The Wedding Banquet

"To thine own self be true" is more than just an oft-used platitude. It's also good advice, given that concocting and pulling off a scheme rooted in artifice is virtually assured to fail. Such is the case when a long-term gay male couple, Chris and Min (Bowen Yang, Han Gi-Chan, respectively), hatches what they believe to be an ingenious plan for carrying out a marriage of convenience involving their lesbian friends, Lee and Angela (Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, respectively). In essence, Min, a South Korean national from a moneyed background whose US visa is about to expire, agrees to marry Angela so that he can qualify for a green card to stay stateside with Chris. In exchange, Min agrees to pay for the in vitro fertilization treatments that Lee is undergoing to enable her and Angela to have a child. It all sounds reasonable enough until Min's stern grandmother (Youn Yuh-jung), the no-nonsense controller of the family purse strings, who's thought to be unaware of her grandson's sexual orientation, decides to visit Seattle to meet Min's bride-to-be. But can the "couple" convince the aging matriarch that their upcoming betrothal is legitimate? Add to that additional complications involving Chris's reluctance to commit to Min for the long term, Angela's issues with her supportive but overbearing mother (Joan Chen) and questions about Lee's ability to successfully become pregnant, and the situation becomes a hot mess, one that threatens the security of two couples and their collective and individual plans for the future (hence the wisdom behind being truthful to oneself). Writer-director Andrew Ahn's latest feature, loosely based on filmmaker Ang Lee's 1993 release of the same name, is a touching, heartfelt romantic comedy-drama examining the kinds of challenges that same-sex couples often face in their relationships. In light of that, I must admit I was quite surprised by what turned up in the finished product, for several reasons. To begin with, the trailer for this film is very misleading, making the picture look like a campy, screwball LGBTQ+ comedy. Far from it; to be sure, the picture is far more serious and substantive than the preview lets on. But that ultimately works to the film's advantage, giving it an unexpected sense of depth that I definitely was not expecting. And that, in turn, helped to dispel the hesitation I had about wanting to screen this offering in the first place: To be honest, I was expecting to see a predictable, cliché-ridden story in the same vein as Ahn's previous feature, "Fire Island" (2022), which I despised because of all of its trite gay stereotypes, something I was not looking forward to seeing again. I'll freely admit that I was in error about that; thankfully, this film more closely resembles the artistic quality found in another of the director's previous works, "Driveways" (2020). What helps this release succeed so well are the fine performances of its excellent ensemble cast, including a break-out portrayal for Yang, who exhibits a greater range here than he's demonstrated in his previous roles, as well as the consistently solid turns by Chen, Yuh-jung and Gladstone. The film also employs humor in just the right amount, never becoming excessive nor falling prey to shopworn comedic devices, thanks to a capably penned script. "The Wedding Banquet" is truly a refreshingly unexpected treat, one of the better releases in the LGBTQ+ genre to have come out in some time. Indeed, this is one cinematic feast that's well worth your time.

I had all but forgotten about the original 1993 movie until after I saw this one, and watching them back to back really makes you appreciate a brilliant filmmaker like Ang Lee that comes but once in a generation.

Without comparing it to the OG, my initial thought of this remake was that I wouldn't have lasted 20 minutes if it weren't created for audiences like me (millennial, Chinese, green card, marriage, IVF). It has the premise of a romcom but without the comedy, the design of an indie drama without the raw emotional punch except in a few places, and all the insufferable qualities of contemporary mainstream filmmaking.

After watching the original, my main complaint of this film is now...there's no banquet! The OG was brimming with culture, a true banquet made to dazzle, literally and figuratively. It appears filmmaking, like banquets, has become a lost art.

This movie disappoints in so many ways. The fact that this was called a remake, was a terrible idea. This should have not even been called that and should have just been a new movie altogether.

The trailer makes this movie seem like its a well paced comedy that is similar to the first movie, but it's pacing is slow and boring. Like the farewell, it's more heavy than light. Joan Chen, who isn't even a comic, was the funniest of all the other actors in the movie, but the was few and far between. Joan Chen, was excellent.

It's an OK movie, but definitely, not a true comedy and not a remake.

If they were the set the expectations of this movie the right way, it would have been easier to watch.

Watched at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

I wasn't sure how a remake would work with And Lee's classic queer romantic comedy but color me surprise, the remake does a pretty good job on being creative from it's source material with new energy, humor, and atmosphere. Andrew Ahn is a director I have been keeping up with as his work Spa Night, Driveways and Fire Island have been pretty great and emotional engaging to observe. Here, Ahn's direction on the atmosphere, dialogue, and the character dynamics are pretty good. Being able to capture the emotions, hilarious dynamics, and some of the oddity and funny moments in both heartwarming and somewhat chaotic ways.

With a good presentation, all of the performances are great as many of the cast members are able to provide fun energy, personality and purpose to their characters. Bowen Yang particular stands out at his best. Narrative-wise, I do appreciate some new themes they were able to explore but there are some moments that felt a little uninspired with the concepts and dynamics that Ahn explores. Including how the production feels almost too fake like something from Netflix and some of the structure feels a little strange, which does make some moments a bit distracting and dragging a bit.

But overall, I didn't expect much for this remake but it was surprisingly not too bad and it went beyond the expectations.

I was very much looking forward to this movie and I was not disappointed I was ready to give it seven stars after only watching the first 40 minutes and in my opinion the trailer , as is often the case, would not give one a fair idea of what the true nature of it is. Sure there's plenty of comedy, but it is really a character study of the difficulties encountered in human relationships and it does that with genuine portrayals of those relationships , couples and parent / offspring, the out in the open and the repressed. The acting and story is gripping and I think you will find yourself totally immersed in them and as unlikely as some of the events may seem, the film never struggles in getting them across, comedy , yes but it deals much more with emotions and there are so many satisfying scenes where that is the primary subject.

Seven point nine stars, script acting throughout, not one person outshines the other and equal weight is given to all of them IE well written, I loved it.