, and we understand the stakes of this film. Its success could open the door to a demographic that hasn't always got a fair share in media.
That includes the whitewashing of Asian characters like “Ghost in the Shell” Major Motoko Kusanagi, played by Scarlett Johansson.
The movie stars Wu as Rachel Chu, an Asian-American professor at New York University, who visits Singapore to meet her boyfriend's relatives only to realise they make up one of the wealthiest families in Asia. The movie follows her struggles to win the approval of the family's matriarch and fit in with the crazy rich folk.
While the film offers a glimpse into the world of the super-rich, it never forgets to ground itself with relatable, likable characters. Wu offers a strong, sympathetic portrayal of an outsider trying to fit in, while newcomer Henry Golding's Nick Young exudes charisma.
Michelle Yeoh plays the matriarch of the Young family as less of an archetypal "tiger mom," and more a woman with a history and understandable motivations. Its humour comes in some of the weird antics rich people get up to.
