Emma Stone's Most Controversial Movie Is Getting A Second Life On Netflix

Why Emma Stone's Aloha Movie Is So Controversial

There are certain in-jokes among us chronically online film enthusiasts that'll probably get you strange looks if you crack 'em devoid of context in the real world. Take Zack Snyder's "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," an animated fantasy epic that made $139.7 million at the box office, yet, as the internet's running gag goes, nobody has actually seen. Then there's /Film's own recurring bit of referring to Mark Wahlberg as a hamburger salesman, which is more factual that you may've realized. However, if you really want to baffle impress your normie pals with your deep-cut knowledge of niche social media humor, all you need to do is applaud Emma Stone for her representation of the Asian-American community. 

To clarify for all you fine folks who've no idea what I'm talking about -- this now nine-year-old punchline involving the "Superbad" veteran was birthed by Cameron Crowe's controversial bomb "Aloha.

Emma Stone's Most Controversial Movie Is Getting A Second Life On Netflix  

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.

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Emma Stone's Most Controversial Movie Is Getting A Second Life On Netflix

Neal Preston/Columbia Pictures

BY SANDY SCHAEFERSEPT. 3, 2024 6:00 PM EST

There are certain in-jokes among us chronically online film enthusiasts that'll probably get you strange looks if you crack 'em devoid of context in the real world. Take Zack Snyder's "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," an animated fantasy epic that made $139.7 million at the box office, yet, as the internet's running gag goes, nobody has actually seen. Then there's /Film's own recurring bit of referring to Mark Wahlberg as a hamburger salesman, which is more factual that you may've realized. However, if you really want to baffle impress your normie pals with your deep-cut knowledge of niche social media humor, all you need to do is applaud Emma Stone for her representation of the Asian-American community. 

To clarify for all you fine folks who've no idea what I'm talking about — this now nine-year-old punchline involving the "Superbad" veteran was birthed by Cameron Crowe's controversial bomb "Aloha." On the surface, admittedly, the "Almost Famous" filmmaker's 2015 rom-com sounds innocuous enough. The plot centers on Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper), a disgraced military contractor who returns to his former stomping grounds in Hawaii, only to strike up a romance with a younger, chipper Air Force pilot (Stone). As she happily explains to those around her in the film, though, Stone's character, Allison Ng, is one-quarter Hawaiian and one-quarter Chinese, which Stone herself is ... not.

Netflix subscribers are saying Aloha to Cameron Crowe's infamous rom-com

Coming out the same year that #OscarsSoWhite took off, Crowe's film quickly became the poster child for casual Hollywood whitewashing in certain circles online, and not undeservedly so. Still, with FlixPatrol reporting "Aloha" has become the second-most-streamed film on Netflix over the last two days in the U.S. (just behind Lee Daniels' demonic possession thriller "The Deliverance" in the top spot), it seems all those people watching this flick for the first time are about to discover what the rest of us already know: Stone's casting is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this movie's mess.