So this definitely isn’t the sort of film that we usually go to the cinema for, what with it being a crassly commercial romantic comedy with no artistic aspirations and a bog standard plot. But I still got caught up in the cultural buzz surrounding it and I have to admit that the cultural representation thing has me excited as well, especially as there are so many Malaysians involved in it.

Rachel Chu is an American-born Chinese who is dating Singaporean Nick Young who currently lives in the US. They decide to take a trip to the island country to attend the wedding of Nick’s best friend and also to visit Rachel’s friend from college. What Rachel doesn’t realize that Nick is the scion of one of the richest families in Singapore and the news of their visit is quickly spread online. She is shocked when she realizes how rich Nick’s family is but is determined to make a good impression. She soon realizes that Nick’s mother Eleanor disapproves of her for being an American who she believes prioritizes personal happiness instead of the good of the family. Her college friend Peik Lin turns out to be quite rich as well though nowhere in the same class as the Youngs and she helps Rachel navigate Singaporean society. A side story deals with Nick’s cousin Astrid who has similarly chosen to marry a commoner who was not born to wealth.

The first thing that I thought of while watching this is how delighted the Singaporean government must be as this is basically a movie-length advertisement for their country. The moment they land in the country, it’s all praises for how amazing Singapore is beginning with Changi airport. Right after that, they head into town for some street food. The government couldn’t have made a better tourism promotional video and it only goes on from there. The other thing that struck me is the diversity of Chinese-ness that is shown on, and that is without even really going into China Chinese. There is a wonderful plethora of accents, languages, backgrounds and personalities and it’s great after having to put up with how Hollywood squashes East Asians into a narrow range of stereotypes for so long. The representation thing really does matter and the film does feel like a sort of coming out moment. I’m shocked for example that Rachel’s friend Peik Lin is allowed to have a Chinese name instead of being given a Christian name and the actress who plays her, Awkwafina, is as American as you can get and yet does a flawless job of looking Singaporean. In that sense, this film feels absolutely authentic and that’s what makes it so fresh and relevant.

Unfortunately there’s an obvious rejoinder to each of those upsides. As impressive as Singapore looks in this film, I was rolling my eyes of how often they resorted to shots of Marina Bay Sands. As a Malaysian, I was also conscious of how many of the supposedly Singaporean locations are actually in Malaysia, which makes Singapore feel small. A more serious objection is that the film seems to only be about Chinese and other ethnicities are distinctly lacking. The basic premise here that Singaporean Chinese shut out other Chinese rings false as, much like everywhere else in the world, what rich people have in common most of all is being rich itself. Realistically speaking, high society in Singapore should be very diverse, with whites in particular being on a privileged tier. As such while the depiction of Singaporean Chinese feels authentic, the mono focus on only Chinese feels out of place.

Another observation I have is that film is determined to be a chick flick ans only that to a rather ridiculous extent. Eleanor did make a comment about how Nick’s father is busy with his business in China but I was still shocked that the character never made a single appearance and all of the drama plays out without his participation. Similarly Nick himself is a non-character, an idealized romantic partner meant only to serve as a female fantasy. For example, who can even remember what Nick is supposed to be doing in the US? The most interesting male character in the film must be Michael, Astrid’s husband who at least has something unique to say and a real storyline of his own.

All this makes it sound like I didn’t like the film much but that’s not the case at all. I’m just very aware that it’s a commercial film with a very old-fashioned story. Its visuals are excellent and I’m sure that its success thus far in the US is a strong indicator that audiences are eager for anything just a little different and exotic. For us in Southeast Asia, it feels great to have something so close to home take center stage for once in a major Hollywood production and even if it’s not an altogether perfect representation, it comes close enough that it’s something to be proud of.