Stripped of the popular labels and hot topics on it, "Crazy Rich Asians" is a simple love fairy tale. This "Cinderella" love model born from the classic Shakespeare drama has already been seen in "Roman Holiday" and "The Liang Zhu" "Notting Hill" and even "Meteor Garden" and "Huanzhugege" are from familiar to boring. If the film is limited to this, then it is obviously not enough to be a qualified work worthy of attention. The rich second generation fell in love with an economics professor, but was run on by a traditional mother and a wealthy family. In the end, personal true love overcame class differences. The heroine gained wealth and family at the same time by ignoring the innocence of money and material things. Such a beautiful adult fairy tale may be able to impress young men and women who have not experienced the world, but it is difficult to win the favor of senior fans.
What is worth exploring is the label on the love story. The conflict caused by this love took place in the United States and Singapore. The actors in the film are all Asian faces. The jokes and highlights they provide are all from the rich Asians. Luxurious life, conflict is divided into two levels, the cultural differences between the East and the West, and the different attitudes of the common people and the rich towards wealth. The former discrepancy, though unremarkable, continues to dominate the plot. Asian girls who grew up in New York entered a traditional Chinese wealthy family with the introduction of their handsome boyfriends. Following personal feelings or family traditions became the core drama conflict.
In order to exacerbate the level of conflict and contradiction, while adding color to the story, from the original novel to the adaptation of the film, "Crazy Rich Asians" has carried out a full range of fiction and imagination on the lives of the rich, even if it is a seemingly innocuous life. The details are also completely inconsistent with the truth, but are just romantic fantasies of writers who are civilians like us. These passages are in the same vein as the comical phenomena such as wanton profligacy and huge investment in "The Richest Man in Xihong City". Of course, they are only regarded as comedies. The material is laughable and will never be seen as real by a rational person. In fact, no matter how different the classes are, material life is only the background background of life. No one can escape the joys, troubles, trivialities, and pains related to human nature. We will all face eternal dilemmas and problems. After being bombarded by a lot of luxurious life in the film, the love proposition has become a weak footnote at the end of the film.
Perhaps due to the difference in length and carrier, the film downplays the subdivided Asian class in the novel, and even makes a detailed distinction between English accents and family traditions, which is obviously a bit "over-interpreted". On the other hand, the film also makes some good-natured jokes about the cultural differences between the East and the West, which is different from the rationality of facing the differences in works such as Massage and The Wedding Banquet, whether it is color understanding, living habits or cultural labels. , have laid out a series of Western people's understanding of Asian culture, which is of course biased and incomplete, but because of this, we can also feel the attention and importance of Western cultural circles represented by Hollywood to Asian people. Many of the actors are familiar faces that often appear in American TV blockbusters, and the iconic Singapore is also chosen for the location, which is enough to express the serious intentions of the director and the creative team.
With the continuous enhancement of economic strength and cultural influence, Asian civilizations with Chinese traditional culture as the mainstream are becoming more and more popular. In the process of cultural integration, there will definitely be misunderstandings and even exclusions, but in it, With a long history and profound background, we can maintain a more tolerant and peaceful attitude in the face of cultural and class differences. Needless to say, cultural accumulation, even if we have class differences, we should face up to differences and bravely live out what we want. Appearance is the best pursuit of life. Just like the girl who put on cheap clothes again in "The Queen Wears Prada", and the "Cinderella" character in a lot of love fairy tales, when the heroine re-stands in the crowded and noisy economy class at the end of the film, she calmly faces the warmth and warmth of real life. Difficulties, her bravery and kindness are the precious qualities that sustain her life. Her boyfriend who kneels down on one knee and the shiny diamond ring, as well as the happy life behind it, also match her strong independence.
"Daily News" 2018.12
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