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'Crazy Rich Asians' ticks all the right boxes


'Crazy Rich Asians' is an adaption of the 2013 Kevin Kwan novel of the same name. It tells the story of a Chinese-American professor who travels to meet her boyfriend's family and is surprised when she discovers they are among the richest in Singapore.


Although the novel and subsequent film adaption were filled with so much cheese, 'Crazy Rich Asians' is a reminder of how reflective we need to be of our world in the media.


Drawing from the (still clearly effective) romantic comedy formula to provide a hilariously refreshing take on a well used genre, 'Crazy Rich Asians' was a film worth seeing.



What lifts this film, along with the thunderously strong representation of cast on screen, is Michelle Yeoh. She's the star of many a-Chinese and Western film, and a top notch martial artist that can hold her own amongst the best (clearly demonstrated in 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon').


The high fashion appeal of the film can be compared to 'The Devil Wears Prada' and is a strong contender against the current superhero-oriented audience of today. While it may be a pure escapist fantasy, we're grounded in the (somewhat) reality of Singapore's elite and the love between two individuals.


'Crazy Rich Asians' is sadly the first Asian-American lead film in more than twenty-five years (since 1993's 'Joy Luck Club'), and thus leads the way in paving a new case for Asian/Asian-American representation in the mainstream media.


Seemingly, the film's only downfall is only showing this one side of Singapore and the non-Chinese citizens, as well as speaking in British/American-English as opposed to Singaporean-English. While the Chinese population may make up the majority of the population, like many other countries of the world, Singapore is highly diverse, and the four recognised languages being Mandarin, English, and Tamil, along with national language Malay, it would have been great if the filmmakers had incorporated these into the film.


While 'Crazy Rich Asians' may be a huge step forward for diversity on screen, we still have a long way to go.


'Crazy Rich Asians' is in cinemas now.


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