‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Has Early Success in American Theaters

 

The movie version of Kevin Kwan’s popular novel Crazy Rich Asians received a warm welcome at American theaters Wednesday and Thursday. Theater goers bought more than $8.5 million worth of tickets.

It was a good start, especially since the film cost only about $30 million to make. Movie business experts are predicting it will recover that amount and more by the end of the weekend.

Crazy Rich Asians received early critical praise as a young, fun, romantic comedy. New York rapper, actor and funny woman Awkwafina also won much recent attention for her part in the movie. And the film has been discussed as a major breakthrough for Asian representation¹ in the American movie industry.

It is the first major Hollywood movie set in the present day to employ a majority-Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club 25 years ago. The cast includes Asian-American, Malaysian and Chinese actors.

Constance Wu stars in Crazy Rich Asians. She gained wide fame for her part on the American television show Fresh Off the Boat.

In the movie, she plays Rachel Chu, a respected young economics² professor in New York City. Rachel is in a happy romance³ with Nick Young, played by Henry Golding. The relationship is moving ahead beautifully until the time comes for Rachel to meet Nick’s family in Singapore.

On the plane, Rachel learns that the Young family is almost impossibly wealthy and powerful. And after arriving, Nick’s mother, played by Michelle Yeoh, shows signs that suggest she might not find Rachel equal to her son’s interest.

John Chu directed the movie. He told the Associated Press he thought a lot of Asian-Americans have similar experiences when they travel to their ancestral homelands.

“I remember going to Asia for the first time and there’s a very specific emotion that you feel that’s like, ‘Oh, this feels like home but it’s not my home and these people don’t see me as being part of this,’” he said.

The movie shows Rachel as an “outsider” in Singapore. The funny and dramatic exploration of that experience may prove to be part of the film’s appeal in America.

Singapore itself also steals many of the scenes in Crazy Rich Asians.

The movie has been described as part Cinderella story, part party movie.

Singapore -- with its wealthy citizens, extraordinary buildings and beautiful gardens -- is a perfect background for costly⁴ weddings, exciting parties and other almost dream-like social gatherings⁵. The characters drive costly cars, travel in private aircraft and wear the finest clothes.

Critic Inkoo Kang of the web magazine Slate⁶ describes the movie this way: “Emotionally layered, culturally specific, and frequently hilarious⁷, Crazy Rich is a transportive delight…”

There is negative criticism of Crazy Rich Asians, too. Some say it is not representative of enough of Asia to justify⁸ the movie’s name.

Sangeetha Thanapal is a Singaporean-born activist⁹. She brings attention to racial issues faced by the country’s Indian, Malay and other minority communities. She told the Associated Press that she does not plan to see the film. She said her race does not even seem to exist in the Singapore represented in Crazy Rich Asians.

“Everyone else is told you have to care, even though we are not represented, we can’t see ourselves,” she said.

Those kinds of objections to Crazy Rich Asians have been hotly debated on social media. One Twitter user, Alton Wang, posted this argument.

The criticism of #CrazyRichAsians for not being "Asian" enough or not "capturing the diversity of the Asian experience" inherently¹⁰ implies @CrazyRichMovie is our only chance to tell these stories. Don't believe that. Go watch this film to ensure other stories can also be told.

The discussion is sure to continue.

I’m Caty Weaver¹¹.

Words in This Story

novel - n. a long written story usually about imaginary characters and events

romantic - adj. of, relating to, or involving love between two people

comedy - n. a play, movie, television program, novel, etc., that is meant to make people laugh?

breakthrough - n. a sudden increase in knowledge, understanding, etc.

cast - n. the actors in a play, film, or television show

specific - adj. special or particular

characters - n. ?the people who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show

frequently - adv.? happening often

hilarious - adj. ?very funny

1 representation   

n.表现某人（或某事物）的东西，图画，雕塑

参考例句：

• The painting is a representation of a storm at sea.这幅画描绘的是海上的暴风雨。
• All parties won representation in the national assembly.所有政党在国民大会中都赢得了代表资格。

2 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

3 romance   

n.恋爱关系，浪漫气氛，爱情小说，传奇

参考例句：

• She wrote a romance about an artist's life in Tokyo.她写了一个关于一位艺术家在东京生活的浪漫故事。
• They tried to rekindle the flames of romance.他们试图重燃爱火。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

6 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

7 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

8 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 inherently   

内在的，固有的

参考例句：

• There is nothing inherently improbable in the idea. 这个想法本身没什么不可能的。
• All business activities are inherently risky. 所有的商业活动本质上都有风险。

11 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。