The Black Panther recently came out and it has made almost $1 billion in box office sales worldwide. The film was directed by Ryan Coogler, who also directed Creed and Fruitvale Station. This film meant a lot to the black community, and they definitely showed up for it. Some of the themes it dealt with were colonization, foreign aid and racism. It also showed us a world where women were treated as equal to men. Most people loved the movie, and I like that it proved that there is an audience for an all-black cast and that people of any race can enjoy a movie where the main actors aren’t white. I hope this movie showed Hollywood that casting people of color is profitable so there really is no excuse for them not to hire them. This movie gives me hope that people will show up for the upcoming film Crazy Rich Asians.
Crazy Rich Asians is based on the bestselling book by Kevin Kwan. It will be the first rom-com featuring an all Asian American cast and it will be the second all Asian American majority cast in Hollywood since Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club in 1993. The film is directed by John Chu, the director of several Step Up films, Now You See Me 2 and G.I. Joe’s Retaliation.
This movie is about Rachel Chu, played by Constance Wu, who is a Chinese American that falls in love with Nick. Rachel goes to Singapore to attend Nick’s friend Colin’s wedding. In Singapore, Rachel meets Nick’s family and realizes that Nick is extremely wealthy. The story is an age-old meet the family romance story, with an Asian American twist. Rachel has to figure out how to navigate the socialite world, Nick’s disapproving mother and learn about a new culture. The cast features Asian Americans, Asian Australians and English Asians. This movie illustrates that the Asian American diaspora is large and diverse. Asian Americans are not just Chinese, Japanese and Koreans. Some of the main cast members are Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, Harry Shum Jr., Sonoya Mizuno, Chris Pang, Ken Jeong, Gemma Chan, Ronny Chieng and Nico Santos. I am so pumped to see a film with so many popular Asian stars!
Another reason I am excited about this movie is I think it will touch on a lot of important Asian American issues and it takes place in Singapore, a place I’ve always wanted to visit. I love romantic comedies, and at the heart of this film is a love story about acceptance and how to navigate a significant other’s family and culture. I’m adopted from Vietnam, so I am really looking forward to seeing Asians being represented on screen.
I hope Asian Americans (and other people) show up for this film and prove to Hollywood that there is an audience for films starring Asian Americans. There are many problems facing the Asian American community in media such as whitewashing, erasure and films which portray Asian Americans in harmful stereotypes. This film will humanize Asian Americans and show people that Asian Americans have family drama, they love, they get anxious and they feel everything any other human being does. This film is our chance to show our support for the Asian American community and prove the industry wrong. It’s a big step forward in Asian American representation. Even if you don’t care about how this film will help Asian Americans, you should still see this film because it will be a really funny romantic comedy, the costumes will be amazing, and I have no doubt the acting, directing and production of the film will not disappoint!
The cast finished filming last December and it is set to air in August. While we wait for the film, enjoy these fun photos of the cast from their Instagrams!