Movie Night: Crazy Rich Asians

Jon M. Chu’s 2018 film follows Rachel Chu, a Chinese American professor, as a trip to Singapore with her boyfriend, Nick, turns into an encounter with his family’s immense wealth and old-guard expectations. Adapted from Kevin Kwan’s novel, the story uses romantic comedy to map class pressure, diaspora identity, and the politics of belonging within a global Chinese elite. In New York, the movie’s wide release helped spark conversations about Asian American visibility on mainstream screens. Its sharpest insight is how money can function as a language, and a weapon.