Review of Crazy Rich Asians (2018) by Bootsyfever — 24 Nov 2019

A film like Crazy Rich Asians is manufactured to play on women’s desires that leads to unreasonable expectations on men. I am not speaking on the fantastical “love” aspect of the film, it would be great if the film was about Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and her desire to be with Nick (Henry Golding) but due to Nick’s family it’s not easy. But deep down that’s not what the film is about. So what is it about?

It’s about the glitz and glamour of being incredibly rich. It’s about a woman’s fantasy that one day the man they are with will invite them to Singapore to meet his family and it turns out his a billionaire. So Sally whose been with Dave for 2 years is about to meet his Mum in Texas. She is expecting them to fly first class and rock up in a Mansion. Instead it’s a two bedroom apartment and she finds out that Dave has $120,000 in student loans. Sally is going to subconsciously resent him for this even though she will pretend she doesn’t. It’s like the porn argument that is subjected on men all the time. The women on these videos do outrages things on camera and the belief is that men will expect the same thing from their girlfriend or wife. The difference between the two is that men are inundated with scornful information and education on how women should be treated and the realities of a relationship. Is a crazy, rich, Singaporean vacation a reasonable expectation? A film like Crazy Rich Asians doesn’t come with any advisory information or education. The opposite, they are embraced, they are heavily marketed and when a group of women go to see this movie they arrive home depressed and saddened on their own living situation which will in turn reflect poorly on the men in their life.

And don’t be tricked in thinking this is some empowering movie. Yes, Rachel Wu is an economics professor but this isn’t a film about a Chinese immigrant who is bought up by a single mother who has to toil her way through high school and college all while being bullied for being different. No, this is a film about how a Chinese/American woman who luckily met a man who happens to be the richest man in the world, oh, and she happens to be an economics professor. I am no different either, I got caught up in the way the film was presented. The vibrant elegance in which the film was shot as the two love birds arrived in Singapore, where, at times, it feels I was watching a commercial from the Singaporean Tourism Department as Nick mutters walking through the food markets “you know, this is one the only places in the world where street food vendors actually earn Michelin stars”. I got caught up in the massive parties and the outrages way a bride walked down the aisle. I laughed at Akwafina, Ken Jeong & Ronny Chieng, even though I thought Ronny was a little too much. And I did find both Rachel and Nick charming even though they’re both a little stale and required all this glitz and glamour to make them more enduring.

But that shouldn’t disguise the fact that while Rachel pretends that money is meaningless, it actually means everything. Rachel is the personification of what we think we will act like. But it’s not reality. Reality is that money dictates everything from our education, family and who we fall in love with.

I am not saying movies like this shouldn’t be made. It is fun to step away from reality and imagine a world where such a predicament exists. What I am saying is that we shouldn’t be naive to that fact that deep down such issues may arise. Men have to deal with expectation/reality every single day and in modern times I believe that is warranted. But I also believe that it should work both sides. Both men and women desire different things and because one expectation is deemed more sensible than the other it doesn’t discount its impact on a potential partner. So let’s cut the **** and say that movies like Crazy Rich Asians are just as detrimental to relationships as Two Girls, One Cup, even if it’s much easier on the eyes.