From Director Andrew Ahn, The Wedding Banquet presents a joyful comedy of errors about a chosen family navigating cultural identity, queerness, and family expectations. Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris (Bowen Yang) and running out of time, Min (Han Gi-Chan) makes a proposal: a green-card marriage with their friend Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) in exchange for her partner Lee’s (Lily Gladstone) expensive IVF.
Elopement plans are upended, however, when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an extravagant Korean wedding banquet. The Wedding Banquet is a poignant and heartfelt reminder that being part of a family means learning to both accept and forgive. Shout out to Canada, as this film is all shot in Vancouver. This movie is a remake of the 1993 film of the same name directed by Ang Lee (Gemini Man).
This is a progressively queer movie, through and through—showing a wonderful array of emotions. The Wedding Banquet comes to grips with community, culture and family. Ahn’s storytelling is unmatched when capturing raw human emotions and moments of real connectivity. Every character goes on a journey that delves deeper presenting the duality of right and wrong in various ways—defining human complexity.
“The Wedding Banquet is a poignant and heartfelt reminder that being part of a family means learning to both accept and forgive.”
The casting could not have been more perfect, either. The chemistry of the main four characters is very personable, and the years of friendship show on the screen. Having Chris, Min, Angela and Lee live in the same house (Chris and Min in the detached garage next to the house) adds to the drama and heartfelt moments.
Since they live so close together, they can support one another—whether that is providing each other unsolicited advice when they pass each other within the house or outside of the house. The moments of closeness between Chris and Angela blend with the friendly charm between the performers Yang and Tran. When Chris and Angela mention they have known each other since college, it shows through their looks and the way they speak as old friends.
Even the parental figures of the movie, Angela’s mom, May Chen and Min’s grandmother/Ja-Young display their acting chops—elevating everyone’s performances in the process. Bobo Le’s movie debut and on-screen chemistry as Chris’ cousin Kendall are funny, believable and endearing. With every sly comment or disagreement between characters, every person brings out the best in each other—both as actors and the characters they portray.
The storytelling contains a nice bookend with every person realizing how their problems can only be solved together. The concept of togetherness is often overlooked in films made in the 2000s to now, but rare occurrences like this one prove that it truly takes a village to survive and raise kids.
May and Ja-Young are great motherhood role models in their respects, as a single mother whose ego is inflated by telling everyone how much she is an ally to the queer community. With Ja-Young, she is a stern but caring grandmother who acts like a surrogate mom to Min. Both female heads genuinely care about their child but go about it in the wrong way—but they are trying their best.
The dialogue between Angela and her mom about the imperfections of being a mom resounds with many parents-to-be. It is common for people about to be parents to be anxious about being perfect, and then it is normal for experienced parents to say how every parent is imperfect. These conversational tropes add to the real moments in The Wedding Banquet because these interactions happen frequently.
“The Wedding Banquet will leave you weeping, laughing and smiling as friendship and chosen family blossom throughout the film.”
The Wedding Banquet finds a harmonic balance with the Korean, Chinese and Asian-American experiences and perspectives depicted. Not only does the dialogue between characters add to how the comedy is elevated when characters speak in their native/family language. For example, Min and his grandmother exchange something along the lines of ‘classic Americans’ in Korean, so May does not know they are talking about her.
The costume design or clothing department ties everything together for Min’s storyline so well. Min’s artistry tells a story of its own, and Ja-Young reacts to how beautifully his pieces resonate with her and her grandson. The cloth is what bridges the things Min and his grandmother cannot find the words to tell each other. Using Min’s art and clothing as a language device and narrative device is a smart choice that could go unnoticed.
The Wedding Banquet will leave you weeping, laughing and smiling as friendship and chosen family blossom throughout the film. The love stories are intertwined and beautiful to see every character struggle to overcome problems dealing with coming out, breaking family traditions, forgiving past woes, and reaching acceptance. All these issues and adding the extra factor of this following Asian families, added to the tension but relatability to fellow Asians watching this movie. It is easily one of the best queer rom-coms I have seen in a while.
