Essay Example on Crazy Rich Asians: A Commoner Among The Rich

Crazy Rich Asians is a 2018 American romantic comedy film directed by John M. Chu. The film is based on a 2013 novel by the under the same title, written by Kevin Kwan. The film follows the story of Chinese-American New Yorker Rachel Chu who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend, Nick Young, for his best friend's wedding. There she discovers Young's family is one of the richest and prominent in Asia. Now a commoner among the rich, Rachel becomes a target for single women pursuing Young's attention as well as his hypercritical mother Eleanor who wants them to break up. The initial view of Singapore in the film is an aerial view of the island featuring the Marina Bay Sands, the architecture is captivating and aligns with the movie's theme of wealth.

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The movie falls into the romantic comedy genre. Romance stood out as depicted by Wu and Golding, who embody characters with confidence in their relationship. Rachel and Young also display much romance from their interaction in restaurants and family gatherings. Moreover, there is a heartbreak where familial elements in the film threaten to tear them apart. Some of the humor arises from the mocking of annoying Asian behaviors such as undue worship of brand names products and excessive picture taking. For example, when Lin is at the Young's grandma's mansion, she makes her way upstairs and takes at least four selfies in various poses. The costume by Lin is also funny and portrays the "China doll" stereotype with her blonde hairstyle and funky outfits. Lin also tells Rachel that the house is inspired by Versailles and Donald Trump's bathroom. In the same scene, Lin's father tells her two daughters to eat because there are starving children in America. Lin's father wears a boldly patterned Versace tracksuit which is out of place for his role but conforms with his comedian character.

The film costume matched with the characters. Eleanor, who is authoritative throughout the film, has her costumes design vertical, straight to the ground with a straight-across neckline. She also wears a jade which is representative of her culture. Lin costume is shouting. She, for example, wears a dog-patterned pajama which sets in a fierce sense of humor. Her costumes are exaggerated as she mostly plays a funny character in the film. Lin costume is complemented by her hairstyle, a blonde wig. Though Young wears various different costumes, the most outstanding are the suites. When graces Ah Ma's gathering with a white linen suit, his presence is rendered iconic. The bright lighting, as well as the white painted interior, complements his costume. At the wedding, Ah Ma wears a traditional, oriental-patterned jacket which aligns with her authoritative figure. The costume is also Asian embroidered with flower design, which goes well with her traditional sense.

The film used a lot of Asian architecture as evidenced by the building. The design scenes are mainly shot in Singapore. Rachel and Goh Peik Lin have a scene at the Peranakan shophouses (Baldage). The shops are characterized by framed windows, flowery paper and storefront names both in English and Mandarin. The shophouses are featured again in the scene where Eleanor and Racheal face-off. The use of the Peranakan shophouses gives an Asian feel into the film. In addition, the inside of Young's mansion is of Peranakan design from the rugs to the ceramics and even to the interior furnishings (Baldage). The architecture of the location for Colin Khoo's wedding is also attractive. The location is the Supertrees tourist attraction site (Baldage).

The movie's color palette uses several themes. The film color scheme shifts with its location becoming gradually saturated with color as Rachel and Young move from Manhattan to Singapore. In New York, the dominant color is black and white, which is somehow monochromatic and stripped down. However, there is a color explosion in Singapore scenes. As Rachel embarks on the trip to Singapore, she buys a red dress. The color symbolizes prosperity, and good luck. The color is later discounted by Lin. The red color between these two incidents sought to demonstrate the status of Young's family as well as the contradicting attitudes of family members. In the wedding scene, the color heavily utilized is green and white. Another color sparingly in the film is the gold color. The scene where Rachel arrives at Lin's home, there is a large gold fountain in front of a white, tan, and gold house with massive columns. In the same scene, the pajama won by Lin has gold patterns. The use of gold color is used to portrays the theme of wealth, which is core to the movie.

Soundtracks have been used in the film. The romantic scenes are characterized by jazz soundtracks. The jazz provided both fun and brought out the main theme in a way that articulates love. The film also uses western soundtracks with an Asian performance (Manduteanu). In addition, the rhythmic and stylish soundtrack widely captured the Asian culture and the mood of the audience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the film Crazy Rich Asians fall into the romantic comedy genre. From the analysis, the movie was successful in using various designs to convey its message. The film costume also matched with the characters. Since the movie is romantic, the many scenes are characterized by jazz soundtracks. Moreover, the Asian culture which it captures in its title has been well represented in architecture and costumes.

Works Cited

Baldage, K. "The Crazy Rich Asians Guide to Design and Architecture in Singapore." 9 May 2018, design-milk.com/crazy-rich-asians-guide-design-architecture-singapore/.

Chu, J. "Crazy Rich Asians (2018)." 15 Aug. 2018, www.imdb.com/title/tt3104988/.

Manduteanu, M. "Soundtrack review: Crazy rich Asians (Brian Tyler - 2018)." 13 Aug. 2018, www.soundtrackdreams.com/2018/08/soundtrack-review-crazy-rich-asians-brian-tyler-2018/.