overrated and overhyped
i guess diversity is now a marketing gimmick
shareFirst off, I haven't seen CRA, and I really don't see the point. Sounds like a pleasant Rom-Com that happens to involve Asian people, and they happen to be crazy rich. How many of us care to relate to the lives of the crazy rich? And do all the characters speak impeccable English? Is this realistic (and it very well may be these days - I'm used to and never minded reading subtitles - but it wouldn't surprise me if a majority of wealthy Asians do indeed speak perfect English)?
One thing that strikes me is this country recently elected a President whose base is very white-centric. I wonder what motivated a studio to release this sort of movie. Personally, I don't know many Asian folks, but I assume they are similar to the rest of us. Perhaps not. I've heard Japanese people for generations feel they are superior, China is so under the thumb of the government that must have an effect, North and South Korea? I know there are many other nations I'm not mentioning, (I did date a woman from the Philippines, and I always hear good things about that culture, although they have their hiccups, too.)
So I don't get the point of this film. I've liked plenty of Asian films in the past, and I'm not sure what makes this thing special. Maybe I would be a little more interested if it were story about whites, or even some mixed race cast, where a woman has to grapple with an unexpected situation (being introduced into a mega-rich family), but that they are pushing the fact that it's an all-Asian cast ... who cares? That seems to make the movie itself sound very thin.
Book took place in Singapore. A former British colony, it has a high rate of English fluency. And like most ASEAN trading hubs, it's dominated by diaspora Han Chinese.
Probably overthinking it on the studio motivation. Like anything that gets made into a movie, someone had the resources & vision to do it. I'm sure it's being overhyped by the low-IQ Buzzfeed types. There is something creepy about the subtle implication that an "underdog" is finally getting its day in the sun. Since when has China been underrepresented on the world stage?
Still, I'd much rather see stuff like this than lazy gender/race re-skins of classic stories.
What make it noteworthy is that it's an American film, not a Chinese film. For a Hollywood studio film to be made with an all Asian cast is beyond rare. The Joy Luck Club is the only other such film I can think of, and that was made 25 years ago.
The underdog status you doubt is because this isn't on "the world stage." This is an American movie. Hollywood seldom casts Asians outside of certain stereotypical roles, so for Warner Brothers to back a film about Asians, and cast solely Asians, was incredibly unlikely.
Meanwhile in China, "Wolf Warrior 2" grossed nearly a billion US dollars:
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/china/yearly/?yr=2017&p=.htm
The Chinese film industry is booming. Let's not pretend it's some obscure, artsy-fartsy niche like Sweden.
EDIT: I should clarify; I haven't even seen the movie. I'm not criticizing it. I'm trying to answer snept's question. Snept seems to think the movie is pushing an agenda. Online movie reviewers are confirming that suspicion.
I still disagree. I think the story developed organically. It was a popular book before it became a movie. Hollywood is jumping on the bandwagon because there is a growing demand for movies with Asian faces.
You're confusing Chinese cinema with American cinema. A film like Wolf Warrior is out of place here, and of no interest to an American audience. Crazy Rich Asians is made for Americans.
American films virtually never feature an all Asian cast, so the film is a big deal to Asian-Americans. This is the first chance they've had in 25 years to go see a non-indie, non-foreign film that's geared towards all American audiences, but with Asian actors.
I don't think "pushing an agenda" is what I'm getting at. It's more like the movie is a huge effort at stunt-casting.
Can't think of the Black movie that came out recently, sort of a comedy about difficulty with Whites trying not to say and do the wrong things while confronting a bi-racial relationship. That sounds edgy and pushing boundaries.
Crazy Rich Asians just sounds like light entertainment, an American film with an all Asian appearing cast. (Shrug?)
As an aside, I have known a couple of Asian appearing Americans, and they're just regular folks. One was a gorgeous young lady, I mean distracting gorgeous, and she said people always ask her where she's from and if she speaks Japanese, Chinese, whatever. She'd say, I don't speak any of those languages, I was born in Grants Pass, for gosh sakes.
Anyway, if there is something special about an all-Asian cast making a silly mainstream movie just for the sake of saying it's revolutionary, I hope audiences enjoy it.