To be fair, a romantic comedy — which is what Crazy Rich Asians is — may not be the most suitable vehicle to unpack Singapore’s complicated colonial past and how it continues to impact its society today. But a sense of history is precisely what Rachel does find enviable about Nick’s upbringing. The discovery of the Young’s wealth is central to the story: They embody a family that hasn’t been decimated by poverty or war. Rachel laments that, having been raised by a single mom in America, she didn’t grow up surrounded by a big, extended family like he did. Here, the word “family” easily stands in for “money.” And yet the film ultimately decides to neglect the economic advantages and political circumstances that allowed the Youngs to make such ridiculous amounts of money while keeping their legacy intact, and in doing so, misses the mark on what exactly this wealth and power is supposed to get you beyond nice things.