Emma Stone has built an impressive career since her start in 2007, yet not all of Emma Stone's movies have been well-received, including her 2015 romantic comedy, Aloha. Directed by Cameron Crowe, Aloha follows Brian Gilcrest, a jaded military contractor who travels to Hawaii to negotiate a deal for land to build a new space center. While there, Gilcrest reunites with his former lover, who is now married with children. He also forms a bond with his Air Force liaison. Ultimately, Gilcrest must come to terms with his past failures in terms of his career and his relationships.
Upon its release, Aloha did poorly both at the box office and among critics. On a budget of $37-52 million, the romantic comedy only grossed $26 million. Furthermore, Aloha has a 20% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, joined by a 29% audience score. For the most part, viewers disliked Aloha because of its messy storylines and unclear themes. It seems that Crowe was simply trying to do too much at once. However, Aloha also received backlash for another reason, and it has to do with Emma Stone's casting.
Related
How Many Oscars Emma Stone Has
After her monumental win at the 2024 Oscars, the question arises of how many Oscars incredible actress Emma Stone has won since starting her career.
Aloha Has Been Criticized For "Whitewashing" With Emma Stone's Casting
Whitewashing In Hollywood Explained
While Aloha received criticism for its story, the movie also faced controversy for its casting of Emma Stone. In Aloha, Stone plays an Air Force pilot named Allison Ng. According to the story, Ng is supposed to be a quarter Chinese and a quarter Hawaiian. Stone herself is neither Chinese nor Hawaiian. Because of this, viewers felt that Aloha was whitewashing Allison Ng. They believed it would have been more appropriate for Cameron Crowe to cast an actor who was truly of Chinese and Hawaiian descent. Stone's casting likely played a part in Aloha's poor box office and critical reception.
During the 2019 Golden Globes, Sandra Oh made a joke about Emma Stone's role in Aloha by calling Crazy Rich Asians "the first studio film with an Asian-American lead since Ghost in the Shell and Aloha."
Whitewashing has long been a major problem in Hollywood. The term whitewashing refers to a situation in which a movie character is supposed to be a specific race or ethnicity, but is played by a white individual. Whitewashing is problematic because it takes away roles from BIPOC actors, who already lack on-screen roles. With a recent push for more diverse stories, casts, and crews, whitewashing only serves to water down what could be incredibly interesting and fresh tales that many audiences have never seen before.
Related
Emma Stone's Controversial Romance Movie With Bradley Cooper Is Coming To Netflix In September
One of Emma Stone's most controversial movies, which was released in 2015, is arriving at Netflix in just under one week, coming September 1.
4
What Emma Stone & Director Cameron Crowe Have Said About Aloha's Casting
Emma Stone Has Apologized For Her Role In Aloha
After receiving backlash about Emma Stone's casting, Aloha director Cameron Crowe put out an apology, but also an explanation for his decision. According to Crowe, Allison Ng was based on a real red-headed local who was a quarter Chinese and a quarter Hawaiian, yet didn't look like either of those things. It seems that her racial ambiguity was supposed to be an important element of her character, though this clearly didn't come across in the film. Because of Ng's unclear appearance, Crowe felt that Stone would fit the role.
Stone has publicly explained her disappointment in herself for taking on the role, and has spoken out about the issue of whitewashing in Hollywood.
Emma Stone has also reiterated Crowe's point about Ng's appearance, but has appeared more apologetic about her role in Aloha. Stone has publicly explained her disappointment in herself for taking on the role, and has spoken out about the issue of whitewashing in Hollywood. In this way, Emma Stone has made it a point to speak out about this controversy, and nowadays, she continues to be a successful actress who has left Aloha behind her.
Aloha
Your Rating
Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
PG-13
Comedy
Adventure
Documentary
Romance
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
*Availability in US
Military contractor Brian Gilcrest (Cooper) returns to Hawaii, the site of one of his finest career triumphs, to oversee the launch of a weapons satellite. While there, he attempts to reconnect with his long lost love (McAdams), and unsuspectingly falls for the Air Force watchdog (Stone) assigned to look over him.
- Director
- Cameron Crowe
- Release Date
- May 29, 2015
- Writers
- Cameron Crowe
- Cast
- Bill Murray , Danny McBride , Alec Baldwin , Emma Stone , John Krasinski , Bradley Cooper , Rachel McAdams
