Crazy Rich Asians

Of all the movies I saw at the cinemas last year, the standout one was Crazy Rich Asians. It’s actually the first mainstream movie since Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon back in the 90s that featured an all-Asian cast. After reading at least two rave reviews about it, I decided I’d better go see it too!

The good thing about holding a companion card is that for movies, when I buy my own ticket, my companion gets a free ticket! Usually when I wanna see a movie I’ll offer my companion a free ticket should he/she buy the popcorn. XD

These days, my cinema of choice is the Sunnybank Plaza Hoyts cinemas, because they offer fully reclining seats! Ahh, that’s luxury for you~

Anyhow, upon reaching the cinemas, I take a seat and my friend goes to buy our tickets and popocorn. Suddenly, who do I bump into but Pastors Chris and Grace! Pastor Grace informs me that today’s screening is actually some mums and bubs session, meaning they’ll leave the hallway lights on should a mum and her bub suddenly need to exit the cinema or sth. Sounds cool, but I have two questions about that: (1) if it’s a mum’s and bubs session, then why’s Pastor Chris present? I’m pretty sure he’s neither a mum nor a bub … XD and (2) if it’s a mums and bubs session, where’s Naomi? Isn’t Naomi your bub, Pastor Grace? Both Pastors crack up, before Pastor Chris explains to me that while yes, today’s a mums and bubs session, dads aren’t forbidden from joining and that Naomi’s spending the morning with his own mum, Aunty Florry.

My friend comes back with our tickets and popcorn, and after we both visit the loo once, we enter the cinemas. Turns out our seats are in the row directly in front of where Pastor Chris and Grace are sitting! I turn and wave to them enthusiastically. XD

Anyways, here are all the interesting trivia, quotes and bloopers from imdb:

Trivia first –

• Director Jon M. Chu revealed that Michelle Yeoh was dissatisfied with the mock-up ring that her character, Eleanor, was going to wear. She showed him a ring from her personal collection and this eventually became the emerald and diamond ring Eleanor wears in the movie. (A/N: oh, to be rich and have your own personal collection of jewellery to choose from … XD)
• Crazy Rich Asians 2 has been confirmed; it will be based on the second book of the trilogy, "China Rich Girlfriend". (A/N: There’s gonna be a second movie?? When?? Must see that too! Who’s willing to see the second movie with me? Remember, if you buy the popcorn, I’ll shout you a free ticket!)
• This is Henry Golding's first movie; he was only a travel show host before this, but was introduced to the project after a producer met a studio accountant in Singapore, who suggested his name. However, Henry turned down to audition for the role several times as he did not think he was good enough for the part and believed a "legitimate" actor would be better suited. It was not until the director, Jon Chu, reached out to him via a mutual Facebook friend that he was finally convinced to do the part.
• In the book, one of Goh's three dogs is named after Donald Trump. In the film, the name is changed to Rockefeller. (A/N: Um, why? Surely President Trump couldn’t sue someone for using his name, surely? It’s not like he’s got a very unique name, anyway…)
• The film is based on the novel of the same name; the novel is the first part of a trilogy by Kevin Kwan. Two other novels, within the same trilogy are "China Rich Girlfriend" and "Rich People Problems." (A/N: Ooh, that’s the first item on my Birthday Wishlist 2019: I want The Crazy Rich Asians book trilogy!)

• As of October 2018, the film had grossed over $235 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing romantic comedy in a decade. (A/N: What was the last, Love Actually?)

• The tiger in the foyer of Tyersall Park (where Nick and Astrid would hide their cigarettes) was an interesting movie prop. Per the Hollywood Reporter, "The mansion's taxidermied tiger was problematic; the best specimen was in London, and the production designer realized he'd have trouble getting it across international borders. Instead, he hired sculptors in Thailand, to create a tiger out of foam and fur, only to have it held up in Thai customs because agents thought it was the real thing. 'We finally got it installed the night before we filmed the scene,' he says."

• In the book, one of Goh's three dogs is named after Donald Trump. In the film, the name is changed to Rockefeller. (A/N: Aww, what’s wrong with having the same name as the U.S. President? Surely that’s not a sue-able offence?? XD)

• Kris Aquino, who plays the princess that Rachel sits with at the wedding, is actually the daughter of former Philippine President Cory Aquino (1986- 1992) and senator Benigno Aquino Jr. She is, also, the sister of former President Benigno Aquino III (2010- 2016).

• Early in the film, when Rachel is finding an outfit with her mother, in which to meet Nick's family; she picks out a blue and white striped dress and her mother tells her blue and white are the colors of mourning. She then gives her a red dress to wear. Later in the film, three main characters end up wearing blue and white: Nick (changing to a blue shirt with a white jacket at the house), Astrid (wearing a blue and white striped shirt) and Rachel (wearing a white top with blue shorts, when she and Astrid were burying the fish). No other cast wore such combination. (A/N: Blue and white are the colours of mourning … for Asians, perhaps? Don’t Westerners wear black to funerals?)

• Henry Golding had to cut his honeymoon short, after the studio required him and Constance Wu, to fly out for a screen test. (A/N: Aww, but I suppose it was worth it, considering how big a hit the movie was! XD)

• Singapore Airlines was invited to participate, but the company declined. Instead, the flight took place on board a fictional Pacific Asean AIrlines. (A/N: I bet Singapore Airlines regret now they refused to take part in such a big movie! XD)

• That amazing 3-tower hotel featured in the movie is very real and is called the Marina Bay Sands; it is famous for having the world's largest rooftop infinity pool. (A/N: I learnt a new thing today! Thanks Mr. Google for teaching me what an infinity pool is. XD)

• Once the word got out that the film was being made, luxury designers such as Ralph Lauren, Elie Saab, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Dior, and many others "clamoured" for the stars to wear their clothes. Even Michelle Yeoh, loaned "hefty" jewellery pieces from her own personal collection, for the film.

• Although the film received praise in the United States for its casting, which made "history for Asian American representation"; it was criticized elsewhere for not exclusively using actors of Chinese descent, in ethnically Chinese roles. This film was also criticized for using British and American English over Singaporean English. In addition, the film received criticism for poorly representing the actual makeup of Singapore, virtually erasing non-Chinese citizens. (A/N: Well, you can’t please everyone; there’s always gonna be criticism from *somewhere*…)

• When Nick and Rachel arrived in Singapore's Changi Airport, they were filmed from the departure hall, which is one level below the arrival hall.

• Jon M. Chu personally wrote the members of Coldplay for permission to use a cover of 'Yellow'. Aside from yellow's obvious connotation as an epithet, the band was also reluctant to be associated with the film because of the accusations of cultural appropriation surrounding their song 'Princess of China'. However, Chu won them over after explaining his personal fondness of the song and his desire to "reclaim" the word from its usage as a racial slur. (A/N: Since when was ‘yellow’ a swear word??)

• The film's screenwriters, Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, worked on the script in separate places, sending it back and forth to each other; they said it "was like having shared custody of a child."

• The film was shot at locations in Kuala Lumpur; Langkawi and Penang, Malaysia; and in Singapore.

• If Constance Wu was obvious for the role of Rachel Chu, finding her partner on screen was more complicated. It needed an actor from Singapore who grew up in England and with a particular accent. Thousands of actors had been auditioned around the world and via the Internet. It was thanks to a production employee, the film's budget accountant, Lisa-Kim Kuan, who suggested Henry Golding to a producer, as someone who could play Nick Young. He was spotted while he was broadcasting travel programs, but had never shot in film and so he almost did not participate in the adventure, convinced he was not good enough for the role, nor legitimate enough.

• As an icebreaker, the cast had a dumpling-making party the first evening they arrived in Kuala Lumpur; it was also a needed skill to learn for the dumpling scene. (A/N: Dumplings are my FAVOURITE food! I don’t care whether you boil/steam/fry them, whether they’ve got pork mince/chicken mince/some other mince, dumplings are dumplings are dumplings! :D)

• The mahjong scene, toward the end of the film, was not in the book; it was added as a nod to The Joy Luck Club (1993).

• Despite some prominent billing, Harry Shum, Jr. (Charlie Wu) is only on screen for a few seconds in a scene that is about 30 seconds into the credits; he is the handsome man at the bar who Astrid smiles at. This to some may appear to be a foreshadowing to setting up sequels, as Charlie is a prominent character in the second and third novels. (A/N: Well I sure hope there are sequels; I thought this movie was awesome! ^^)

• Unlike the movie, the book doesn't end with Eleanor changing and accepting Nick and Rachel's relationship and everyone "happily ever after." Instead, Nick, disgusted with his family's antics toward Rachel, defies Eleanor and vows to have nothing to do with his family to be with Rachel. (A/N: Hence why The Crazy Rich Asians will be the first thing on my birthday wishlist, due out March the 1^st; I really wanna read it!)

• Most of the scenes were filmed in Malaysia, instead of their supposed locations. The list includes: London (opening scene in "The Calthorpe Hotel"), New York (Lecture theatre, Cake and Carry restaurant), Singapore (bible study house, First Class cabin, the grandmother's mansion, airport hangar, the mahjong house, the economy class cabin), and International Waters ( where the bachelor party was held). (A/N: Does international waters mean smack bang in the middle of nowhere, faraway from any countries?)

• The mahjong tile Rachel gives Eleanor has an emerald green base that matches Eleanor's ring. By giving the ring to Nick, so that he can propose to Rachel, Eleanor symbolically gives back the winning tile to her.

• When Nick asks Rachel to go to Singapore, he says "Singapore for spring break". This would place the timing of the film to be sometime between March and April of the calendar year; however, the Tan Hua (Queen of the night flower), which blooms on the second night that Rachel arrives, in reality, only blooms between July and October. (A/N: Then how come this fact wasn’t in the goofs section?)

• The Pacific Asean Airlines economy class cabin, where Nick proposed to Rachel, was actually an Airbus A330 owned by AirAsia X, with its signature beige and red seat covers.

Goofs next!

• When Astrid brings her husband dinner and then checks his phone, her wedding ring jumps from her middle finger to her ring finger. Middle finger during the interaction with the husband and ring finger while working with the phone.
• When the map of Singapore is shown and the indicator showing that Nick and Rachel's flight has arrived into Singapore, it stops at an area close to the nation's harbour in south Singapore rather than Changi Airport, which is on the extreme east of the island.
• When Rachel was heading towards the airport for the last time, her taxi was heading west. The Airport is east.
• When Nick is talking to his family about Rachel, he mentions that she teaches millennials. While Nick and Rachel's ages are never explicitly mentioned, we can guess by the 1995 flashback that Nick at least is of the age range generally accepted to be a millennial (early 1980s to mid-1990s). Nick and Rachel seem to be near the same age, making both of them millennials. Unless Rachel is only teaching graduate students, her students would be firmly placed in the Generation Z age range.

And finally, quotes!

• Astrid Young Teo: It was never my job to make you feel like a man. I can't make you something you're not.

Rachel Chu: Thanks for meeting me here.

[Eleanor eyes the other two women at the mahjong table]

Rachel Chu: Don't worry about them. They're half-deaf and they only speak Hokkien.

[Long pause as Eleanor reluctantly settles into her seat]

Rachel Chu: My mom taught me how to play. She told me mahjong would teach me important life skills: Negotiation. Strategy. Cooperation.

Eleanor Young: You asked me here, I assume it's not for a mahjong lesson.

[Shows her tiles]

Eleanor Young: Pong.

[Snidely remarks]

Eleanor Young: My mother taught me too.

Rachel Chu: I know Nick told you the truth about my mom, but you didn't like me the second I got here. Why is that?

Eleanor Young: There is a Hokkien phrase 'kaki lang'. It means: our own kind of people, and you're not our own kind.

Rachel Chu: Because I'm not rich? Because I didn't go to a British boarding school, or wasn't born into a wealthy family?

Eleanor Young: You're a foreigner. American - and all Americans think about is their own happiness.

Rachel Chu: Don't you want Nick to be happy?

Eleanor Young: It's an illusion. We understand how to build things that last. Something you know nothing about.

Rachel Chu: You don't know me.

Eleanor Young: I know you're not what Nick needs.

Rachel Chu: [pauses] Well he proposed to me yesterday.

[pauses]

Rachel Chu: He said he'd walk away from his family and from you for good.

[pauses]

Rachel Chu: Don't worry, I turned him down.

Eleanor Young: [sighs] Only a fool folds a winning hand.

Rachel Chu: Mm no. There's no winning. You made sure of that. 'Cause if Nick chose me, he would lose his family. And if he chose his family, he might spend the rest of his life resenting you.

Eleanor Young: [after a long pause] So you chose for him...

Rachel Chu: I'm not leaving because I'm scared, or because I think I'm not enough - because maybe for the first time in my life, I know I am.

[Choking back tears]

Rachel Chu: I just love Nick so much, I don't want him to lose his mom again. So I just wanted you to know: that one day - when he marries another lucky girl who is enough for you, and you're playing with your grandkids while the Tan Hua's are blooming, and the birds are chirping - that it was because of me: a poor, raised by a single mother, low class, immigrant nobody.

[Shows her tiles. Gets up. Walks to her mom who then turns around and gives Auntie Eleanor the silent death glare]  (A/N: I think this was like the most important scene of the movie!

·        Astrid Young Teo: God forbid we lose the ancient Chinese tradition of guilting your children.

·        Rachel Chu: I can't believe this airport has a butterfly garden and a movie theatre. JFK is just salmonella and despair.

·        Wye Mun Goh: Let me get this straight. You both went to the same school. Yet someone came back with a degree that's useful, and the other one came back as Asian Ellen.

Peik Lin Goh: Chinese sons think their moms fart Chanel No. 5. (A/N: Maybe it’s coz I’m a daughter and not a son, but I thought my mother farted sulphur. XD)

Rachel Chu: I'm so Chinese. I'm an econ professor that's lactose intolerant. (A/N: Are Chinese more commonly lactose intolerant than Westerners?? I’d better never become lactose intolerant because if I did, I’d prolly have to commit suicide since I like live on milk! XD)

Oliver T'sien: It's about time somebody stood up to Auntie Eleanor. But you, not me, oh god. She can't ever know I was here.

Peik Lin Goh: You kind of look like a slutty Ebola virus. (A/N: Just curious: what does an Ebola virus look like? And how does a virus look ‘slutty’?? XD)

Felicity Young: You can explore hell, you dog turd. (A/N: Hey, I like this quote; may I try it on someone one day, please? XD)

Oliver T'sien: Your skin is so dry it's hurting my face. (A/N: That’s what moisturiser cream’s for! XD)

Peik Lin Goh: [to Rachel] She just think you're some like unrefined banana. Yellow on the outside, and white on the inside.

Peik Lin Goh: They're so posh and snobby, it's snoshy!

Eleanor Young: I think we should return to the word of God. (A/N: Yeah, and good luck if that helps you whatsoever in the slightest … *sigh*)

For me, the scene that most stood out during the movie was when Nick’s mum tells Rachel when they’re playing mahjong so coldly, so flatly, “You will never be enough.” I was outraged! Okay, fair enough, full credit to Michelle Yeoh for delivering the line so well, but I couldn’t help it: when she said that, I actually hissed, “Bitch!” The friend watching the movie had to actually smother a smirk of laughter; behind me, either Pastor Grace/Pastor Chris gave a chuckle, too. XD Well, I reckon I was justified: Nick’s mum was a BITCH. XD

I really enjoyed watching this movie and am looking forward to seeing the next one when it comes out! Hopefully the friend who saw the first one with me will take me to see the second one too, else anyone willing to buy the popcorn says they’re free to watch the movie together, I’ll shout you a free movie ticket!

Next post here … well, the parents and I are taking a weeklong interstate holiday come Thursday, maybe I’ll write a post about that when I get back? Anyways, until then~

Cheers,

Em. ^^