Podres de Ricos

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.

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.

There are three complaints:

1. Celebrates perversity - romance and materialism are too intimately tied together (i.e. gold-digging) that both end up being expounded in their superficiality and unreality

2. Limited representation - only "Chinese" Asians and only extremely wealthy individuals are portrayed, undermining the efficacy and diversity of true "asianhood"

3. Shallow plot and characters - overused story-line about romance and familial tensions, a pure imitation of Western desires with a lack of oriental authenticity, leading to a paper-thin plot protracted by stereotypes

Three responses:

1. If you actually consider how the movie plays out, the elements that supposedly celebrate exuberance and materialistic romance are either dismissed in their possible retention of worth or confined to brief stylistic moments which throw the more intractable experience of love without materialism into stark relief. There is so much evidence of this throughout the film - every point of excess ingrains in us, as an audience, a sense of disgust or doubt - is that not then the point? Plus the title literally spells the theme out for you "Crazy Rich", so yeah. What did you expect?

2. Now the second part of the title"Asians". I agree, the film does not cover every individual that would be qualified under the term in an ethnic or otherwise geographic sense. But why did it have to? It is not a documentary. It does not aim for absolute objective authority, it tells a story with insight into a limited persona with limited struggles and limited breadth. The assertion that the movie is inaccurate or "bad" because it does not show us every type of Asian is extremely unfair - at least they showed us some (where most do not show any) and they did it in a way where the central aspects of being Asian are still on display (e.g. filial guilt, patriarchy).

3. This then leads me to my next point. What is the big picture? Sure we could convert this movie to have an all white cast and the general story-line and characters would not have to be completely revised, I concede that. But, to me the appearance of an all Asian cast in big budget Hollywood - twenty-five years after "The Joy Luck Club" - means a lot. I think even if you take the plot at its worst - dreary, old garbage - and the inclusion of Asians as mere tokenistic market-pandering, I still stand by this film. Because to me this film is a gateway to all the things that people have been so frustrated and disappointed about, it is a film that in its very existence can forge the path for much broader and deeper representation or discussion. You will not be able to overturn all Asian stereotypes or perfectly represent all Asians overnight, it is an ongoing process that begins by giving the "asian-face" more airtime. Plus I thought the way females were portrayed in this film has been misconstrued and under-evaluated. Just saying.

Watch the film and see what you think.

My wife is the type of person who falls asleep if the movie is boring or uninteresting. With Crazy Rich Asians, she stayed awake until the end.

I have three insights on it: 1. Crazy Rich, Asians! 2. Live Action Asian Disney Princess (minus the powers) 3. Normal Asian Family Tradition

Overall, the movie was good. It was the generic princess type movie but the Asian theme made it unique (in my opinion). I had a few laughs on it. I recommend it. You'll have a good time.

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!