How did the movie Rich Boyfriend become popular in North America?

Recently, there was a movie in North America, which held up half the sky. Not only did it sell well at the box office, but it also occupied the focus of social media in North America.

Yes, it is the crazy Asian rich man, translated into my super boyfriend by Hongkong, translated into crazy Asian rich man by Taiwan Province Province, and translated into crazy Asian rich man by Douban. I don't know who translated it.

Frankly speaking, I didn't expect such a movie to be so popular in North America at first. There are no Hollywood big coffee in the lineup, but there are some Asian faces that many people can't even name. The posters have a Nanyang flavor.

And it is such a movie that makes people sell very hot and hot!

Well, it is such a movie that won the box office championship in North America for two weeks in a row, and also set a record for the comedy opening in Singapore, where the story took place.

At present, the film has scored 7.7 points in IMDb.

The freshness of rotten tomatoes is 93% and 7.7 points. The ratings are even scarier, with popcorn reaching 89% and ratings of 4.5 points (out of 5 points), which is 9 points.

For a romantic comedy, word of mouth is quite good.

In fact, the story of Crazy Asian Rich is very simple, and it is a romantic comedy with quite a routine. Some critics say that it is the Asian version of Cinderella, which is an enhanced version of Meteor Garden, but there is no problem.

Rachel, the heroine, is a descendant of immigrants from China and a native Chinese American. Now she is a young professor of economics at new york University, and she also has an equally excellent Asian boyfriend.

One day, her boyfriend suddenly offered to take her back to Singapore to attend a friend's wedding and meet his family. Rachel thought it was just an ordinary trip, but judging from the extremely luxurious first class treatment at the time of departure, everything went in an unexpected direction. ...

Just like the literal translation of the English film title, "Crazy Asian Rich Man", the film also shows the way for this crazy Asian rich man to get rich in a very dazzling way.

Exaggerated mansions, luxurious revelry on the high seas, not to mention millions of jewels and wealth that is passed down from mouth to mouth and comparable to that of a small country. ...

It turns out that Rachel's top ten boyfriends who are usually unknown are the heirs of Singapore's richest people, which also makes Rachel step into a completely different rich world.

The story after that is actually very simple. In a word, after overcoming numerous discrimination and obstacles, the heroine conquered the man's family with kindness and wisdom and achieved happiness.

Well, audiences all over the world like to watch relaxed and romantic love stories, especially for the "upper class" life shaped by movies.

But if crazy and wealthy Asians can conquer the American audience and get such box office and word of mouth, this old story alone will definitely not work. There is something special about him that will cause such an amazing response.

First of all, this is a romantic movie with qualified characters and story lines.

Take the heroine Rachel as an example. She taught at new york University at a young age, and after her excellent study and work, she became more clear and generous.

Faced with the difficulties of her boyfriend's family and the sudden questioning of her life experience, she can quickly recognize her heart without flinching and complaining. She chooses to believe and communicate because she loves her mother, and to understand and let go because she loves her boyfriend.

Maybe it's because I'm too good to win the heart of an equally good boyfriend. Apart from her family background, she is fully worthy of this boyfriend.

In addition, the exotic customs in the film are equally prominent.

From Teresa Teng to all kinds of Chinese golden songs, from Chinese cakes to flowers and mahjong that are familiar to China people, there are occasional displays of Cantonese, Mandarin and Singaporean city landscapes. For North American audiences, Crazy Rich Asians has a unique and fresh exotic flavor.

Coupled with the typical Hollywood classic script mode, the film maintains a fast-paced conflict point and a strong plot. The two-hour story is full, coupled with relaxed settings and interesting supporting roles, it is really easy to attract audiences.

More importantly, Crazy Rich Asian shifted his focus from a simple "masochist" to a discussion of culture and ethnic groups (though not too deep). However, this is the second layer of the film.

In one scene, the mother of the protagonist Yang Ziqiong tells Rachel that she is "not good enough" for her son.

What I am referring to here is not the asymmetry of family background, but because of Rachel's second-generation immigrant status. I think she is still an American in essence, unable to recognize the sacrifices and efforts of traditional Asian families, and will never be "one of her own".

As Rachel's mother teased, although Rachel can speak a few words of Chinese and looks like an Asian, she is a "banana" with yellow outside and white inside, and she is already an American from life to values.

Rachel represents the second generation of Asian immigrants who are no different from ordinary Americans. Her mother is a first-generation immigrant, and Yang Ziqiong's role is still a traditional Asian rooted in her native land, although she has also studied abroad.

It is these three kinds of people that constitute the jokes and dramatic conflicts in the film. These discussions are not only about poverty and wealth, but also about the gap between different classes and regions, and even the conflict of life concepts of the same race but different cultures.

As we all know, America is an immigrant country. Nearly a hundred years ago, China people and more Asians came to settle in the United States for various reasons. Now it has formed 3-4 generations. Just like Rachel, the heroine who was born and raised in the United States and has never been to the country where her ancestral home is located, it is understandable to identify herself as an American rather than a China from China.

But now, Asian Americans are also facing the problem of identity and cultural identity.

Some elderly people with poor English and immigrants with slightly lower education still live in China, while China people live there, speak Chinese and live a life out of touch with American society. Even people like Rachel who can integrate into the mainstream society are caught between American culture and family background. How to find a balanced position for themselves and the whole ethnic group is a problem that these new Americans need to solve, and it is also one of the reasons why movies can get so much attention and fame.

In addition, the reason why Crazy Asian Rich Man is so popular in the United States is that it is the first mainstream Hollywood film with an all-Asian cast in recent years.

In particular, this is a contemporary love story, not an oriental cultural adventure like China myth and Japanese samurai. This ordinary and life-oriented oriental story is also the reason why many people are excited.

James Wan, the director of The Fast and the Furious, said excitedly on Twitter that many characters in the film are like their own families, and they are very happy with the birth of this film.

When the film premiered, the proportion of Asian audiences far exceeded that of other films. Many Asians and filmmakers living in the United States compared the film to their own Panther.

Before that, what was the status of Asians, or Chinese, in Hollywood? Some are classic supporting roles in blockbusters, bearing some jokes; Some are performing small-budget dramas, serving a few Asians; More likely, there is no chance to appear in the camera, just because the yellow skin limits the role; There are even fewer influential Asian stars ...

Compared with African Americans and Mexican Americans, Asians are not so good at speaking for themselves, which further leads to marginalization.

As a mainstream movie in Hollywood, the movie Stargazing rarely uses all-Asian movies, and the characters and story locations are also closely related to Asians.

The good performance of box office and word-of-mouth has given a signal to the locals in North America: mainstream stories of Asians can be very marketable, and tens of millions of Asians need more attention, which is the reason why movies are really popular.

But the film does face some criticisms, such as exaggerated wealth display, unrealistic interpretation and so on.

But in the final analysis, what needs to be recognized is that this is a Hollywood film produced by Warner Bros., the main target market is the United States, the choice of actors depends on the aesthetics of Americans, and the values of service are also in line with the family and emotions that Americans value.

If such a product is measured by different audiences, such as China audience, it will definitely create a completely different impression, just like the film's rating in Douban has dropped to 7.0. I believe that after you read it in the future, your score will drop again.

After all, such a movie will feel unreal and awkward for us real orientals, especially China people, but it will make people unfamiliar.

What really makes me curious is whether Asians will really be taken seriously by mainstream Hollywood movies after this time. For example, will there be more similar movies in the near future, including what the official Liu Yifei version of Mulan can do in North America?

For many North American audiences, the birth of crazy Asian tycoons is like venting in the first act of the movie: Yang Ziqiong's mother was discriminated against by the lobby manager in London at first and asked them to go back to China City, but later she bought the hotel by phone, which was a seemingly small but crucial turning point.

And this crazy Asian rich man, no matter how you evaluate it later or whether you really like it or not, will become a phenomenal film this year, and it is a topic that can't be missed.