Crazy Rich Asians

2 years after it's theatric release which grossed over US$238million worldwide (according to boxofficemojo), I finally gave this movie a go. I had initially held off watching it since it seemed like a misrepresentation of Singapore. Nonetheless my curiosity got the better of me.

I'll start off with the positives: Right from the get go, I couldn't help but feel amazed at the scale of the movie. It seemed like Singapore had finally gotten the Hollywood treatment with a high budget film. With amazing sets, costumes and locales, it was a very visually appealing movie. Additionally, seeing my culture being represented on the big screen (like the hawker centres, the text messages incorporating singlish and use of dialects to a small extent in the film) was a unique, wonderful and empowering feeling. (granted it was very surface level) Lastly, the battle between Rachel Chu and Eleanor Young (portrayed by Constance Wu & Michelle Yeoh respectively) was the main driving force of the movie, and it was quite intriguing. Essentially, Eleanor sees Rachel as someone who only chases her dreams over family, whilst she herself believes in family first, having given up her own dreams. Rachel eventually proves Eleanor wrong, and ultimately wins Eleanor's acceptance. Additionally, the wedding scene gave me chills and I can only imagine how it would have felt like watching it in a cinema as opposed to watching it on a laptop in my bunk.

Beyond that, the movie comes off as very shallow. I would have liked to see more relatable Singaporean happenings and especially representation for other races in Singapore. But to be fair, that would have been maybe too much to ask of Hollywood. It would have been interesting to develop character arcs like Astrid. In truth, there were only two compelling character arcs, Eleanor and Rachel. Everyone else pretty much does not learn anything nor grow as people. That is not to say that all character's were dull. Awkwafina and Ken Jeong's characters were funny throughout as comedic relief.

All in all, it was a passable movie as a romantic comedy. In terms of representation, I wanted more, but this is a monumental step for Asians to take in the ever-exclusive Hollywood. I hope that this catalyses the production of more films that purses more accurate representation of cultures and races, whilst still providing compelling stories.

6/10