By: Gabby Lewis, Co-Editor-In-Chief
“The only thing crazier than love is family.”
Over the past few years, the movie industry has been working towards creating diversity in its films due to the call for more representation in Hollywood. Since The Joy Luck Club in 1993, there hasn’t been a film centered around Asian American actors and actresses and Asian culture in a modern setting. However, that all changed with Jon M. Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians.
The film centers around Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), an economics professor who flies to Singapore to accompany her boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), to his best friend’s wedding. She discovers that Nick’s family is among the richest in the country, and the world of two separate classes collide when she meets Nick’s mother, Eleanor Sung-Young (Michelle Yeoh), who opposes their relationship because of the difference in their social status.
As a romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians illustrates how love is more important than anything that status and wealth can provide, and it can overcome even the biggest differences and traditions when it truly matters. The story fully integrates modern Chinese culture into its entire plot and emphasizes the importance of family through Rachel and Eleanor’s conflict. While Eleanor worries that Nick and Rachel’s relationship will ruin the family’s legacy because Rachel only belongs to the middle class, Rachel understands how significant Nick’s family bond is and is even willing to make a sacrifice to keep him with his family. The movie also shows different types of familial bonds with and without blood, like Rachel’s close relationship to her mother Kerry Chu (Tan Kheng Hua) and Rachel’s friendship with Goh Peik Lin (Awkwafina).
In addition, the movie also incorporates another theme: the empowerment of women. Most of the major characters are complex women who mature throughout the entire film and stand up for their beliefs such as Rachel Chu herself, Eleanor, and even minor characters are just as well-written, such as Nick’s cousin Astrid Leong-Teo (Gemma Chan) who learns to be proud of herself and not give up her identity in order to make others feel more superior. In fact, the Youngs headed by Nick’s grandmother who acts as the family matriarch.
Constance Wu, known for playing Jessica Huang in Fresh Off The Boat, makes Rachel Chu a strong young woman who learns to stand up to Eleanor’s prejudice and does anything necessary for the sake of keeping Nick’s family together. Even though she’s been playing a mother for several seasons, Wu transforms seamlessly into a young, New Yorkian professor. Wu took to Twitter to express her excitement about the film’s release. She wrote, “I hope Asian American kids watch CRA and realize that they can be the heroes of their own stories.”
With an entirely Asian cast, including Ronny Chieng, Ken Jeong, Harry Shum Jr., Sonoya Mizuno, and Awkwafina, and a soundtrack featuring old-fashioned and modern songs in different forms of Chinese, director Jon Chu truly submerges the audience in Chinese culture and sound with everything they see and hear from the film. According to Wu’s earlier referenced tweet, Chu said, “[T]his is more than a movie. It’s a movement.” Crazy Rich Asians has changed the Hollywood film industry by bringing a story focusing on a minority to a widespread audience, and it tells a heartwarming story about family and empowerment. With the immense success in its opening weekend, Chu already plans on releasing a sequel. If you’re looking for a movie to laugh and make you cry from joy, Crazy Rich Asians will definitely be the one for you.