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Crazy Rich Asians (2018)


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5 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

The last names in the credits don't match, so I'm thinking no. And are Alistair and Eddie brothers? Both their last names appear as Cheng. 

Here you go:

B67E30BF-33E1-450F-A821-3E2F873E059E.jpeg

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(edited)

Cool, thanks! SO Alistair and Eddie are brothers, but I didn't realize that they were Auntie Alix's sons. The movie doesn't make the connection. They barely have a scene together and it's Auntie Eleanor who tells Ollie to go break up the dry humping Alistair and Kitty on the dance floor (Love Michelle Yeoh's disapproving tone and folded arms there, as well as Ollie's
"As you wish," obedience). Auntie Alix is in the background. You'd think SHE would be the disapproving one.  

ETA: Put the three book Trilogy on my Amazon list. I still like to hold a BOOK, as opposed to downloading. 

Edited by ChicksDigScars
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My question about the seating at the wedding is where was Colin’s family? IIRC, he is just Nick’s best friend, not related to him directly, so why was his family seated at the front and not Colin’s?

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I was with a close friend tonight who moved to a new state last year. I'm going to see his new home in August and I told him I'll be watching CRA on the plane, because it's the perfect plane movie. He grabbed my leg and said "I can't believe you just said that!!" Apparently he just told his husband that day that CRA is the perfect plane movie! It's light, it's happy, it's just a great way to spend time on a flight!

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On 6/26/2019 at 9:14 AM, Sharpie66 said:

My question about the seating at the wedding is where was Colin’s family? IIRC, he is just Nick’s best friend, not related to him directly, so why was his family seated at the front and not Colin’s?

Even the book had too many characters already!

but also, the book made mention about how Colin is friends with Nick not just because they genuinely like each other, but also Colin’s wealth-obsessed family patriarch (grandfather?) knows the Youngs are way richer than the Khoos and so encouraged the friendship.

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I love Rachel's mother's expression immediately after Rachel remarks that his family can't just not like her. Its just so perfect. She's so supportive the entire scene but in that moment she can't help but have that expression with that line. Cause meeting the parents especially the mother you just don't know how that's going to go and there's so many ways it can go wrong and they can hate you and not just from watching Meet the Parents and the Family Stone.  

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In rewatching the film recently, there is one of the more interesting reaction looks that I didn’t pick up on my first viewing but gets me thinking every time now. It’s when Ah-ma (sp?) shows up at the dumpling-making session and praises Rachel’s nose. Eleanor gives her MIL a look that just encompasses all of the decades of their interpersonal strife—a brilliant piece of acting from Michelle Yeoh in a fleeting second.

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After we saw the movie the first time, I rushed to get the second book in the series from our library.  

I tend to read footnotes.  You don't need to know that unless you, too, obsessively read footnotes.  I found myself getting lost in the footnotes on vol. 2, so much so that I gave up reading it. 

But I did have fun going Google earth to Singapore, to the hotel (to get its name) and then signing up for specials.  Just going to the website is fun. But it would be a heck of a destination wedding (or anniversary). 

Marina Bay Sands Singapore redefines infinity pool.

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Yeah, Chiarelli offered to split his salary with Lim to achieve parity, so it certainly wasn't him demanding preeminence, and I assume the director and other people actually in the production have no say in the contract talks. Hope someone keeps track of exactly how much lowballing her for 700-900k ends up costing Warner Bros at the box office if the Asian community that boosted the first movie to box office gold decides to take a pass over this. And pins a memo about it to Toby Emmerich's desk.

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Enjoyed it but kind of surprised at 95% RT with Top Critics.

Nice feel-good ending, the leads get everything -- have their cake and eat it too.

For Rachel, Nick proposing that they get married and just live in NY together isn't enough because he'd be estranged from his family,

She had to get family approval or at least Eleanor's approval?

Because that horrible grandmother vetoed her and forbid Nick to continue pursuing her.

So is it just familial approval or Nick not being cut off from the family wealth?

 

Eleanor mentioned more than once that Rachel was too American, too preoccupied with personal happiness as opposed to familial duty.

I see that the director Jon Chu was born in Palo Alto so is that his interpretation of how Asians look at personal happiness, romantic love, etc. as opposed to marrying someone that meets with family approval?

Or does the book underline it?

They didn't mention "Tiger Mom," which is probably an American way of looking down at the achievement-crazy ethos of some (not all) Asian-Americans.

But ultimately, Asian parenting prioritizes academic and professional achievement over the happiness of the children, or so the stereotype goes.

How does that work though when the children come from generational wealth as depicted in the movie?  Nick is expected to take over the family business and he is sent to the best schools in the world, where he gets that posh British accent -- though if he was a slacker student, would they not give him the keys to the kingdom?

If Nick and Rachel ran off, essentially flipping off his family, it would essentially be The Graduate situation.  But since this movie is depicting Asian mores, Rachel has to win over the Dragon Queen, get her blessing and the jade wedding ring?  

Rachel didn't play Man Jong with the matriarch so she didn't need to win her over, even though she'd given ultimate deference throughout the movie, again since respecting your elders is also big in the Chinese ethos -- I wonder if it's Confucian but the Youngs are Methodists?

 

I'm curious which audiences this movie is ultimately for, Westerners or Asians?  I can see why such wealth would be depicted, since Asians seem aspirational about status, wealth, etc.  They are very conscious of luxury brands, keeping up appearances.  On the one hand, they were lampooning the gaudiness of the Gohs.  OTOH, the movie seemed to celebrate the refined elegance of the Youngs, especially the great taste Astrid exemplifies.

They mocked Nick's peers, who were seen as ridiculously preoccupied with how much wealth each of them came from.

But while Rachel was one of the few "commoners" or those of modest origins, she seemed to quickly become attuned to the glamorous dresses and other trappings of luxury.  After she said "we're economy people, not first class people" about their flight, she got over it quickly enough.

So ultimately it seemed like a celebration of extreme wealth.  Not sure which audiences that appeals to more, Westerners or Asians.

You could draw an interesting contrast to a movie like Parasite, which also depicted wealth but also depicted and mocked characters their destitution as well.

 

 

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I couldn’t quite get Astrid.   We are told what a wonderful, warm & chic  individual she is, but how does she expect no strain in her marriage when she’s literally spending millions of dollars on shopping sprees,then trying to hide it from the husband?  

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1 hour ago, caracas1914 said:

I couldn’t quite get Astrid.   We are told what a wonderful, warm & chic  individual she is, but how does she expect no strain in her marriage when she’s literally spending millions of dollars on shopping sprees,then trying to hide it from the husband?  

Her story is given short shrift in the movie.  In the book, it's clear that she's spent years trying to placate her husband, who has deep self-esteem issues because of her family's wealth.  He gets snubbed by her relatives as a social climber.  He ends up taking his anger and humiliation out on Astrid and their son.  By the time of the movie, Astrid is getting tired of having to hide the fact that she's wealthy so as not to emasculate her husband (in his mind).   The theme is a warning of what could happen with Rachel and Nick due to Rachel entering into the family from completely outside their social sphere as well.  

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The director of 'Crazy Rich Asians' says he regrets casting Brown actors in stereotypical roles in response to whitewashing criticism

Some excerpts:

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Jon M. Chu, the director of "Crazy Rich Asians," said he should have made the South Asian characters in the 2018 romantic comedy "more human" in response to criticism for casting Brown actors in subservient roles.

Some viewers criticized the box-office darling for featuring East Asian actors as protagonists but casting South Asian actors in domestic-worker roles.

Though Indians are the third-largest ethnic group living in Singapore, there are only a few South Asian characters in "Crazy Rich Asians," mostly armed guards working at Nick's sprawling mansion in the woods.

 

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This is a good idea, since they skipped most of Astrid's subplots in the "Crazy Rich Asian" movie, which made sense to avoid distracting from the main narrative.  I was wondering how they were going to adapt the second movie with the disparate subplots involving supporting characters, and this is a good way to ensure better focus in two separate movies.  

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2 hours ago, Camera One said:

This is a good idea, since they skipped most of Astrid's subplots in the "Crazy Rich Asian" movie, which made sense to avoid distracting from the main narrative.  I was wondering how they were going to adapt the second movie with the disparate subplots involving supporting characters, and this is a good way to ensure better focus in two separate movies.  

I really liked Astrid. I'm glad we'll get a movie of her.

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(edited)

I thought this was ok but also fun at the same time. At times the story had it's share of cliches and predictability, at other times it did pivot to avoid cliches which I appreciated (the ending proposal, though nicely done, was about cliched as a rom com can get). But the pacing offset most of those issues, which was good.

The best parts were the acting and various location/scenery/food porn.

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I was wondering how they were going to adapt the second movie with the disparate subplots involving supporting characters, and this is a good way to ensure better focus in two separate movies. 

Given how large the cast is and how much more story was cut (and how much larger the cast gets in the sequels) I do wonder if a TV show would have been a better way to go, if only for a somewhat more faithful adaption of the book(s), and to also explore all the various supporting cast and give them stories more space and depth?

Edited by Hiyo
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This was an okay movie but I don't understand the broad appeal, a story about a one-percenter family, which is suppose to represent how Asians want to be portrayed in the Western media?

Especially after all the hate crimes endured by Asian-Americans since the onset of the pandemic?

 

AAs are aspirational and at least as brand-conscious as any other group.  But they're also hard-working overachievers, whose successes are earned, not inherited through generational wealth, though I guess the children in this movie are portrayed as wildly successful despite coming from a family which is going to pass down generational wealth to them.

But is this true?  Scions of very rich families are often slackers, not driven to succeed.  Many have guilt about their inherited wealth and try to compensate by doing a lot of charitable and non-profit work.

None of this is depicted in this movie.

It just seems hard to identify with people who are worth what, 8 figures, 9 figures, maybe billions, even if they're the same ethnicity?

 

 

 

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When you're as starved for representation as Asian-Americans (and other subgroups) have been in media, it has a lot of consequences.

Asian-American media makers feel the pressure to have their works encompass all of our culture in a way that dominant group media does not, because this may be all we ever get. ("Representation sweats") Shang Chi has to represent all of Asian-America in a way that Ant Man does not. Turning Red is judged on it's representation of the Asian diaspora community whereas other works set in European places merely use those as settings. Are we leveling the same criticisms of wealth in Crazy Rich Asians to, say, Dynasty or Succession or Billions?

This will be the case until it feels we have enough media out there that an Asian-American work can be judged as it's own thing and not as representative of all of Asian-Americans. 

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Shang Chi is just Disney wanting to capture more money at the Chinese box office.

I haven't seen it but it's suppose to be good, though I don't know that it represents AAs in particular.

A comic book superhero is hardly anyone's role model.

Dynasty, Succession and Billions never claim to represent a wider group of people, let alone white people all over the world.  Succession is clearly social criticism and satire, with way more weight than CRA.

Maybe the creative people and the producers for CRAs aren't making such claims either.  Certainly the media coverage has tried to spin it that way.

There are a number of smaller movies which attempt to depict various parts of the Asian or AA experience but these are not blockbusters and are never going to get the wide media coverage and hype that CRA got.

But then again, smaller, independent movies also depict the lives of people of different European ancestry much better than any big movie.

I'm trying to think if there was ever a movie comparable to CRA made about Irish or Italian Americans.  Sure there are plenty of smaller films, some of which may have reached millions in theaters and home video but don't recall the same type of hype.

 

There will continue to be more movies featuring Asian or AA characters which more AAs can identify with.  Most of them will be little-know and be seen by comparatively few people compared to CRA.

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5 hours ago, aghst said:

Especially after all the hate crimes endured by Asian-Americans since the onset of the pandemic?

I dunno how a movie released and marketed in 2018 was supposed to anticipate 2020.

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9 hours ago, aghst said:

This was an okay movie but I don't understand the broad appeal, a story about a one-percenter family, which is suppose to represent how Asians want to be portrayed in the Western media?

Especially after all the hate crimes endured by Asian-Americans since the onset of the pandemic?

 

AAs are aspirational and at least as brand-conscious as any other group.  But they're also hard-working overachievers, whose successes are earned, not inherited through generational wealth, though I guess the children in this movie are portrayed as wildly successful despite coming from a family which is going to pass down generational wealth to them.

But is this true?  Scions of very rich families are often slackers, not driven to succeed.  Many have guilt about their inherited wealth and try to compensate by doing a lot of charitable and non-profit work.

None of this is depicted in this movie.

It just seems hard to identify with people who are worth what, 8 figures, 9 figures, maybe billions, even if they're the same ethnicity?

 

 

 

I think it's worth pointing out that Rachel is really the only Asian-American character in the movie (and she was technically born in China).  Her Chinese mother immigrated to the US, but the rest of the characters are Singaporean.  That's really the culture that's being portrayed in this movie; it is distinct from any iteration of American culture, so projecting anything about Asian Americans onto these Singaporean characters isn't really fair.

Also, I think it's just as much of a stereotype to say that Asian Americans are hard-working overachievers who earn their success as it is to say that scions of very wealthy families either are slackers or have guilt over their inherited wealth.  There are plenty of Asian Americans who are lazy and/or who come from extremely rich families and inherit wealth and/or who work hard for their success, etc.; there are also plenty of children of extremely wealthy people who do work hard and are driven to succeed and/or who don't have guilt over their inherited wealth and/or who are lazy and entitled monsters, etc.  One size does not fit all with any group, which is why stereotypes can be misleading and unfair.

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On 8/18/2019 at 9:09 PM, ChicksDigScars said:

My favorite expression out of Rachel's mom was the look she fired at Eleanor at the Majong parlor as they were walking out.  It was like the tables had turned, and she was looking down her nose at Eleanor Young. 

That scene inspired me to look into Mahjong and now I play every week. Not as fast as they do. 

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On 5/14/2022 at 7:53 AM, aghst said:

This was an okay movie but I don't understand the broad appeal, a story about a one-percenter family, which is suppose to represent how Asians want to be portrayed in the Western media?

We want to be portrayed in non-stereotypical ways. That does include the one-percenter who can walk into a hotel and buy it when they face someone who assumes they don’t belong because of their skin color. 

On 5/14/2022 at 7:53 AM, aghst said:

AAs are aspirational and at least as brand-conscious as any other group.  

Are we? I can’t say I’ve ever given any thought to being brand conscious. 

On 5/14/2022 at 7:53 AM, aghst said:

But they're also hard-working overachievers, whose successes are earned, not inherited through generational wealth, though I guess the children in this movie are portrayed as wildly successful despite coming from a family which is going to pass down generational wealth to them.

I know this is generally seen as a positive but the perception that Asian Americans are the model minority is considered harmful. We are not all hard-working overachievers. Some of us have inherited money through generational wealth. 

On 5/14/2022 at 12:41 PM, aghst said:

Shang Chi is just Disney wanting to capture more money at the Chinese box office.

Doubtful since it didn’t even get a Chinese release and is still getting a sequel. 

On 5/14/2022 at 12:41 PM, aghst said:

A comic book superhero is hardly anyone's role model.

That’s not true. 

On 5/14/2022 at 12:41 PM, aghst said:

Dynasty, Succession and Billions never claim to represent a wider group of people, let alone white people all over the world.  Succession is clearly social criticism and satire, with way more weight than CRA.

That’s because they don’t have to. We don’t have that luxury. The performance of every Asian led movie or series will be evaluated to determine if there is money to be made in these projects. 

On 5/14/2022 at 12:41 PM, aghst said:

There will continue to be more movies featuring Asian or AA characters which more AAs can identify with.  Most of them will be little-know and be seen by comparatively few people compared to CRA.

And? Does anyone only want movies they can relate to? Also, I wouldn’t assume that Asian Americans can’t relate to CRA because they are not in the same social class as the characters. There was a universality to the film that transcends social classes. 

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2 hours ago, Dani said:

We want to be portrayed in non-stereotypical ways. That does include the one-percenter who can walk into a hotel and buy it when they face someone who assumes they don’t belong because of their skin color. 

I loved Eleanor doing that. She was so awesome.
 

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And? Does anyone only want movies they can relate to? Also, I wouldn’t assume that Asian Americans can’t relate to CRA because they are not in the same social class as the characters. There was a universality to the film that transcends social classes. 


 

I guess some people do but I don't really get it. That's one of my favorite thing about movies. Seeing different people, countries and worlds. Whether it's galaxy far, far away or someone as cool as Mulan. After Mulan came out years ago and was a big hit I hoped it would be followed by more stories from Chinese stories. Also Japanese, and others. There's such a wealth to draw from. My favorite part of To All the Boys I've Loved Before was the Covey family. Lara Jean navigating life as a Korean-American. I do wish they had more of it. I really love seeing the Korean clothes in the second movie and how much fun Lara Jean and her family had in Korea. I like watching Never Have I Ever series on Netflix because it features an Indian-American family. I'm not Korean or Indian, it's fun to see what it's like to be Korean-American and Indian-American. I want more stories from different cultures. I've always been interested in it. I'll never know what it's like to be a one precenter but it's fun to sometimes see what it's like. I'll probably never make it to Singapore it was so much fun to see so much of it.

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Not being Asian-American didn't seem to interfere with me relating to the characters and enjoying the story I saw depicted onscreen. Ditto with Everything Everywhere All at Once, which has been by far my favorite film of 2022 so far.

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On 5/20/2022 at 9:42 AM, Bruinsfan said:

Not being Asian-American didn't seem to interfere with me relating to the characters and enjoying the story I saw depicted onscreen. Ditto with Everything Everywhere All at Once, which has been by far my favorite film of 2022 so far.

It baffles me how badly the entertainment business wants to other most groups and sells everyone short by assuming we can’t relate to characters who don’t look like us. People are relatable because we all have the same emotions. If characters are unrelatable it is probably because they are poorly written and/or stereotypes.

Rachel is a extremely relatable protagonist because everyone has been in a situation where they feel like an outsider. 

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I mean, to be fair, the bones of this storyline are pretty universal and could have been set in any country and ethnicity.

Boy meets girl, one of them is rich, the rich family doesn't welcome the poor one with open arms, the poor one has some allies helping them out, happy ending.

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Rachel is from a single mom middle class environment (her mom worked hard as a realtor). She is the audience’s guide to this world.

I agree, the general plot is fairly standard. What makes the movie (and the first book) work is the specificity. 

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(edited)

I don't know why Succession supposedly has so much more 'weight' than Crazy Rich Asians.  Succession is King Lear brought to today.  Not that hard.  Crazy Rich Asians is Cinderella.  

On 5/14/2022 at 3:41 PM, aghst said:

I'm trying to think if there was ever a movie comparable to CRA made about Irish or Italian Americans.  Sure there are plenty of smaller films, some of which may have reached millions in theaters and home video but don't recall the same type of hype.

@FukuiSan already mentioned all of the Coppola and Scorsese films, and Belfast was nominated for 6 Oscars.

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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On 5/14/2022 at 9:53 AM, aghst said:

This was an okay movie but I don't understand the broad appeal, a story about a one-percenter family, which is suppose to represent how Asians want to be portrayed in the Western media?

I think the movie got a lot of attention because it was the first mainstream US release in a long time that featured a cast that was almost entirely of Asian descent.

I do not think it was supposed to represent a commentary on how Asians want to be portrayed in the media.  The movie was based on a book which was written by a Singaporean-American author of Chinese descent who wanted to write a story that centered around characters who looked like him.

I thought one of the broad appeals of the movie was that this could have been anybody's story, it just so happened that all of the characters are Asian.  Viewers who are of Asian descent especially appreciated it because it has been a long long time since a mainstream American movie like this with an all-Asian cast was made (maybe The Joy Luck Club in the early 90s).  Viewers who aren't of Asian descent got to see an enjoyable film featuring characters that happened to be Asian.

You don't have to be Asian to appreciate the movie, just like how you don't have to be black to appreciate "Black Panther" or "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", or how you don't have to be white to appreciate almost every other movie.

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3 hours ago, blackwing said:

I do not think it was supposed to represent a commentary on how Asians want to be portrayed in the media. The movie was based on a book which was written by a Singaporean-American author of Chinese descent who wanted to write a story that centered around characters who looked like him.

This. I think it is mistake when people assume those who are pushing for representation want those roles to be defined by race, gender or sexuality. By an large we just want to be allowed to exist in tv and movies. It’s exhausting that Hollywood thinks that most Asian roles have to be defined by their Asianness. No one expects a white character to be representative of the entire race. We want a broad spectrum of Asian roles and that includes positive and negative traits. 

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The movie was based on a book which was written by a Singaporean-American author of Chinese descent who wanted to write a story that centered around characters who looked like him.

I guess Crazy Rich Ethnic-Chinese Singaporeans isn't quite as marketable as a title ;)

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On 5/14/2022 at 3:51 PM, Fukui San said:

Italian Americans have the mob movie industrial complex to contend with, lol. 

I think Moonstruck is comparable with CRA as a romantic, light film for Italians (and no mobsters). The box office would probably not be comparable, as Moonstruck was made in 1987, but it was even more critically acclaimed, particularly with the Oscars. 

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I look at Crazy Rich Asians like My Big, Fat Greek Wedding, with a side of The Hangover, and enjoyed CRA for the comedy and the heart, as well as the peak into a different slice of life. 

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I saw this on hbo, I’m a few years late to this but I don’t really get why this got rave reviews. Pretty predictable, every step of the way.  I like Nick but he lied to Rachel about his family.  There was respect at the wedding for Rachel because she.. wore a great dress?  The grandma turned out to be a monster.

And Awkwafina’s wig?  I thought it was a joke at first. They should have gone with the original plan of having her hairstyle change throughout the movie.

 

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On 2/19/2023 at 7:26 PM, heatherchandler said:

I saw this on hbo, I’m a few years late to this but I don’t really get why this got rave reviews. Pretty predictable, every step of the way.  I like Nick but he lied to Rachel about his family.  There was respect at the wedding for Rachel because she.. wore a great dress?  The grandma turned out to be a monster.

And Awkwafina’s wig?  I thought it was a joke at first. They should have gone with the original plan of having her hairstyle change throughout the movie.

 

Rachel stood up for herself and didn't allow Eleanor to bring her down at the wedding. She ended up sitting with Princess Intan (and being friendly with her) right in the front row. As they planned, she played chicken with Eleanor - she didn't back down.

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8 hours ago, RunningMarket said:

Rachel stood up for herself and didn't allow Eleanor to bring her down at the wedding. She ended up sitting with Princess Intan (and being friendly with her) right in the front row. As they planned, she played chicken with Eleanor - she didn't back down.

I like how it ties back to the beginning of the movie when she's teaching her class about being so focused on losing. Rachel is a really great character. 

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