Crazy Rich

I have to say, I was very impressed with this film. I was very much looking forward to it, despite not reading the source material, and it turned out even better than I thought it would! There was so much to appreciate about this film! It was filmed in such a beautiful way, and the locations look great, too! The cast was excellent, and really made you believe their characters. I liked how you could understand their actions, and why they acted the way they did. This is certainly one of the year's best, in every way you can imagine! Just a fantastic film!

I am a late middle aged, overweight, balding, white, male, American who worked in Singapore during the 1990's and then took my family there for the opening of the skypark in 2010. This was actually an advantage since I was always waived though immigration, customs, and the casino entrance (the casino is free for foreigners, $100/day for Singaporeans). If anyone asks me what the major religion of Singapore is I just tell them that they worship money. It's true. Yes they have churches, temples, and mosques - but nothing can compete with money. Starting a conversation asking about investment options is normal. Comments on the movie: It's a loooonnnngggg plane ride. I never got first class, business class was great on Singapore Air, barely tolerable on US airlines. You may die in economy and no one will care. The "street food" scenes are accurate but a misnomer. You don't buy food off of vendors on the street - they are gathered together in strictly regulated food courts. Hawker centers are outdoor and usually visited at night. Food courts are air conditioned and connected to shopping malls, slightly more expensive than hawker centers but worth it for a fat white guy. Speaking of air conditioning, Singapore is equatorial. It's hot. It's humid. The sun is directly overhead at noon and would melt lead on the sidewalk except that you would be arrested for littering the sidewalk with lead. Speaking of being arrested in Singapore, if you are a reasonably well adjusted human being don't worry about it. Illegal drugs and violent crimes carry the death penalty. It is rarely imposed because people have learned not to do these things. Singapore posts a lot of laws because they are an amalgamation of many cultures. If you don't know whether it is acceptable to defecate in public there will be a sign to tell you not to. Anyway I enjoyed the movie. Unfortunately my daughter will probably not have such a great wedding.

Let me say straight off the bat that this does not give an accurate representation of 99% of Singaporeans, such as myself, ordinary people with more modest, down-to-earth backgrounds. This didn't stop me from enjoying this movie, which featured terrific acting, a storyline that translated decently onto the screen and wonderful camerawork and production values.

Michelle Yeoh, acting as the stern, imposing mother of the male protagonist Nicholas gave the standout performance for me- I could sense the intensity of this character without going over-dramatic. Constance Wu, playing the female protagonist, also did terrifically as the girl thrust into a world she's totally unprepared to face. Everyone else, including Henry Goulding as the male protagonist, were also solid.

I found the character development in the movie impressive, not just with the two main characters but even the minor ones too, as their backstories and motivations for behaving the way they did unfolded effectively. The storyline does fall prey to corny moments typical of most rom-coms- indeed, on that note, the story itself unfolded in a manner very formulaic of a rom-com, but that isn't too big of a deal in a script which overall works well. And it's supplemented by interesting camerawork and beautiful production values, illuminating the story very nicely.

Many people seem to really detest this movie (and even the book it's based on), perceiving it as a shallow, silly, even offensive glorification of ultra-rich families and modern-day materialism. I'd say that's too simplistic of an overview, as the heightening of a mega-wealthy bubble that is presented in the story is simply to illustrate the issues and circumstances that someone in that scenario would face. It draws out themes such as the love of wealth, the desire to maintain a reputation before others, and how to manage cultural/social expectations and traditions when they conflict with your wishes. That is something I really appreciated in the film, and would recommend you disregard the negative reviews and give it a watch.

Why all the hate? This movie is purely escapism and it doesn't pretend to be anything deeper than that. It showcases exotic scenery and lots of shiny expensive things. There's also a "Cinderella-esque" love story that serves to move the story along sweetly.

The characters aren't super deep and they don't do any switching up halfway through the film so the plot is easy to follow. Charming boy is secretly rich with a heart of gold, and eyes for only our lead lady. Successful girl is comfortable and naive, and fights a battle of wits to be with her man.

I see a lot of people complaining about racism and the movie promoting bad values. Yeah, the movie primarily showcases East Asians as opposed to every single Asian people, but why the pressure??? Finally, a movie that features Asians whose entire character identities aren't math experts or Kung fu masters (which is the stereotypes mainly presented in American television), but people with varied goals and backstories that can be understood to a certain extent by their audience regardless of race. As for the bad values about gold digging and backstabbing. Literally every rom-com has a gold digger or backstabber thrown in the mix for a little razzle dazzled added drama.

All these "far stretched" complaints are clearly based in some people's discomfort with a movie presenting any race other than white but still being celebrated on a large scale level. This is a standard modern fairytale type romance. It's not meant to be complicated. It's just fun. Don't overthink it, just enjoy.

I'm confused by the criticism of this movie by other users - this wasn't made for people who want to be rich & glamorous, it literally showed how shallow & void the overly-rich & indulgent were. You were supposed to feel disgusted by them at many points in the film. But it was less about the flashy cars & parties, & more about the relationship between a girl & her boyfriend's family, as well as the identity crises that arise for an immigrant in America.