Crazy Rich Asians

I've read (and loved) the entire The Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy. I read Kevin Kwan's first book, Crazy Rich Asians, several years ago. It follows New Yorker Rachel Chu and her trip to meet her boyfriend's Singaporean family for the first time. She assumed he came from a humble background, but what awaited in Singapore was nothing short of a palace complete with private planes, and a family that was equal to Singaporean royalty. It was such a fun read so I was super excited when they announced that a movie based on the book was being made!

I finally got a chance to see the movie with girlfriends last weekend, and it did not disappoint! With a relatively small ($30 million) budget, they were able to pull off all the scenes that had played so spectacularly in my head, and the casting was on point. Peik Lin, in particular, was hilarious (and for anyone who watched the movie, was she majorly giving you a Miley Cyrus vibe?). 

Being a food lover, I especially enjoyed that the movie (as did the book) gave dining and meals their proper credit. One of the first scenes in the movie has four of the characters doing dinner at Singapore's Newton Centre, a late-night food market serving up satays, chili crabs, pork noodles and a million other dishes I'd never be able to pronounce. They all looked mouthwatering. The movie's main character explained that the food stalls all spend generations perfecting one dish, and could could find the best in Singapore - and that it was the only place in the world where food stalls could earn Michelin Stars. I thought this was a euphemism of course, so I looked it up. Indeed, two stalls have earned one Michelin star each. Holy cow. Or more appropriate, Holy Fishball Noodles?

Fashion also had a starring role in the movie, as it was a prominent part of the book (the crazy rich can obviously buy crazy things with that absurd amount money). This article talks about the creativity (spinning gold from dust) of the movie design team and the challenge it was tasked with - namely, making that ridiculously rich 0.1% look like it on a budget. It involved lots of begging and borrowing - fun fact, all the jewelry was real, but most was lent with security. Apparently Kevin Kwan was very specific that viewers of the movie would know a "cheap" $100,000 Rolex and only a rare $600,000 one that needed to be flown from halfway around the world would do. The Eleanore Young emerald engagement ring (that also makes a cameo at the end prompting all three ladies I was with to get teary eyed) actually belongs to the actress in real life! They were having trouble finding just the right ring, and she offered hers which worked perfectly. Apparently the design team also bargain shopped, getting scores like a last-season Michael Kors fur coat for 90% off. 

The movie covered the entire first book (quite well) but left off there. With its huge success, I'm sure they'll follow up with sequels. And if you haven't read the other two novels in the series, they are definitely worth picking up as well! The shenanigans that ensue with the various family members (jet setting weekends, couture shopping sprees, and real estate absurdness) are very US Weekly and Vogue magazine inspired. Rich People Problems is the third installment, and it's actually my favorite of the trilogy! And while NYC and Singapore are the hubs of the books, Kwan must have definitely spent some time in California as well, because my heart would smile with every Bay Area (Stanford, Palo Alto) or UC Santa Barbara reference!

Who else saw Crazy Rich Asians in the theatre?

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