Los Angeles – Last Friday night I had the honor of joining almost 100 friends for a screening of Crazy Rich Asians. Grant Imahara (of Mythbusters fame) had booked a screening as he recognized this movie was a game changer:
“The first all Asian studio film since The Joy Luck Club 25 years ago! Crazy Rich Asians is a really important movie. It’s been 25 years since a major Hollywood movie has featured an all Asian cast (Joy Luck Club). Not only that, but Crazy Rich Asians features an Asian romantic lead, which is unprecedented.
Hosting a screening (two, actually- one in LA and one in SF) is my way of making sure that the movie has a huge opening weekend. Showing Hollywood that an all Asian cast can have a huge #1 box office weekend sends a very positive message that we are ready to see Asian American actors and stories that feature them.”
Almost 100 of us showed up in our crazy rich best (despite the heat!). And you know what? WE LOVED THE MOVIE! We laughed, we cried—it was the best romantic comedy I can remember in a long long time! The writing, acting, story, design was all fantastic!. And this is a movie about the spectacular! It will leave you agog! It was just terrific all around. As a child in Vancouver I had the unique experience to be one of the only white kids in my class. While I can’t presume to know what it is like to be a minority, that experience really shaped me. Certainly gave me a love of Asian cuisine! I don’t want to spoil it but GO SEE CRAZY RICH ASIANS! It will appeal to you on many levels and hopefully show the world we want more diversity!
And I just had to pull this quote from Fon Davis: ”Thank you Crazy Rich Asians for portraying Asian men as lovers and romantic partners. What we see as Asian boys growing up in American media effects how we and others see us. Portrayal of Asians with a focus on our cultural similarities instead of making us caricatures is refreshing.”
And this movie was refreshing. A solid romantic comedy, that we haven’t seen in years. More please! And FYI: it did win the opening weekend. People care about the movies they are presented with and Crazy Rich Asians is proof positive. Asian or not, if you love good movies, you will fall in love with this one!