I liked-ish Crazy Rich Asians. I have problems with it. Most of them have to do with wealth, because I always, always, always struggle with romantic comedies that intersect with the culture of the 1% of the 1%; it’s real easy to make a huge romantic overture when you can just rent out the fucking Marina Bay Sands, y’know?
My other problem is a problem I didn’t know I had until I watched Ramen Shop, a film about a Japanese-Singaporean man who travels to Singapore to explore his mother’s family roots after his dad dies; the movie cares much, much more about Singapore’s history and its food culture, and gives the city real substantive character (because “lookit all this shiny fancy shit!” isn’t character). It’s a bit sappy at times, but it’s a delight, and because I love food, I wrote about it, and here we are.
You can read the full piece over at Paste Magazine.
A Constant Visual Feast 