Page to Screen: Crazy Rich Asians
I keep forgetting to post about the film Crazy Rich Asians. I’m sure you’ve heard of it because it is breaking all kinds of box office records. It’s the first movie with an all Asian cast in 25 years! One of the movie studios who wanted to adapt the book told the author Kevin Kwan that they wanted to cast a white girl to play Rachel. Why?? That would have completely changed the point of the story. I’m glad that Kwan stuck to his guns and told them no thank you.
My friend Sarah and I went to a black tie premiere party that Alamo Drafthouse put on the Friday of opening weekend. It was really fun to get all dressed up to see the movie. Alamo is a theater that serves food and adult beverages during the movie. For Crazy Rich Asians, they had some special Asian drinks and yummy Asian appetizers.
This movie was so good! It wasn’t just good for an Asian rom-com, it was good for a rom-com in general. I feel confident that it’s one of the best rom-coms I’ve ever seen, right up there with When Harry Met Sally. It was perfectly cast as well. I’ve read the book twice (see my review here) so I’m very familiar with the characters and all of the actors looked just like I pictured them when reading the book. Harry Golding, who played Nick, is just dreamy. Gemma Chan, who played Astrid, oozes elegance. And Constance Wu, who played Rachel, embodies the girl next door. I could go on and on with how spot on each actor is for each character but you get the idea.
I liked how the movie didn’t dumb down the Asian culture and interrupt the flow of the movie with finding a way to explain what the characters are doing. I’m sure the Asian viewers appreciated that as well. If you’ve read the book, you already know about the culture. If you haven’t, you can figure out most of it through context or you can look it up when you get home. You’ll still enjoy the movie. This article is helpful in explaining the pivotal mahjong scene (which is not in the book) but it does contain a lot of spoilers so don’t read it until after you’ve seen the movie.
With the amount of money Crazy Rich Asians is making, it will probably be in theaters for a while. Even so, do not delay – see this movie ASAP. You will love it!
