April 16, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Andrew Ahn
Some language in Korean with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in Seattle, the comedy/drama film “The Wedding Banquet” (a reimagining of the 1993 film of the same name) features a predominantly Asian group of people (with a few African Americans, white people and one Native American) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A lesbian couple and a gay male couple, who are all best friends living together, come up with a tricky solution to an immigration problem and a family planning problem.
Culture Audience: “The Wedding Banquet” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in well-acted movies about LGBTQ people.
“The Wedding Banquet” is a charming and breezy comedy/drama that overcomes some clichés and a predictable ending by having witty banter and a talented cast. It adeptly covers family planning and immigration issues from a LGBTQ perspective. This is not a particular groundbreaking movie, but it does have some uniqueness on various levels.
Directed by Andrew Ahn (who co-wrote “The Wedding Banquet” screenplay with James Schamus), “The Wedding Banquet” had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Ahn and Schamus are two of the movie’s producers. “The Wedding Banquet” takes place in Seattle but was actually filmed in Vancouver. “The Wedding Banquet” is a reimagining of the 1993 film of the same name, which directed by Ang Lee, who co-wrote the movie with Schamus and Neil Peng. Lee and Schamus were two of the producers of 1993’s “The Wedding Banquet.”
The 2025 version of “The Wedding Banquet” centers on four best friends who live in the same house: Lee (played by Lily Gladstone) and Angela (played by Kelly Marie Tran) are an “out and proud” lesbian couple. Chris (played by Bowen Yang) and Min (played by Han Gi-chan) are a semi-closeted gay couple. Chris is openly gay, but Min still has not come out a gay to his family members, who all live in Min’s native South Korea.
Lee (whose birth name is Angelina) is originally from Wichita, Kansas, and she inherited the house from her deceased father. Chris and Min live in the house’s garage, which has been converted to a bedroom. Angela and Chris have no siblings and have been best friends since they were teenagers.
Chris is also close to his younger cousin Kendall (played by Bobo Le), who is the type of person who can cheer him up when he gets stressed-out or mopey. Min is an artist in grad school, and his student visa is about to expire. Min wants to marry Chris, who has turned down Min’s marriage proposal because Chris is commitment-phobic and because cynical Chris wonders if romantic Min wants to get married for the wrong reasons.
Lee (who is a social worker at a LGBTQ center) and Angela (who is a research scientist) have been trying to have a child together. Lee (who is laid-back and nurturing) wants to be the one to get pregnant and give birth because she is admittedly more maternal than high-strung and neurotic Angela, who never wants to be pregnant and give birth. In the beginning of the movie, Lee has been going through in vitro fertilization with sperm donations. But so far, she hasn’t gotten pregnant, and the couple has run out of money to continue the IVF treatments.
In addition to being a student artist, Min works for his wealthy family’s multinational corporation and is under pressure to do a major deal for the company. And if the deal falls through, his demanding and conservative grandfather expects Min to move back to South Korea. Min is disappointed that Chris rejected Min’s marriage proposal, but he hopes Chris will change his mind if Min can stay longer in the United States for reasons other than a student visa. It’s never stated if Chris has a job, but Chris seems to be insecure about the fact that Min has a lot more money than Chris does.
Min comes up with a solution for both couples: He offers to pay for Lee’s continued IVF treatments if Angela agrees to marry Min, so Min can be a legal U.S. resident and stay in the United States without needing a student visa. Min wants to keep his sexuality a secret from his family because he is certain that his grandfather will disown him if his grandfather discovered the truth.
Angela’s meddling single mother May Chen (played by Joan Chen), who’s a proud member of Parents, Families & Friends of LGBTQ+ People (PFLAG), knows about this fake marriage plan. Min’s traditional grandmother Ja-Young (played by Youn Yuh-jung) does not know this secret when she travels from South Korea to Seattle to attend the elaborate wedding that Ja-Young wants to plan for Min and Angela. May and Ja-Young clash over how much of the wedding should have Chinese traditions or Korean traditions. Hijinks, some slapstick comedy and a few plot twists ensue.
Whereas Min tries to hide the truth about his love life from Ja-Young, Angela has the opposite problem with May, who wants to know everything about Angela’s love life. Angela and May have to confront unresolved issues because when Angela first told May that Angela is a lesbian, May cut off contact with Angela for several years. May eventually accepted Angela’s sexual identity. And now, May has become an activist ally to the LGBTQ community, but Angela thinks May has become too intrusive in Angela’s personal life.
“The Wedding Banquet” has some emotionally touching moments about living an authentic life when there is pressure not be true to oneself, out of fear of rejection or fear of losing something important. Angela and Chris, who have trouble communicating their feelings to their loved ones, learn some lessons along the way. “The Wedding Banquet” ends in a way that some people might consider too contrived, but the movie has its heart in the right place and can keep viewers interested based on the engaging performances.
Bleecker Street will release “The Wedding Banquet” in U.S. cinemas on April 18, 2025.