Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

[hendersonrocks]

I am beyond excited for this movie. Loved the books, and so excited about another big step forward for representative diversity in Hollywood big budget films. Release date August 17, 2018 in the U.S.

[TigerLily20]

I am looking forward to this!! 

[JustaPerson]

Will this be our Black Panther? 

[Scarlett45]

44 minutes ago, TigerLily20 said:

I am looking forward to this!! 

Me too!

[callie lee 29]

Ohh that looks soooo good.

[Ciarrai]

I AM SO EXCITED! That is all.

I just re-read all three books in one week and I love them. Can't wait to see how it translates to screen, even though few of the characters look like they do in my head.

[Trini]

This looks great! Like, literally. Here for the costume and scenery porn (and everything else too!).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 4/24/2018 at 7:03 PM, JustaPerson said:

Will this be our Black Panther? 

I saw Jimmy O. Yang on his book tour last month (he plays Bernard in the movie) and he said he hopes that this movie will be the Asian Black Panther. 

The sad thing is that every time there’s a successful Asian project like The Joy Luck Club or Flower Drum Song, there’s a moment of hope that this is the breakthrough moment for Asians in the industry and then things kind of go back to the way they were before.  

Related anecdote: I recently saw a play called Vietgone which has a cast of five (all of whom are Asian). I spoke with the lead actress after the show and she said she had never been in a production of anything with that many Asian people before. If you get cast in something like Miss Saigon then sure, there will be more Asians in the cast but in general, it’s rare to see anything with more than a handful of Asian actors (let alone in more than one lead role) which is one of the reasons I love that Crazy Rich Asians is a chance to show that yes, you can have more than one Asian actor in a lead role!

There has definitely been some progress made in the last few years so I’m hopeful that this movie does well and that it increases opportunities/roles for Asian actors outside of the stereotypical parts (doctor, lab tech, gang member, nerd, or other glorified extra with a line or two). 

[hendersonrocks]

Really interesting read on the decisions the author and makers of Crazy Rich Asians made, and the stakes of this film. (Which, to be clear, is so effing annoying - that there have been essentially no films with this level of Asian representation so therefore there's an insane amount of pressure on it to be successful.)

I really respect that they went with a traditional studio over Netflix to be sure that there was broader access to the movie, even though it meant less money for them. I hope this KILLS at the box office. It might be the first movie I see on opening weekend in many, many years. August 15th, hurry up!

[SnoGirl]

I haven’t seen a RomCom in theaters in forever, its just so expensive. However, I loved this book so I’m definitely going opening weekend and making sure people come with me to support the film! I can’t wait to see it.

[TiffanyNichelle]

I saw this at advance screening and I'm already planning to see it again when it's fully released. It was fun, I really liked it.

[Sakura12]

Me and my sister can't wait to see this movie. We're third generation Asians but I'm happy to see some representation on the big screen. 

[topanga]

August 15? I gotta get off my lazy butt and read the book, quick. 

[OpalNightstream]

It’s about time Asians get something!!

[memememe76]

I liked the first book, the second and third were kinda dull. But I will be watching this in a theatre. Cannot wait!

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

I loved the story of the first book, the other two were sort of retreads. It was kind of an exposé, seeing a heightened glimpse into the world of Singapore’s super rich, but the actual writing could’ve used another draft or two. The dialogue was clunky. The trailers actually seem like they improved that aspect. 

Looking forward to this, not only for the ginormous Asian cast, but also because it’s been a long time since I saw a romcom where the main couple actually like each other. 

[Dejana]

Movie Clip – Come to Singapore:

 

[VCRTracking]

The book was fun but the movie looks 10x more so!

Edited August 5, 2018 by VCRTracking

[ElectricBoogaloo]

FYI - AMC is doing a special sneak peek of the movie on August 8th. They're advertising it as a girls' night out (and you get a free Crazy Rich Asians wine glass!) so I guess they're assuming guys aren't interested in seeing this movie? Participating locations are listed here (scroll down).

[SnoGirl]

23 hours ago, Dejana said:

Movie Clip – Come to Singapore:

 

Ha! I love it. I also really like when movies highlight social media somehow-love the swirling social media making it’s way to Nick’s mother. It remind me of Chef, where various characters would tweet and you would see the twitter bird and a “tweet” noise every time someone tweeted. 

[VCRTracking]

At Vanity Fair.com:

Why Crazy Rich Asians Could Be a Watershed Moment for Asian Representation in Hollywood

[Bruinsfan]

Well, this guy is interested in seeing it. I have fond memories of The Joy Luck Club and The Wedding Banquet, and love the chance to get a glimpse into present-day Asian culture. Michelle Yeoh is an automatic must-see for me, and I'm glad to see Constance Wu getting a star turn in a studio movie.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Awkwafina discusses the origin of her name, her family, her job writing food reviews in China, and Crazy Rich Asians:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Constance Wu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Michelle Yeoh, & Henry Golding discuss Crazy Rich Asians:

[enoughcats]

Youall had caught my interest in seeing this movie; the LA Times review gave enough details to make it a must see.  That review is also on the Chicago Tribune website. 

The Times has at least six articles about the movie, for those on the verge of getting really, really interested in this. (like me.)

[TiffanyNichelle]

I got my tickets to see it again this Saturday. In the afternoon so I can go out for food after. I was really hungry after watching it the first time.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

5 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

I got my tickets to see it again this Saturday. In the afternoon so I can go out for food after. I was really hungry after watching it the first time.

Thanks for the warning! I will plan accordingly :)

[TiffanyNichelle]

So many scenes with delicious looking food!

[Silver Raven]

Asian people react to the Crazy Rich Asians trailer

[argrow]

10 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

I got my tickets to see it again this Saturday. In the afternoon so I can go out for food after. I was really hungry after watching it the first time.

 

1 hour ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

So many scenes with delicious looking food!

I went to a viewing that serves food at your seat, and after that montage of food 15 minutes into the movie I looked at my sad burger and just couldn't eat it anymore. Everything on screen just looked so much more delicious and made me missed those wonderful food.

[arc]

I cried multiple times. I was genuinely moved.

[Athena]

[arc]

Jeff Yang explains the subtext of the climax: http://blog.angryasianman.com/2018/08/what-was-really-happening-in-crazy-rich.html

[hendersonrocks]

L-o-v-e-d it. Henry Golding is maybe the most attractive and charming human alive. There’s a little moment where he high fives and dances with kiddos and I almost melted in my seat. Hot like fire, that one.

I saw it at an Alamo Drafthouse, and there was a great program on the history of Asian Americans in Hollywood before the previews began. I love that they did that (they had a special menu, too).

Edited August 18, 2018 by hendersonrocks

[Scarlett45]

I loved it!

The writing was smart, the costumes were beautiful and the men were delicious! ?

 

side note- who’s Harry Shum Jr’s agent? He had no lines in the final version yet was listed before the production credits!

Edited August 18, 2018 by Scarlett45

[arc]

Maybe he shot a lot of deleted scenes? His character had a much bigger role in the book, and plays an even bigger role in the next two books.

... Whoa, the emerald wedding ring in the movie is Michelle Yeoh's in real life. She designed it herself, too.

Edited August 18, 2018 by arc

[hendersonrocks]

I had the same question about Harry Shum Jr. I wasn’t expecting him to have a big role because of the books (I don’t remember him at all in the first one), but then to see his name where it was in the credits really threw me.

I’m game for a sequel that combines books 2 & 3. A little bit of Bernard and Kitty Pong go a long way.

[SeanC]

Disclaimer:  I haven't read the book.

I liked it, on the whole.  The cast being, obviously, the main asset in the proceedings.

I thought it was a little weird structurally -- for instance, the opening scene that really has nothing to do with anything else in the movie (I was wondering if the characters' experience of racism in the West was going to come up again, but no), and in a movie that isn't an ensemble piece it's kind of odd to have Gemma Chan's little sideplot playing out isolated from the rest.  And I think the director didn't quite have the flare to pull off some of the stock romcom moments, like the underwhelming way he shoots the reveal of Rachel's wedding dress at the end of the big trying-on-clothes montage.

[TheOtherOne]

This article, discussing the changes from book to movie, confirms Shum's scenes were cut:

http://www.vulture.com/2018/08/crazy-rich-asians-the-biggest-changes-from-book-to-movie.html

Charlie Wu only appears in a mid-credits sequence making Important and Sexual Eye Contact with Astrid at a party. The filmmakers shot more scenes with Charlie (played by Glee’s Harry Shum Jr.), but decided to cut them to focus on Astrid, leaving room for more of him in a potential sequel. This means Shum gets single-card billing in the movie for what’s essentially a cameo. Crazy good agents!

Another article discussing the making of the mahjong scene. Good read:

http://www.vulture.com/2018/08/crazy-rich-asians-mahjong-scene-explained.html

[anyanka323]

I saw it last night in a sold out showing in the Midwest.  I thought that the changes made from the book were for the best for the most part.  More Peik Lin and her family was a good thing - despite them having more money than taste, they seemed to be the only ones in Singapore to be kind to Rachel because they are still outsiders to the Youngs.  They know what she's going through and were on her side.  I liked Peik Lin's aside to Rachel about how Trump's interior decor taste was the real inspiration for her family's house.  They seemed to be less artificial and fake than Nick's cousins with the exception of Astrid.  And yes, a little of Kitty Pong goes a long ways.  Michelle Yeoh being behind the changes to Eleanor's character was a plus. 

There's probably going to be a sequel with the film estimated to make more than $30 million this weekend. 

[Dee]

James Hong, 89-Year-Old Chinese American Actor: “I Never Thought It Would Take This Long”

Quote

Asked what advice he would give to others coming up the ranks, he was adamant: “The young people have to fight and gain more ground. They have to continue to fight for better images and more roles. There are a few roles, but they are still not casting Asians in leading roles like businessmen,” he said, before adding with a laugh, “And I’m sure it will get better because China has all the money.”

[kdm07]

Got to go see this yesterday. Romcoms aren't usually what I go watch at the cinemas but I'm a big fan of Gemma Chan (she's fantastic in Humans) so I decided to check it out.

It was enjoyable for what it was but, hopefully this isn't taken the wrong way, the best thing about the movie to me was the cinematography. Those shots of Singapore or the colours at the parties, wedding etc were gorgeous to look at.

Edited August 19, 2018 by kdm07

[Silver Raven]

And the backlash begins.  The movie has the temerity not to show all aspects of life in Singapore.

Ugh.  I just heard a reporter talking about the film's "all Asian American film" in 25 years. Idiot.

[calliope1975]

11 hours ago, SeanC said:

the opening scene that really has nothing to do with anything else in the movie

For me, this scene established exactly how rich these people are with Ms. Young quickly and easily buying the hotel after being disrespected. I thought it was more about establishing their wealth with a side of racism. 

[Nidratime]

Quote

I thought it was a little weird structurally -- for instance, the opening scene that really has nothing to do with anything else in the movie

In Asia, especially in their part of Asia, the Young family and some of their offshoots command a great deal of respect, not just because of their money or power but because of their actions. In the book, there's some time spent explaining how Nick's grandfather, Ah Ma's husband, was an important neurologist who had been educated at Oxford -- the first doctor from Singapore to be educated in the West -- and was from a long line of royal court physicians to the Emperors. He stayed in Asia during WWII as part of an underground medical corps, saving people, during the Japanese occupation and, afterwards, he opened a clinic for the poor and elderly, charging them practically nothing. He, and through him, his family garnered the gratitude and admiration of the people. The opening scene wasn't just about showing how rich they were but that they commanded respect -- but, because of racism, they could only get that respect from "the white world" through using their money as a weapon.

 

Quote

http://www.vulture.com/2018/08/crazy-rich-asians-mahjong-scene-explained.html

 

I loved that Maj Jong scene -- especially the dialogue. "If I say yes, Nick loses his family; if I say no, he keeps his family but he'll grow to resent you and I don't want him to lose his mother ... again."

[Ms Blue Jay]

This was one of the best and most important movies I've ever seen.  I spent like 15 minutes of it crying.  Not because of anything in the plot, but just the magnitude of what it meant for me to be watching it.  I had to force myself to stop thinking about its magnitude just to calm myself down and pay attention to the movie. It was incredible.

[NUguy514]

15 hours ago, SeanC said:

for instance, the opening scene that really has nothing to do with anything else in the movie

Oh, that scene had everything to do with the rest of the movie.  It establishes exactly who these people are and what they can do with a metaphorical snap of their fingers because of how unbelievably wealthy they are, and it also establishes the grace and etiquette with which they can annihilate people who are beneath them in the ways that matter to them.  The quiet, deadly way in which Eleanor eviscerates Rachel later in the film is a callback to that opening scene and the way she similarly destroyed those English pricks at the hotel; only someone with the power of such extreme wealth (especially old-money wealth) can be that lethal in such a placid way.

In related news, I loved basically everything about this movie.

[phalange]

I haven't read the books, but this movie was a lot of fun and I'd definitely watch if they ever made the sequels. Awkwafina was hilarious in this. I love Peik Lin and her family, especially in the dinner scene. "There's starving children in America. Eat your chicken nuggets." 

When Nick's grandmother was nice to Rachel in the beginning, I thought she would be her ally when Eleanor was being awful, so I was surprised when she turned out to be just as bad at the wedding. Maybe I shouldn't have been all that shocked though, since Eleanor did tell Rachel that she was also not the first or even second choice to marry into the family. I like how the early scene of Rachel teaching game theory to her class came back around with the mahjong scene. 

I loved Rachel's relationship with her mom, and also how she bonded with Astrid. The scene of Astrid telling her husband that she isn't responsible for his insecurity was great. And when he asks her where she's going to go: "I own fourteen buildings, so probably one of those." Ha. Nick's proposal to Rachel on the plane was sweet and I love how excited that lady behind them in the aisle was. "Yes, she'll marry you!" 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

16 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

I had the same question about Harry Shum Jr. I wasn’t expecting him to have a big role because of the books (I don’t remember him at all in the first one), but then to see his name where it was in the credits really threw me.

His character was in the first book but not until close to the end. I think it was shortly before the wedding. 

[Scarlett45]

5 hours ago, phalange said:

I haven't read the books, but this movie was a lot of fun and I'd definitely watch if they ever made the sequels. Awkwafina was hilarious in this. I love Peik Lin and her family, especially in the dinner scene. "There's starving children in America. Eat your chicken nuggets." 

When Nick's grandmother was nice to Rachel in the beginning, I thought she would be her ally when Eleanor was being awful, so I was surprised when she turned out to be just as bad at the wedding. Maybe I shouldn't have been all that shocked though, since Eleanor did tell Rachel that she was also not the first or even second choice to marry into the family. I like how the early scene of Rachel teaching game theory to her class came back around with the mahjong scene. 

I loved Rachel's relationship with her mom, and also how she bonded with Astrid. The scene of Astrid telling her husband that she isn't responsible for his insecurity was great. And when he asks her where she's going to go: "I own fourteen buildings, so probably one of those." Ha. Nick's proposal to Rachel on the plane was sweet and I love how excited that lady behind them in the aisle was. "Yes, she'll marry you!" 

I too Love Gemma Chan in Humans. I knew from the first scene she appeared that was a deeply sad woman, and when the first appearance of her husband had him in the shower after being late I gave him the side eye- CLASSIC sleeping around behavior. She put him in his place!

At Colin’s wedding, when the aisle flooded and the lights dimmed and the bride started down the aisle it was absolutely beautiful but I thought “the dress! The dress!”

 

Peik Lin & her family were the allies Rachel needed, they were a hoot.