Crazy rich Asians. How are they the same or different from crazy rich Europeans? Or crazy rich Americans? Or anyone else who happens to be both crazy and rich.
Well, we might start with Karl Marx. Or Adam Smith. Or Sigmund Freud.
Or…Hollywood? Turn it all into a “romantic comedy”? With just enough of the “real world” sprinkled in so that most of us will be able to recognize ourselves in it?
Of course it goes without saying that in addition to be being crazy and rich, the Asians depicted in this film are beautiful. And cultured. And sophisticated. On the other hand, why this goes without saying is surely one of those questions that go all the way down to the profound mystery embedded in why anything is what it is at all.
And then the part where Asians born and bred in the “new world” are transported back to the “old world”. Or, rather, the new old world. The money talks world that is never really delved into at all. It just is what it is. Some are obscenely rich and others barely manage to subsist at all. The part where the “modern world” either subsumes the old traditions, obliterates them, or encounters those who fight tooth and nail to preserve the past. Though always in sync with the global economy.
Anyway, the lesson learned is that while money is not nothing in this impregnable world economy, it is still considerbly less than that which matters most. Whatever that happens to be for any particular one of us. Though, in particulkar, self-respect and integrity.
As for this…
In the book, one of Goh’s three dogs is named after Donald Trump. In the film, the name is changed to Rockefeller.
…make of it what you wish.
As for Singapore, many here probably still associate it with this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Fay
At least that’s the first thing that popped into my head.
IMDb
[b]Netflix wanted to produce the film and offered a much bigger budget, but Kevin Kwan deliberately turned down the offer in favor of a modest $30-million budget from Warner Bros. This was done to send a message that Asian-American studio movies are commercially viable.
Crazy Rich Asians 2 has been confirmed; it will be based on the second book of the trilogy, “China Rich Girlfriend”.
Singaporeans gave this movie a tepid reception, criticizing it for its lack of diversity and lack of authenticity, and missing involvement with Southeast Asians and other minorities in Singapore.
Kevin Kwan, the author of the book on which the movie is based, has been charged with draft dodging in his native Singapore. He is liable to a fine of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 years upon conviction.
Although the film received praise in the United States for its casting, which made “history for Asian American representation”; it was criticized elsewhere for not exclusively using actors of Chinese descent, in ethnically Chinese roles. This film was also criticized for using British and American English over Singaporean English. In addition, the film received criticism for poorly representing the actual makeup of Singapore, virtually erasing non-Chinese citizens.[/b]
trivia at IMDb: imdb.com/title/tt3104988/tr … tt_trv_trv
at wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Rich_Asians_(film
trailer: youtu.be/ZQ-YX-5bAs0
Crazy Rich Asians [2018]
Directed by Jon M. Chu
[b]Nick: So, what about us taking an adventure East?
Rachel: You want to get pork buns in the East Village. That’s what it is, isn’t it
Nick: I was actually thinking of further east.
Rachel: Like Queens?
Nick: Like Singapore for spring break.
…
Eleanor [Nick’s mother reading aloud]: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
…
Nick: Radio One Asia.
…
Mother: You can’t wear that to meet Nick’s. Blue and white is for Chinese funerals. Now this, this symbolizes good fortune and fertility.
Rachel: Great! I was really going for that lucky baby-maker vibe.
Mother: Hey, you were the one who asked for my help picking out a dress to meet Nick’s family.
Rachel: It’s only 'cause I hardly know anything about them. Every time I bring them up, Nick changes the subject.
Mother: Maybe he’s embarrassed. Maybe his parents are poor and he has to send them money. That’s what all good Chinese children do.
…
Rachel: I mean, his parents can’t not like me, right? What was that look? I saw that.
Mother: Nothing. It’s just Nick bringing a girl all the way there to meet them can mean a lot to these overseas families. They’re different from us.
Rachel: How are they different? They’re Chinese, I’m Chinese. I’m so Chinese, I’m an economics professor with lactose intolerance.
Mother: Yeah, but you grew up here. Your face is Chinese. You speak Chinese. But here [pointing to her head], and here [pointing to her heart]…you’re different.
…
Attendant: Good afternoon, Mr. Young, Miss Chu. We’ll take your bags and get you checked into first class.
Nick: Great.
Raachel: Oh…No, there’s a mistake. We’re not first class. We’re economy people.
…
Rachel: So, your family is like…rich?
Nick: Um, we’re comfortable.
Rachel: That is exactly what a super rich person would say.
…
Nick [to Rachel now in Singapore]: Each of these local stalls sells pretty much one dish and they’ve been perfecting it for generations. You know this is one of the only places in the world where street food vendors actually earned Michelin stars.
…
Michael: I wouldn’t dream of missing a second with your family and their friends.
Astrid: Well, it won’t be all bad. Nick and his new girlfriend will be there. You’ll like her.
Michael: Oh, yeah? Why? Because she’s a commoner like me?
…
Child: A pa, can we go trampoline?
Mr. Goh: Uh, you haven’t finished your nuggets yet, sweetie. Okay, there’s a lot of children starving in America. Right?[/b]
Ha Ha?
[b]Mr. Goh [to Rachel]: Let me get this straight. You both went to the same school. Yet someone came back with a degree that’s useful. And the other one came back as Asian Ellen.
…
Peik Lin: Rachel, these people aren’t just rich. Okay? They’re crazy rich. Look. There’s new money all over Asia. You got the Beijing billionaires, the Taiwan tycoons…but the Young family, they’re old-money rich. They had money when they left China in the 1800s. And they went all the way down here. Not there…here. They came to Singapore when there was nothing but jungle and pig farmers. And there was a snake here eating an apple. You know what I mean? And they built all of this. Now, they’re the landlords of the most expensive city in the world. These people are so posh and snobby…they’re snoshy.
Rachel: Yeah, but Nick’s not like that.
Peik Lin: Even if he isn’t, I guarantee you, the family is.
…
Rachel: You have a cocktail dress in your trunk?
Peik Lin: I’m not an animal, Rachel.
…
Rachel: My mom didn’t even go to college. She actually hardly spoke any English when she immigrated to the United States. But she worked really hard. And she studied and she earned her real estate license while she was waiting tables, supporting us. Now, she likes to say that she’s Flushing’s top real estate broker.
Eleanor: A self-made woman. She must be so proud of you.
Rachael: Well, she knows that I’m passionate about what I do, and she’s always wanted that for me.
Eleanor: Pursuing one’s passions. How American. Well, you mother’s very open-minded. Not like here, where parents are obsessed with shaping the lives of their children.
…
Edison: So you’re not from the Taiwan Chu family?
Rachel: Nope.
Edison: Hong Kong Telecom Chus?
Rachel: No.
Edison: Malaysian packing peanut Chus?
Rachel: Is that really a thing?
Edison: Yeah, it’s everywhere…
Nick: I’m gonna stop you there. because I’m gonna take her on the rounds. We’ll be back.
Edison: No, wait, hang on! China instant noodle Chus? Rachel…Chu are you?
…
Araminta: Welcome to paradise. This is Samsara Island. This weekend is about sisterhood and connecting with the divine in all of us. So, I hope you’ll all find your bliss…starting with…an all-paid shopping spree at the fashion boutique!
…
Colin: Dude, ever since primary school, you were always going to be the next chairman of the Young Corporation, your family’s shining heir. You really think your family’s gonna accept anything less than that? I mean, unless you… No. Are you thinking of walking out? Leaving everything to bloody Alistair and Eddie?
Nick: I’m not walking out on anything. I met a girl, I fell in love, and I want to marry her. It can’t just be one thing or the other.
Colin: Uh, no, no, no, no. It’s not that simple. You know that.[/b]
And this is basically the film’s plot.
[b]Rachel: Why would Araminta even have friends like that? It’s just mean.
Astrid: Well, you grow up your whole lives together, you make excuses for people. Especially the morons.
…
Rachel: I thought I was here to meet your family… go to your best friend’s wedding… eat some good food. Instead, I feel like I’m a villain in a soap opera who’s plotting to steal your family fortune.
Nick: What happened?
…
Eleanor: Ah Ma says if we don’t pass traditions down like this, they’ll disappear. God forbid we lose the ancient Chinese tradition of guilting your children.
…
Eleanoir [to Rachel]: I withdrew from university when we got married. I chose to help my husband run a business, and to raise a family. For me, it was a privilege. But for you, you may think it’s old-fashioned. It’s nice you appreciate this house, and us being here together wrapping dumplings. But all this doesn’t just happen. It’s because we know to put family first instead of chasing one’s passion.
…
Eleanor: Ah Ma thought I would not make an adequate wife to her son.
Rachel: But she came around, obviously.
Eleranor: It took many years. And she had good reason to be concerned. Because I had no idea of the work and the sacrifice it would take. There were many days when I wondered if I would ever measure up. But having been through it all, I know this much: You will never be enough.
…
Nick: I know my mum can be tough at times, but there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for me. And there is a reason why I lived with Ah Ma growing up. It’s because my mother knew she wasn’t the favorite. So she let her raise me so I would be.
Rachel: You were just a kid?
Nick: Yeah. Well…It’s hard to understand from the outside. But she did what she thought was best for the family. For everyone involved.
…
Peik Lin: Was she like… “You will never be good enough for my son.” Or was it like, “You… You… will never be good enough for my son.”
Rachel: It’s like the second one.
Peik Lin: You know, I bet if you told her you’d leave Nick for like, a million dollars, she would write that check. They do that around here.
…
Rachel: I don’t even know what I should do. I mean, I can’t even tell Nick because he like, worships her.
Peik Lin: Yeah. Chinese sons think their moms fart Chanel No. 5.
…
Peik Lin: Okay, here’s what you need to understand, all right? It’s not about getting Eleanor to like you. It’s about getting her to respect you. All right? Right now, she just thinks you’re some like, undeserving, clueless, gold-digging, trashy, unrefined banana. Yellow on the outside, and white on the inside.
Rachelk: I know what a banana is.
Peik Lin: When in reality, you’re like a super sophisticated, smart professor of freaking game theory.
…
Rachel: Princess Intan. Rachel Chu. I read your great article about micro loans in the Asian Economics Journal.
Princess Intan: I received so much criticism about that article.
Rachel: Well, you know what? I think your critics missed the point. Because your micro loans help women. And women lift up economies.[/b]
This passes for “substance” here. But it’s just another plot device.
[b]Colin: Hey, man, Rachel’s not sitting with your family.
Nick: Yeah. I don’t blame her. Mother hasn’t exactly been the most welcoming. But I’m sure she’ll be out back somewhere, laying low.
Colin: Mm, she’s right at the front. Take a look.
[Nick sees Rachal conversing with Princess Intan]
Colin: I think you’ve got a fighter.
…
Ah Ma: Rachel. I’ve only know you a short time, but it’s clear you’re a very smart woman. But, I will not permit you to ruin my grandson with your ambition.
Nick: Ah Ma!
Eleanor: I’m sorry to tell you, but Rachel has been lying to us about her family and her mother.
Rachel: What-What are you talking about?
Eleanor: I hired a private investigator…
Nick: Mom, you didn’t.
Eleanor: …to look into her past. She said her father passed away - in China. But that’s not true. Your mother’s husband is very much alive. During her marriage, she cheated on him and became pregnant with another man’s child. And before he found out, she ran away to America.
[she hands Nick some papers]
Eleanor: It’s all in here.
Nick: You had no right!
Eleanor: We had every right.
Nick: You did not!
Rachel: You’re lying.
Eleanor: Do you have any idea the scandal this would have caused? For Rachel to hide something like this?
Nick: She wouldn’t have.
Eleanor: We cannot be linked to this sort of family.
Rachel [turning to leave]: I don’t want any part of your family.
…
Rachel: Why didn’t you tell me about my father?
Mother: My husband wasn’t a good man. He hurt me. But an old schoolmate of mine helped me through things. And we fell in love. And I got pregnant with his baby. That’s you. I was so afraid my husband would find out and kill us both, so I just took you and I ran to America.
…
Nick: I’m so sorry about everything. What my mother did to you is unforgivable.
Rchel: It’s not your fault.
Nick: It is. Ever since I can remember, my family has been my whole life. And I am done making excuses for them. Marry me. Marry me and we’ll start a new life together in New York. Just you and me. I’ll leave all of this behind.
…
Rachel: I know Nick told you the truth about my mom. But you didn’t like me the second I got here. Why is that?
Eleanor: There is a Hokkien phrase, “Gar gee nang”. It means, our own kind of people. And you’re not our own kind.
Rachel: Because I’m not rich? 'Cause I didn’t go to a British boarding school, or I wasn’t born into a wealthy family?
Eleanor: You’re a foreigner. American. And all Americans think about is their own happiness.
Rachel: Don’t you want Nick to be happy?
Eleanor: It’s an illusion. We understand how to build things that last. Something you know nothing about.
Rachel: You don’t know me.
Eleanor: I know you’re not what Nick needs.
Rachel: Well, he proposed to me yesterday. He said he’d walk away from his family and from you for good. Don’t worry, I turned him down.
Eleanor: Only a fool folds a winning hand.
Rachel: There’s no winning. You made sure of that. Because if Nick chose me, he would lose his family. And if he chose his family, he might spend the rest of his life resenting you.
Eleanor: So you chose for him.
…
Rachel: I’m not leaving 'cause I’m scared. Or because I think I’m not enough. Because maybe for the first time in my life…I know I am. I just love Nick so much. I don’t want him to lose his mom again. So, I just wanted you to know that one day, when he marries another lucky girl who is enough for you…and you’re playing with your grandkids while the tan huas are blooming and the birds are chirping…that it was because of me…a poor, raised-by-a-single-mother, low-class, immigrant nobody.[/b]