Constance Wu Plays Rachel Chu: Crazy About Crazy Kitsch Asians

 Eastern Romance Necklace

Top: Xhilaration, Target

Skirt (a dress!): Modcloth

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Bag: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Belt: Wet Seal

Bangles: B Fabulous

Ring: Making Waves

Cherry and bumblebee purse charms: Carole, JCPenney

Owl purse charm: Mudd, Kohl's

Barrettes: The Tote Trove

DISCLAIMER:  This post contains gratuitous use of the word "crazy," sometimes in pun form.  Don't say that I didn't warn you.

I know, I know, it's Crazy Rich Asians.  And they wouldn't like the "k" word, even if it is a cousin of  kawaii, that darling of the Japanese.  These people are about top drawer everything and wouldn't cotton to being called anything that resembles cute.  And yet . . . there is something decidedly campy about this story, which is filled with enough drama, romance, and satire to land somewhere between a telenovela and dark fairy tale.

First I read the novel by Kevin Kwan, and then my mom and I saw the movie.  Crazy Rich Asians has been out for years, but I never wanted to read it, probably because the cover seemed a little foreboding, with an art deco-y profile of an autocratic-looking Asian grande dame glowering from a burnt orange background.  Then the movie poster version came out, and I thought, hey, this looks interesting.  Those colors!  The promise of an old-fashioned love story!  The mom from Fresh Off the Boat!  Suddenly, it was a whole different game of mahjong.  And I was glad I decided to play.

Crazy Rich Asians is the story of Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and Nick Young (Henry Golding).  And yes, of Nick's mega-big, mega-rich family.  Rachel and Nick are nice, normal, down-to-earth professors at NYU and have been happily dating for more than a year.  Then Nick invites Rachel home to Singapore for his best friend's wedding.  Rachel has never met Nick's family, nor does she know much about his childhood.  But she begins to get an inkling when they start their trip by flying first class.  Then they arrive, and Rachel is plunged into a wonderland of wealth and privilege beyond her wildest dreams.  Nick's grandmother's estate is palatial and so remote that it doesn't come up on GPS.  His cousins fly to Paris for shopping sprees and are regularly featured in Vogue.  And his mother -- well, his mother is less than impressed with Rachel, whom she sees as nothing more than a gold-digging banana (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) raised by a single mother.  Although no doormat, Rachel takes the high road when dealing with her beloved's cuckoo clan.  (No bitchy, don't-mess-with-me Jess from Fresh Off the Boat here.  Connie's got range!)  Still, trying to fit in is tricky.  Even the already-rich Young relations Rachel meets are merciless social climbers, and getting to know them is a bit like picnicking with piranhas.  For me, these parts were a little stressful to read, judgy people not being my cup of green tea.  But they are essential to the story, because it is, at its core, about the social games of acceptance and exclusion that people from all walks of life play.  Thankfully, Rachel has Peik Lin (Awkwafina), her college roommate, to diffuse the tension.  A new money funky fashionista dubbed by her own father (Ken Jeong) as the Asian Ellen, Peik Lin builds Rachel up when she needs it most.  And then, of course, there's Nick.  He's on her side, too -- that is, as much as the only son of a dragon lady can be.  If he's at fault at all, then it's in failing to prepare Rachel for all the strings that come attached to a family worth squillions.  Which seems -- ahem -- a bit crazy.  He says he's protecting her, but I can't help but wonder if he's protecting himself from the emotional messiness that will most likely and indeed does ensue from the meeting of his two leading ladies.  Will he prove himself to be a stand-up guy, a real life Prince Charming?  Or is he really a villain in professors' clothing, as obsessed with lineage and old money as his meddlesome mother?  A surprise from Rachel's past will force him to decide what he really wants and what he's willing to give up to get it.

So, are the book and the movie different?  Not really.  Rachel is sweet in both, but perhaps a smidgen steelier in the movie.  Similarly, the conflict in the book is more of a slow burner, which makes sense for 500 plus pages, many of which are filled with anecdotes and side stories.  But a feature film demands fireworks, both literal and figurative, and things come together more quickly and dramatically on the big screen.  Finally, there is one plot point that gets changed a little in the movie, but it's about the minor characters, and another that gets rushed along (it doesn't happen until book two in the trilogy.)  Still, for the most part, the story lines in the book and movie are nearly identical.  Here are some things I liked in each:

Book

Language translation footnotes offering up bon mot-style tidbits on Chinese cuisine, dialects, and traditions.

Lavish, lovingly crafted descriptions of everything from Birkins to hand-pulled noodles, Ferraris to oleanders.

Insight on how the crazy rich Asians got so rich (and so crazy).

Movie

Breathtaking scenery.

Showstopping fashion.  Colors, spangles, patterns, you name it.  I recognized many a couture gown from Pinterest -- as well as an Isaac Mizrahi orange slice floor pillow from Marshalls.

Witty one-liners and general light-heartedness.

Both

Nick and Rachel.  Their easy chemistry is sparklier than any Cartier bauble and truly touching.  Disney would be proud.

If you love love and grand gestures and opulence, then you'll love this book and movie.  Author Kevin Kwan grew up in Singapore, and it shows.  He's obviously intimately acquainted with the who's who of this tiny but mighty country -- and unafraid to poke fun at its foibles.

So yeah, missing this one would be -- wait for it -- crazy.

Now, a quick detour over to this week's (yes, Asian-themed!) project.  If this Eastern Romance Necklace looks familiar, then that's because it is.  I made it a long time ago but ripped it apart and put it back together again.  The old open circle shell beads and satin ribbon bow just weren't doing it for me anymore, so I replaced them with punky neon pink butterfly beads and rearranged the beads I kept.  A family jewel it isn't, but I like it a lot better now.

Whether of precious gems or glass and glue, accessories bring us together.  Or is it fire our imaginations?  Or make us rent more storage space?  Or fight over whose baubles are better?  I give up.  Some say that we're all the same because we all bleed, but I say that we're all the same because we like shiny things.  Sure, someone else's shiny thing may be tinfoil or a ruby or that glittery homemade slime everyone seems to be making, but the point is, it's the shininess that gets us through the day.  So that the next day we may seek more shininess -- and just maybe help someone else find her shininess, too.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to pick out my tiara.