As Kaiser mentioned, Crazy Rich Asians did really well its opening weekend. I saw it twice. I loved it. I adore rom-coms and this is a lovely rom-com with massive cultural significance. The movie, as most know, is based off of Kevin Kwan’s very popular book. To say this movie is a labor of love to those involved is an understatement – there are so many stories to tell. But the main one I want to discuss is the story involving the music in the film. Director Jon M. Chu included several Chinese-language covers of popular songs throughout the film and they are all amazing, by the way. But Chu needed one song, in particular, in the film. During the final scenes, a Mandarin cover of Coldplay’s Yellow is performed by Katherine Ho. Coldplay had initially declined Jon’s request for licensing. No specific reason was given, although Quartzy has some theories about it possibly being linked to the cultural appropriation backlash of Coldplay and Rihanna’s Princess of China. Chu tried some other songs to replace it but none of them worked. So he took a chance and wrote the band directly, telling them exactly why he wanted this song featured so prominently in the film. As he explained in the letter, the song, regardless of the bands’ intentions, allowed Chu to reclaim the word “Yellow.” It’s such a beautiful letter, imagine reading this and learning about the impact your song had on someone you’d never met (mild spoilers):

Katherine’s voice, the arrangement, the swelling music all allow the final climatic scenes to play out perfectly. It really is hard to imagine any other song in its place. Seriously, I’m going to need to go see the film for the third time so I can watch these scenes with this letter in mind. Okay, I’m going to see the movie for the third time because the film is so fun, Michelle Yeoh, *sigh* Henry Golding, the clothing and THE WEDDING SCENE but I’ll also watch the end scenes with this letter in mind. Chu said he doesn’t know if the letter was what got him the rights but one hour after he sent it to the band, they approved licensing. That, too, is a great story. Remember that both Chu and Kwan passed on a huge offer from Warner Brothers so they could make the film they wanted to make. The reason the film works is not by chance. It’s beautiful inside and out.

In case you missed it, Gemma Chan, who plays Astrid in the film, posted this Instagram the day the movie opened. In it, she honors Lisa Lu who played Ah Ma in Crazy Rich Asians and also starred in The Joy Luck Club 25 years ago. Over the weekend, Chu himself thanked our friend Lainey for her support of the film. I posted this yesterday but I think Kimberly Yam’s Twitter thread about why this movie matters is worth reposting. And last, but not least, it was announced yesterday that there will be a sequel. We knew it would happen but let’s be honest, it just feels better to hear it’s official. I haven’t read the other two books in the trilogy but I think the mid-credit scene told us everything we need to know about one of the major storylines in the sequel. They did such a great job with this film and I expect the sequel will be just as heart-warming.

Okay, I’m posting the song from the film because I like you guys. But buy the soundtrack, it’s worth it. (if you really need a good cry, read the letter again as you listen to this link)

Author Kevin Kwan

I’m including a pic of Nico Santos because I adore him in both this and Superstore

Photo credit: Hollywood Reporter, YouTube and WENN Photos