I don't know why but I've been dying to jump back into this world! I think it is because I keep watching the movie basically on rerun and I'm determined to do a book vs movie post with it! I loved this book when I first read it a couple summers ago and I devoured the whole entire series! Like the last time, I did a book vs movie we will have the top five things that I loved and hated from both the book and movie, a list of something things that I wish was in the movie, a little book aesthetic, and hopefully a little more organization because that last one was rough! I also made a chart of scenes that were both in the book and movie just to see which did which better and that is how I figured out who did better.
First off let me start by saying that I love both the book and the movie very much! I had to literally make a chart of different scenes, people, or items that is in both the movie and the book, along with my notes just to determine which one wins out in my opinion. I think this is the format I'm going to do this from now on because I always say the book is better even if I like the movie just as much, and I always have trouble with the top 5 favorites and least favorite things about both the book and movie. So I think from now on this is the format that I'm going to do from now on, even though its a whole lot of work to do this. So without any farther ado let's jump into my findings!
I'm going to start out with the overall consensus of the book versus movie. I chose a lot of important pieces that happened in both the book and the movie and then I also added some small things that I really enjoyed in either the book or movie that I personally wanted to compare one another too. I'm going to have the chart first and then underneath it I'll have explanations as to why either the book or movie won. Some were really hard to decide too!
*****SPOILERS BELOW*****
In the opening scene at the Calthorpe hotel, I had to go with the movie because of Eleanor. In the book, Eleanor and Nick were there during this moment however it was Felicity Leong who was checking everyone in and then ended up calling Harry Leong to buy the hotel. Another fun fact is Nick wasn't the one making a mess with his muddy feet like in the movie. It was actually Eddie doing that, and they were only in London to enroll Eddie in boarding school in hopes it would make him less spoiled, it's in the first few pages of the book. This was one of the hard things to decide book or movie but the fact that Eleanor was the complete boss at this moment I had to pick the movie. Plus I loved the similarities in her opening scene compared to Rachel's opening scene. They have a lot of similarities.
For the second one: Rachel Chu's entrance scene, again I had to pick the movie. Just like the first one I didn't hate the books version I just loved the movie's version more. In the movie, we are introduced to Rachel while she is teaching game theory in her economics class, and she and a TA are playing poker. I love the quote she says, the TA wasn't playing to win, he was just playing to not lose.
The next one was the first one that the book beat the movie. In the book, most of the old money families preferred their privacy so much so that a lot of people have no clue who they are. For the Youngs, no one even knew who they were, yet they are one of the richest families in Singapore. So their families fortunes were highly private and they saw it as distasteful to buy expensive things, get showcased in magazines, and even live luxuriously. This is showcased really well when Eddie is fighting with his parents to borrow a friends' private jet to Singapore, or when Peik Lin had no clue who Nick Young or the Young family was. Another example of how the rich liked cheap stuff was when Eleanor was on that trip to meet with the investigator the girls all chose to go to this backdoor market that was selling really cheap fakes.
Most of Rachel's story I definitely prefer the book over the movie and the fact that Rachel's family had no story in the movie. In the book, we learn that not only does Rachel have more than just her mom in the United States, but her great uncle is who sponsored Rachel and her mother to even come to the US when she was a baby. At the beginning of the movie, we see Rachel's mom shopping with Rachel as she prepares for her Singapore trip, but in the book, her family all live in California. Her mother is still a very successful realtor and their backstory about how her mom came to the US barely being able to speak English and working hard during the day and studying at night is the same in both the book and movie. I didn't have to even think about this one the book wins hands down! But we'll revisit this crazy madness a little later because I can rant about this all day long.
This next one was a little rough to even figure out the wording for because I knew I wanted this on the chart but I wasn't sure how it should be there. Nick's close friends and family kept bringing up in the book and the movie about how Nick should prep Rachel before just throwing to the wolves, aka his family. But Nick always downplayed it. He didn't think it was really the issue that everyone was making it. This one was another one that I really had to think about because in the book there weren't many people warning him until they were already in Singapore. Astrid mentioned it but book Nick really just brushed it off. In the movie, he had everyone warning him and then when he started talking about proposing again he was being warned. I just felt like he may have listened a little bit more in the movie but not very much more because he was very nonchalant and giving his family a lot of credit.
Astrid was one of those people that I really wanted to give it a tie and give both the book and the movie the point. But let me be clear book Astrid had moments where I was just done with her because she was so focused on Michael. I really do admire how she was fighting for her family. But it was so sad seeing her just being okay with everything while Michael treated her so awful! But the movie Astrid won at the very end of the movie when she and Michael are talking in the bedroom while he packs. Michael is talking about how he will get the rest of his stuff when he gets back from his business trip and Astrid cuts him off and says no Michael that won't be necessary we are going to leave instead. She explains that she and Cassian will go stay in one of her 14 apartment buildings and he will see Cassian when it good for Cassian not when it is good for Michael! This one scene slayed so much that I didn't have a single thought after it that movie Astrid slayed it!
For the next one, Extended Family, I pretty much had the same issues with the movie that I did with Rachel's family. I know that the movie was already long and there was no way to have every single detail from the book in the movie. People and events have to be cut based on time limitations and the production's budget. I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to like every change and this is one change that I didn't really enjoy. I like the backstories. One thing that really stands out to me is when we are introduced to Eddie Cheng. We see him and his family at their weekly meal together and he is questioning everyone to see what they were wearing to the wedding festivities because he wanted to color coordinate. We didn't see his sister or her family at all in the movie and his mom and dad were either not in the movie or not introduced to us. I'm sure his mom was one of the aunties but I couldn't tell you which one. Anther huge hole was Nick's own father. We never saw him and I feel like he should've been in it somewhere because Rachel went there to meet his family and his father is a huge part of Nick's family. So the book winning is no surprise.
Eleanor's investigation into Rachel's background was easy to see in the book did it better. In the movie we see at the Bible study that one of her friends was mentioning that she had a private investigator however in that scene it seems like Eleanor said no to using the investigator. Then at the wedding ceremony in the book Eleanor spills all the beans about Rachel's past, not only did Eleanor know exactly about Rachel's mom's husband but the fact that she got pregnant with Rachel by another guy. However, there were some really wrong facts in Eleanor's expose'. The biggest one that stood out was the fact that Rachel's mom was pregnant by a school friend. First Rachel's mom didn't complete school. In the book, Eleanor tells Nick, Rachel, and Su Yi that Rachel has a father that is still alive but he's in prison. That's all she ever knew! This information turns Rachel's life completely upside down! When she gets back to Peik Lin's she goes off on her mother for lying to her all her life. This is my favorite part of the book because it is so suspenseful and insane, and totally a curveball to the story. I just wish that the movie touched on Eleanor being sneaky and gathering this information versus boom here she has it. I know she has money and she could've paid an investigator to gather it for which is fine, show me her doing that! I just think this is a key part that really needed to be shown in the movie versus her just having it, and then at least let her do it right because her mom still came to Singapore. She could've elaborated on her backstory because she did tell Rachel about her past with her husband. Now the one thing that I do give the movie credit for here is the fact that her mom admits to missing her love every day and wishing she could reach out to him however she couldn't because she didn't want her husband to find them or figure out what happened with the neighbor.
This is something that probably should be on this list because the book could not have done this better than the movie, and that is the spread of gossip. We had so much gossip running around the book and movie and this is more specific to the very beginning of the book where Nick is asking Rachel to come to Singapore with him and before they could even work out logistics everyone all around the world knew who Rachel was and that she was coming to Singapore. In the movie, we see Radio One Asia, Cassandra Shaw, bounce this information around the world and then Eleanor called Nick almost immediately! That's another thing that should've been on the list was Cassandra Shaw. Even though the movie had a really speedy, fun way to see the gossip spread so fast we didn't get an explanation of who Radio One Asia is, if her name didn't pop up on the text message then we would have no idea. Shaw was also the only one in the text messages that were labeled during that thread.
If anything on this chart would've gotten a tie it would've been Peik Lin! Hands down I loved her in both the movie and the book, and I literally bounced that X back and forth a million times until finally leaving it on the movie. First off the movie version was so hilarious I love Awkwafina and the book needed this comedy added to it. Then in the book, she was so supportive of Rachel. She not only helped Rachel get ready, but she also took care of her and helped arrange for a way to go to Shenzen to meet the man in prison. Even now I keep talking myself out of which one I chose for Peik Lin because yes she was a supporting character but she brought so much to the table and did so much for Rachel in both versions of the story. There was no right answer to which version was better and she truly should've been a tie, and Peik Lin is the only one that I think that for.
Peik Lin's family, on the other hand, I had no issue picking the movie one. There were family members that were in the book that didn't make it to the movie but I didn't miss them like I did Nick's father. The only thing I missed from the book I really could not have in the movie. In the book, Peik Lin and her father went to visit this really old doctor to learn who the Youngs were, but in the movie, they automatically already knew who the Youngs were when Rachel mentioned she was dating Nick Young. The movie version was hilarious and just as important as Rachel and Nick to the story. I love how they even had Oliver helping Peik Lin figure out Rachel's outfit for the wedding. The movie just wins out for me no question.
Rachel and Nick's relationship I feel like I had to have on this chart because of the first book especially circles around their relationship. But this one is going to be hard to explain what I think. In the book, Rachel and Nick have been together for over two years at this point because Collin's wedding is during Singapore's summer and Nick explicitly says that he was planning to propose to Rachel on their second anniversary in October but things came up and caused him to change his plans. During their relationship, Nick spent holidays with Rachel's family and pretty much even lived with Rachel at this point. So how do you go so long without knowing a person? Rachel did not know anything about Nick's family and I get that some people are secretive but when you are living a life with someone you learn stuff about them. I get that she might not know what his family was rich, because he lived off of his salary from NYU, and considered his parents' money their money. So I'll give her that. But how could you not know about his family or even know that his family knew nothing about you? I mean there should be suspicions about not knowing anything about his family, I would think. But Nick's gullibleness of his family got annoying too in the book. Because he had to know how his friends and family were or at least how they would see Rachel. So just throwing her to the wolves was just rough. I mean he should've seen something was up that his mom wasn't there when he got into Singapore! The movie couple was only together just over a year, they were optimistic and I get that there are things you aren't going to know in a year and even though it was a little annoying overall the movie relationship was cuter and easier to root for, for me at least.
There were a lot of factors in Araminta's Bachelorette party that I really had to think about. First, I like Araminta's energy and the fact that she automatically invited her to her bachelorette party when she first met Nick and Rachel at the airport. So that was one for the movie. On the actual day of the parties, I liked how everyone was leaving from the same hanger, which didn't happen in the book. So there was another point for the movie. But at the actual island, I like that Rachel ended up finding Astrid's cousin to help keep the company and clean up the fish. I liked that more than Astrid being there. This is so small though that it was easy for them to insert Astrid and it wouldn't be a big change. Another big change was Amanda Ling! In the book Ling wasn't at the party because at this point she wasn't coming to the wedding, plus she and Araminta are like enemies so she has no reason to be there! But in the movie, Ling was in the hanger when she met Rachel and she struck up solidarity with her because she acted like the whole thing was really overexaggerated. Ling stayed with Rachel all the way up until the spa, which is where we learned that Amanda used to date Nick and she was just playing Rachel like a fiddle! This was a huge point for the movie. But where the movie really won out was the fish! In the book the dead fish was just stuffed into a bag and easy to clean up with the help from Astrid's cousin. But in the movie, Astrid and Rachel walk into Rachel's bungalow with all intentions of hiding out the rest of the weekend in there but they saw that there was a huge fish cut up in the bed with words about how Rachel is a golddigger in the blood on the wall above the bed! This scene was so played up that it was so much better. The only thing that I truly missed from the book during this part was Francesca Shaw bringing up the fish jokes after the bachelorette party!
Colin's Bachelor party was really played down in the movie compared to what went on in the book. The book was neck and neck with the movie for this because even though the book was so much more elaborate it was the simplicity that I loved. In the book, Bernard Tai planned out a huge ordeal. First, they went to the dog fights (which was a strike 1 in my book against the book for which one was going to win), then they went gambling at a hotel, and then the party was on a big party ship. These three things were really all hands down just whatever to me. In the movie, Bernard had a huge freighter ship transformed into this ginormous party for Colin. I'm saying that the movie was simple in comparison is a stretch because this was a huge party! Inevitably I had to go with the movie for the actual party. Another win was the fact that Eddie wasn't invited to it and he threw such a fit and I couldn't stop laughing about it! Now we'll swing back to this in the next two sections so if this seems kind of vague there's a reason I left a lot out because I didn't want to keep repeating myself in the next two.
Bernard Tai! I had to give this person a vote because I feel like he was this crazy person in both the book and movie, I mean look at what he planned for Colin's bachelor party and then the whole thing with him and Kitty Pong! Now I will admit that I'm a little biased towards Mr. Bernard because I know what happens to him in the new couple of books. But based on the movie of Bernard Tai I was annoyed with him, which you're supposed to be. He is an obnoxious character for a reason. The only scene that I love that involves him is him and Kitty Pong getting caught, which is done so much better in the movie than in the book. The book was funny, just grows. Now book Bernard was just as obnoxious BUT I loved him in the scene where Colin and Nick are leaving the bachelor party, which Colin is only at because he had to be there cause of their parents, and Nick is explaining to Bernard that Colin is extremely sick and then he just starts panicking. Bernard isn't panicked because Collins sick, which may have been a little bit of the reason, but overall it is because of their parents. See Colin only put up with this party because he didn't want to make Bernard's parents upset, and then Bernard was only doing this to show off to Colin because of Colin's parents! I just think his panic was so cute and showed that he thought he was coming from the right place for this annoying party.
Then finally leaving the bachelor party! In the movie, the whole party flew out on helicopters which made it easy for Nick and Collin to steal one and leave. But in the book, Nick along with Colin, Mehmet, Alistair, and Colin's baby brother all devised a plan to call a 'medical' helicopter and ditch the party. Nick made the captain of the ship tell him the coordinates. Then he had to fake that Colin had something medically wrong and needed to get off the ship. All of the guys hopped in the helicopter and flew off, and then actually enjoyed their laid back bachelor party. Now I did miss Nick and Colin talking about how Nick wanted to propose to Rachel. In the book, Nick doesn't know how he feels about Rachel at this point and it just irritated me so that taken out of the equation we are left with this beautiful moment in the book that I just loved.
Okay, I'll admit
Fiona probably doesn't need her own section, but I couldn't resist it! Fiona is Eddie's wife and in the movie you rarely see her, I think she has two scenes where she isn't just taking pictures with Eddie. The first scene is when we are introduced to Eddie, and Fiona first is just taking pictures then we see she isn't fooled by Eddie's antics and she's just over them. The second time is at the party and she just walks off while Eddie is standing there looking stupid. So the movie really didn't give Fiona much. Now I'll admit beginning Fiona annoyed me because I thought she was oblivious to Eddie, who was bragging about having so many mistresses since he and Fiona's been married. Well, Fiona does know she just deals with it in her own way. She's so sassy! I need to read the next two books soon because I don't remember if Fiona grows from here or not. But one of my favorite moments is one of the kids spills pop on Eddie's outfit for the reception and Fiona is like just wear one of the other two you brought. He starts complaining that he can't do that since he already wore them and she spent too much money not to wear this one. Fiona stands in and said you caused it, Eddie, if you weren't yelling at the kid he wouldn't have spilled the pop. Then she takes the kids and rides with Nick and Rachel to the party! Talk about KARMA! I loved this moment. Fiona also has some funny moments standing up to Eddie or putting him down while he's complaining and I live for those moments when I'm stuck in Eddie's point of view.
Nick's proposing is something that has a lot of things tied to it. First, in the movie, Nick talks about proposing all the time. But in the book, Nick's like 'I don't know how I feel about Rachel,' and 'I didn't know I wanted to marry her until I saw her at the wedding.' I get it, sometimes at weddings, it really puts it into perspective that you want to marry someone. But you can't be with someone for years and not at least talks about it. I get that not everyone is the marrying type, and some people move faster or slower than others. I get all that, but I'm sure the topic has come up somewhere before that wedding in the book. The book Nick irritated me because of how oblivious he was. Now movie Nick was just hopeful, with a side of oblivious when came to his family. The actual proposal I don't think even happened in the book. The relationship was cut off when Eleanor spilled all the beans regarding Rachel's lineage, and I don't think they ever made up? I think the second book is resolved. Now in the movie, I loved how he hopped on her plane and proposed to her with Eleanor's ring! It was perfect!
Araminta and Colin's
wedding ceremony was basically the same but there were some details that I think the movie really threw it over the edge. In the movie first Rachel slayed it in that dress she wore! All eyes were on her and really saw the Rachel from the beginning of the movie teaching game theory return and I loved it! While she was walking in she had her moment with Amanda Ling, and then Eleanor told her that there wasn't any room in her pew. Rachel's solution was to make friends with the princess that wasn't letting anyone else in her pew! I loved this too. Araminta's dress! It was gorgeous. Then Nick and Rachel had their 'I love you' moment during the ceremony. I had no complaints during the movie's version of the ceremony. In the book, Nick discovered that he loved Rachel and wanted to marry her. But other than that nothing happened. I wanted this added extras in it so bad!
We all know that I'm a serious Astrid shipper, so it's no surprise that I have
Astrid and Michael's break up here! In the book, Astrid fought so hard to keep her relationship with Michael even though she thought he was cheating. It wasn't until the end of the book that Astrid said that she was fighting so hard because of Cassian. This I can get behind and root for. I wish it came up earlier because she was fighting for a man who she believes is cheating on her, and the whole time it felt like it was because of what everyone else will think of a divorce is why she was doing it. Even when she was with Charlie she mentioned the whole divorce would devastate her family and people would talk about it. She learned that Michael was making up the cheating because he wanted out and he thought this would suffice his in-laws better than a divorce. So this whole thing was very aggravating for no reason because you had the drama without the solution and I love Astrid, more in the later books, but it is what it is. Now movie Astrid kicks butt! She did have her meltdown when she first learned of the cheating, and she took her time to think about it and even talk to Rachel about it. Then they had a blow-up going to the wedding ceremony. Astrid confronted Michael about his cheating and he told her hey you only care because of what people will think. I like that Michael got to get everything off his chest regarding their relationship, he even brings up the fact that she hides her shopping. At this point, Michael doesn't know all of Astrid's financials. So this part is a thumbs up for the movie Michael and Astrid. Then just like in the book Astrid shows up to the wedding with Su Yi, which its mentioned a lot that she never leaves her house because anyone who wants her goes to her. My utmost favorite Astrid scene happened at the very end of the movie. Michaels' packing up a suitcase for a work trip and mentioning that he will get the rest later. But then Astrid cuts in and says you don't need to Michael, we are leaving. This really throws Michael off and he asks what are you talking about? Astrid explains that she has a ton of apartment buildings and her and Cassian will stay in one of them. Then she says that he will only see Cassian when it is good for him not for Michael! This Astrid is strong and amazing and I just love her!
Rejecting Rachel is probably not the best name for this one. This is the scene that Su Yi/Ah Ma is stating her opinions on Rachel. In the movie, I feel like it was very dull in comparison to what happens in the book. First off during the reception, Nick stills Rachel away to talk to her about proposing but is interrupted by Amanda Ling who keeps talking about her first kiss with Nick. Then at the same reception, Francesca Shaw comes up to Rachel and in an attempt to get rid of her starts talking about her relationship with Nick. So they leave Singapore to go to Su Yi's summer home, just to get beat thereby, Eleanor and Su Yi, which start yelling at them about how they shouldn't get engaged because of Rachel's history. None of this she even knew about! She had no clue Nick was proposing or that her mother lied to her for years. This right here is why the book won out. After reading this and then seeing what happens there is no way I could pick the movie because it didn't stand up to the book.
Rachel's father is such a crazy story! It's something that came into the story that you had no clue was going to happen. In the movie, all we get told is that Rachel's mother was married but fell in love with a school friend who knocks her up with Rachel. But before her husband finds out she runs away to the US and just doesn't look back. When Rachel's mother comes to Singapore she explains that he was a horrible man that hurt her and her school friend was nice and eventually, they fell in love. She even tells Rachel that she thought about the friend every day and would've reached out if she wasn't scared of the husband finding out. This is the movie is crazy to hear if you've never read the book. But in the book, we get hit with this insane story! First off Eleanor tells Rachel that her dad is in prison in Shenzen. When Rachel arrives at Peik Lin's she calls her mom and goes off on her for lying! It isn't for days that Rachel's mom shows up because Nick brings her, and explains to her the whole story. Her mom explains that she needed to get to Singapore before she left for Shenzen because that man isn't her father, but he is her husband.
Her mother told her the story about how she fell in love with a rich stranger and was captivated by his lifestyle. Even though her parents tried to keep her from being with him she just snuck around and eventually ran away to marry him. Her inlaws were horrible to her, the mother-in-law treated her like a servant. So when she talked the inlaws into letting them live alone the husband started hurting her. Her downstairs neighbor heard everything and one day he rescued her before the husband would catch her. They built up a friendship that did turn into love. This love created Rachel. When she was pregnant they ended up moving back in with his family until Rachel was born. It wasn't until Rachel was born that her mother worked up a plan to leave, and this was only because her inlaws planned on hurting Rachel since the one-child rule in China prohibited her from having any more children. Once she escaped her friend got a taxi and took her back to her village where she ended up with a cousin, and then an uncle in the United States ended up sponsoring her to bring Rachel there. She was so scared of reaching out to the friend that she never did and she couldn't allow herself to look back. I mean how could the book not win after all of this!
I know that was a lot so I created a book aesthetic for this book, which was incredibly hard! I explained all of the pictures in the caption below. All picture did come from Pinterest and the collage was made on pic collage app.
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| Starting at the left: A beach for the bachelorette party, A New York City Skyline where Nick and Rachel created their life, NYU logo for Rachel and Nick's job, this is the flower that they had a party for since it only blooms at night and it is considered rare to see since it is unknown when it will bloom, an engagement ring since they were in Singapore for a wedding and Nick wants to propose to Rachel, Money because hello their crazy rich, a family tree to signify how important lineage is to the older generation like Eleanor and Su Yi, One of two food places in Singapore since everyone always argues over who has the best food, designer label because they care about their name brands, the second of two food spots, pearl necklace because they like simplicity but at the same time one of the aunties only wore pearls until Su Yi gave her one of her necklaces, 'happiness is expensive' because the younger generation thinks they need to spend everything to be happy, London skyline because the story starts at the Calthorpe hotel, Huge lilypads because one of Nick's favorite spots at his Ah Ma's has them, a prison cell for Rachel's 'dad', Shanghai's skyline because I wanted a lot of cities all over the world to signify how far news travel and how everyone travels so much in this world, 'World's Greatest Ecomics Professor' becuase Rachel is the best and should have that mug, and then ended with Singapore skyline because the story is mostly in Singapore |
The Top Favorites and Least Favorites
I just want to end it with what I want from the future of this series. Bookwise I wish there was another book. While reading it was finished by the third book, but I really wish there was more because I miss this world! As for the next movie I don't know what I want. I thought maybe they would focus on Astrid because of everything that happened between her and Charlie Wu and Michael, but it kind of tied up nice and sweet at the end of this movie. I hoped it would follow Rachel finding out about her dad because if I'm remembering correctly that was a huge thing in the second book. But they kind of wrote it out as an option with the fact that Eleanor told everyone that Rachel's dad was the school friend and then Rachel's mom explained that she misses him but she couldn't go backwards out of fear of her husband. So I guess the only thing it can do is follow Nick and Rachel's wedding? I don't know, I'll just have to wait and see. It looks like the second movie is having some issues and might be done for 2021, but as of today, they haven't even started filming yet. Maybe I'll read the second book soon and do a review on it? We'll have to see!
