alike.com.ph—Crazy Rich Asians finally released its first trailer! An adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel of the same name, the film follows Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), a New York University Economics professor who gets the surprise of her life when she finds out her boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding) comes from one of the wealthiest families in Asia and heir to a massive fortune. While trying to navigate the fabulous world of Singapore’s high society filled with designer labels, luxury, cars and over-the-top jewelry, Rachel tries to fend off socialites trying to replace her as Nick’s girlfriend. Tensions rise when Young’s dominating mother (Michelle Yeoh) shows disapproval of Chu and devises a plan to tear them apart.
Many were excited to find out that Crazy Rich Asians would be a major, big-budget project, a rare occurrence for a film featuring an all-Asian cast. The last film to boast a similarly predominant Asian ensemble was the Joy Luck Club back in 1993. Author Kevin Kwan was fully determined to bring an all-Asian cast, sharing that at one point a potential producer wanted to change the Chinese-American protagonist for a full blooded American—ultimately missing the point of the entire story.
Hollywood has shown a history of reluctance when it comes to Asian-led films, unsure if Western audiences could relate to the stories being told on screen. Because of this, role models of Asian ethnicity were extremely limited in mainstream cinema. According to the Hollywood Diversity Report 2018, less than 20% of film leads are people with color, while Asians make up only 3% in all film roles in 2016. In addition, Asians were typically limited to roles such as the nerdy doctor, hot-headed shop owner, or the studious student. Fortunately, Crazy Rich Asians signals a welcome change in the status quo.
Constance Wu has been extremely vocal about Asian representation in Hollywood praising the film for centering its stars in a contemporary setting. “A lot of the roles I see that are good for Asians are often period pieces. While that’s great, I think it says something if we can only picture Asians in something from another time. It’s like a different type of alienation.” The film also highlighted the talents of many Asian actors from around the world such as Awkwafina, Harry Shum, and Ronny Chieng. In addition, our very own Kris Aquino is slated to have a cameo in the film.
Unfortunately, many argued that the film wouldn’t be as diverse as many Asians had hoped it would be due to the lack of South Asians or anyone with dark skin. Some fans claimed online that despite efforts to keep the production authentic, Hollywood still whitewashed the film by casting half-Asian Henry Golding as the male lead as he simply wasn’t Asian enough.
Crazy Rich Asians offers a hopeful start by making a statement that an all-Asian cast can make a splash in the box office. Hopefully, the movie will set the precedence for more diverse Asian content with positive stereotypes.
Crazy Rich Asians will be released in theatres on August 17, 2018.
