TRULY RICH IS BETTER THAN CRAZY RICH A FILM REVIEW ON “CRAZY RICH ASIANS”
Meanne M. Mijares
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples,
“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
Mark 10:23
RATING PG 13
GENRE
Romance, Comedy, Drama
CAST
Constance Wu as Rachel Chu;
Henry Golding as Nick Young;
Tan Kheng Hua as Kerry Chu;
Awkwafina as Goh Peik Lin;
Michelle Yeoh as Eleanor Sung-Young;
Gemma Chan as Astrid Leong-Teo;
Pierre Png as Michael Teo;
Lisa Lu as “Ah Ma” Shang Su Yi;
Ronny Chieng as Eddie Cheng;
Victoria Loke as Fiona Tung-Cheng;
Remy Hii as Alistair Cheng;
Nico Santos as Oliver T’sien;
Selena Tan as Alexandra ‘Alix’ Young,
Janice Koh as Felicity Young;
Ken Jeong as Goh Wye Mun;
Koh Chieng Mun as Neena;
Chris Pang as Colin Khoo;
Sonoya Mizuno as Araminta Lee;
Jimmy O. Yang as Bernard Tai;
Jing Lusi as Amanda “Mandy” Ling;
Fiona Xie as Kitty Pong
Directed by Jon M. Chu
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Story by: Kevin Kwan
Screenplay: Adele Lim, Pete Chiarelli
THE STORY
Eleanor Young is certainly not a woman to mess with. Anyone who’s ever mistaken her quiet demeanor for passivity would agree Take, say, the manager of a grand London hotel way back in 1995, who tried to tell her that the room she’d reserved for her family was already unavailable. One phone call later, she owned the place. Suffice it to say, she got the room she’d reserved. The staff was really embarrassed!
Back in the present, Eleanor’s son, Nick, is the apple of her eye. But he’s deadbeat of the burden that comes with being the heir in waiting to the Young family’s expansive business domain in Singapore. Though he practically gets a rock star treatment in his homeland, he’s managed to live a bit more under the radar in New York City for quite a few years.
There, he met and fell in love with Rachel Chu, an economics professor at New York University and daughter of a hardworking single mother. Somehow, Rachel doesn’t know that Nick’s practically a scion of a very prominent family, metaphorically speaking, in his home country. No because to her, Nick’s just a well-mannered, good-looking, devoted lover.
Rachel’s thrilled that Nick has invited her to travel with him to Singapore to attend his best friend Colin’s wedding, in which Nick will be the best man. After all, whenever Rachel has tried to talk with Nick about his family, he’s been quite quick to change the subject. Now she’s finally going to have a chance to meet them.
Rachel’s first clue that Nick hasn’t quite told her everything about himself comes when they get on the plane … and get a private suite. And champagne! And next, silk pajamas for the long trip.
Nick tries to explain. “Yes, my family has money,” he says unassumingly. “I’ve always thought of it as theirs, not mine.”
But though Nick’s sought to detach himself from his rich relatives, his family has all kinds of plans about his jubilant return to Singapore. Plans that—as Rachel soon discovers—don’t include him spending the rest of his life with a “poor” Chinese-American girlfriend. At least as far as his overbearing mother, Eleanor, is concerned, that is.
But at a snail’s pace, Rachel begins to win over important members of Nick’s “crazy rich Asian” family—perhaps even beginning to warm up the ice-hard heart of Eleanor Young herself.
STRONG POINTS
Despite the multifaceted cultural realm that Rachel finds herself engaged in, the core story here is straightforward: Nick and Rachel’s attempts to merit Eleanor’s personal blessing.
But Eleanor is difficult to contend with. The Young family lives and moves and breathes among the uber-rich. So having the family’s heir apparent marry a woman who’s essentially a penurious “commoner” wouldn’t do at all.
Still, Eleanor is not a two-dimensional nasty antihero. Multiple conversations disclose ways she has consistently put her family’s needs above hers.
In fact, the film offers a very keen evaluation of American culture. Eleanor, especially, scorns a society in which an individual’s passion is seen as more important than the needs of a family. She says frankly to Rachel, “You’re a foreigner. An American. And all Americans think about is their own happiness.” Elsewhere she says of Asian culture, “We learn to put family first instead of chasing one’s passion.” Those are observations we Filipinos would perhaps relate very well to because we are family oriented.
Eleanor also rants, “When children are away from home too long, they forget who they are,” an opinion about parenting and family that could be seen as having both positive and problematic elements to it.
Nick, meanwhile, validates his own character by consistently trying to show Rachel that his relationship with her matters more to him than his family’s money. He’s absolutely loyal to her, saying, “I’ll leave all of this behind.” And he seems to mean it.
Rachel’s mother, Kerry Chu, doesn’t have the wealth of Nick’s family. But she’s worked hard her entire life to provide for her daughter by running a successful small business. And she stands up for Rachel when things get really bad.
Many other colorful characters portray smaller but encouraging roles in this extra-large collaborative drama. Rachel’s college roommate, Goh Peik Lin, encourages and supports Rachel at various points. Nick’s cousin, Oliver, helps Rachel steer the complicated sets of familial expectations that she smashes into. Rachel also forms a friendship with Nick’s glamorous-but-caring cousin Astrid; the two of them comfort each other in tough moments they both face and struggle with.
Astrid, for her part, courageously and fearlessly confronts someone who’s betrayed her. We see her treating a young girl very kindly despite her near-royal status. Astrid has also worked hard to make her marriage to an entrepreneur named Michael work, though his deep insecurity at not having as much money as her family has reliably been the major struggle in their union.
SPIRITUALITY
Early on in the film, Eleanor leads a Bible study and reads a section of Colossians 3, including the phrases: “If, then, you have been raised with Christ … set your minds on things above.” What disgusts me was the part when Eleanor’s friends gossip about Rachel and the intrigues that follow afterwards.
There are also references to Ephesians and Corinthians. Eleanor’s faith apparently runs deep enough that she forbids Nick and Rachel from sharing a room together in her house during their visit—a conviction that, it’s clearly understood, is rooted in her Christian faith.
Elsewhere, interestingly, there are a couple of passing references to Asian spiritual beliefs. Rachel’s mother, Kerry Chu, encourages her to wear a red dress when she meets Nick’s mother because that color is considered good luck. There’s another quip about that color representing “fortune and fertility.” Someone sarcastically mentions the universe’s role in shaping the outcome of our lives.
One character tells another, “You can explore hell, you dog turd!” A woman calls another “an evil person.” Someone mentions “finding inner peace.” Then Astrid exclaims angrily, “God forbid we lose the ancient Chinese tradition of guilting our children.”
Honestly, to be truly rich is much better than crazy rich. We are given extra and surpluses of blessings to share with the less fortunate. We need not be indulgent on luxury items because one day we will leave them behind but it will be worth it if we use it for better. To be truly rich is learning to let go of what does not matter in order to hold in high esteem what is important in life. (Hebrews 11:24-29)
SEXUAL CONTENT
Rachel and Nick kiss again and again, and they’re shown in bed together a couple of times as well. In one of those scenes, he’s shirtless, while she’s wearing a figure-hugging camisole.
Another of Nick’s cousins, Allister Cheng, is a movie director. His girlfriend, actress Kitty Pong, wears very skimpy clothing. He fondles her (clothed) breast while embracing her. There are rumors that she starred in a pornographic film. Later, she’s shown in a compromising position with another man (whose pants are down, but whose shirt mostly covers his obviously bare backside).
Astrid’s husband, Michael, is shown in the shower, where his torso was seen. They kiss and are shown in bed together.
A variety of female characters wear low-cut, sheer and revealing outfits throughout the film. A lot of men are shirtless. Hundreds of women at Colin’s wild bachelor party are wearing bikinis. We hear a joke that suggestions “hookers.” A guy says unreservedly, “Let’s make some babies!” We see a group of women’s bare backs as they receive massages at a spa; one of them wisecracks, “I think my masseuse just got me pregnant.”
One married character is having an affair. We also hear someone had an affair that led to an illegitimate child. Oliver, who’s gay, calls himself “the rainbow sheep of the family.”
Someone makes a clear, reproachful comment about Rachel’s anatomy. Someone’s colorful outfit is mocked as looking like a “clown’s tampon” and a “slutty ebola virus.” Goh Peik Lin’s younger brother is enamored with Rachel, and he says several unacceptably indelicate things about her and even films her creepily with his camera (without her consent or knowledge) in a scene played for fun. A fountain sculpture includes classically sculpted nudies.
VIOLENCE
There is a story telling about how someone’s great-grandfather killed a tiger (which is now stuffed and on display at the entrance to the Young mansion). We also hear that someone’s ex-husband used to be physically abusive.
At a bachelorette party, women who are jealous of Rachel put a large, dead, bloody fish in her bed to scare her away from Nick, under the bloody letters, “Catch this you gold-digging b–ch.” At Colin’s party, a guy repeatedly fires off a rocket launcher into the ocean. (The last time, the recoil from the weapon knocks him down.)
PROFANE LANGUAGE
One f-word, one s-word. I have observed the profane acronyms “OMFG” and “WTF” in texts. There’s also one use of “fricking.” God’s name is misused about a dozen times, including two pairings with “d–n.” Our Lord Jesus’ name is misused once. We hear two uses each of “a–” and “a–hole.” There are several uses each of "bok-bok" “b–ch” and “b–tard.” Characters use one obscene reference each to the male and female anatomy.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL CONTENT
Characters guzzle various alcoholic beverages (beer, champagne, mixed drinks). Colin’s bachelor party takes place on a tanker transport ship that’s essentially been turned into a big, floating dance club, and alcohol flows freely there.
Nick looks for cigars in his desk at home. (His mother has gotten rid of them.) Someone casually references drug use in the context of a wild party. I hear a joke about Botox.
WEAK POINTS
Eleanor is coolly polite to Rachel for a while. But when she has an opportunity to do so, she leaves no doubt where she stands, harshly telling Rachel, “You will never be enough.”
A rich Chinese woman tells her demanding children, “There’s children starving in America!” Someone is said to be like an “Asian Ellen.” Rachel is described as being a “banana,” an ethnically Asian woman who’s “yellow on the outside but white on the inside.”
Women go on what one of them describes as a “shopping orgy.” Someone says, “No one loves free stuff more than rich people.” A woman is said to “fart Chanel No. 5.” Several characters deceive loved ones and withhold significant information from them.
CONCLUSION
Crazy Rich Asians is essentially an updated version of that beloved fairy tale, Cinderella. Only this time around, it’s the heroine who doesn’t know the identity of the man she’s fallen in love with, instead of the other way around. And finding out proves a harrowing experience for everyone involved.
But as with most fairy tales, things have a pretty good chance of working out in the end. And in this version, we’re invited to contemplate on the differences between two clashing cultures when it comes to love: the Asian values of loyalty and family; the American values of individuality and passion. Both sets of ideals, we see, have their connected strengths and weaknesses.
Speaking of strengths and weaknesses, Crazy Rich Asians—based on the bestselling 2013 novel of the same title authored by Kevin Kwan—is getting a euphoric critical response. The film’s hilarious, feel-good story looks set to provide some box-office sparklers! That being said, this film’s admittedly likeable characters still pave their way through a storyline that’s got some problem areas to sail across. Most notably, they include language and sexual overtone, weaknesses that tarnish this PG-13 rom-com’s otherwise wide-ranging draw.
Overall, I give the film a rating of 4.5 stars.
http://www.filcatholic.org/truly-rich-is-better-than-crazy-rich-a-film-review-on-crazy-rich-asians/
