THE STORY – Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend, Chris, and out of time, Min makes a proposal: a green card marriage with his friend Angela in exchange for expensive in vitro fertilization treatments for her partner, Lee. Plans change when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an elaborate Korean wedding banquet.
THE CAST – Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen & Youn Yuh-jung
THE TEAM – Andrew Ahn (Director/Writer) & James Schamus (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 99 Minutes
You are cordially invited to the sham wedding of the century, where you can expect traditional Korean customs, a few embarrassing slip-ups, and one wildly messy secret. More than 30 years after Ang Lee’s classic film, director Andrew Ahn (who co-wrote the screenplay with James Schamus, the original co-writer) puts his own modern spin on “The Wedding Banquet,” celebrating chosen family, love, and queerness. With a stacked ensemble that hits all the comedic and tender notes, this sweet dramedy will make you laugh one minute, shed a tear the next, and fill you with gratitude that something as special as this exists in our world today.
Angela Chen (Kelly Marie Tran) and her partner Lee (Lily Gladstone) have been trying to have a baby through IVF for some time. Lee can’t wait to become a mother – she plans on carrying the baby herself – while Angela is a little less enthusiastic, mainly because of her tense relationship with her mother (Joan Chen). Though she’s a staunch LGBTQ+ supporter now, she initially rejected her daughter’s sexuality, leading to a years-long rift between them. Trying to make up for lost time, she overcompensates by accepting awards for being an ally and jumping for joy with a Chinese drag queen.
Their best friends, Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min (Han Gi-chan) are also going through some challenges. Though they’ve been together for five years, Chris is afraid of settling down with Min, who eagerly wants to marry him. When Min’s green card is set to expire, Chris has even more reason to push away his marriage advances. However, Min doesn’t have all the time in the world to wait around, mainly because his grandmother (Youn Yuh-jung) is expecting him to return to Korea and run the family business. If his family discovers he is gay, he can also forget about his inheritance.
What’s Min to do? Obviously, they commit marriage fraud. His solution for everyone’s troubles involves marrying Angela to keep his family off his trail and giving Angela and Lee money for further IVF treatments in exchange. It seems like the perfect plan until Min’s grandmother comes to the United States to throw him a Big Fat Korean Wedding. Hilarity ensues in the most entertaining ways.
In many ways, this version of “The Wedding Banquet” honors the original. Still, Ahn smartly brings his retelling to the 21st century by highlighting the many beautiful societal and political changes that have happened since Ang’s 1993 film. Same-sex couples can legally get married and have children if they want, and it’s a joy to see queerness celebrated in all its forms here. But he also shows the struggles many face coming out to their family. Ideally, your loved ones accept you for who you are, but that’s not always the case among people of different cultures, as seen poignantly with Angela’s mother and Min’s grandmother. Sometimes, they come around; other times, there’s a lot of regret and sadness.
Don’t mistake this for a sad story — Ahn makes sure there are many laughs in his clever script. When Min’s grandmother surprises everyone with a visit, the group has to band together to de-lesbian Angela and Lee’s home. There’s too much queerness around them — LGBTQ books and art featuring nude women fill almost every space of their house — and, for the first time ever, “you look gay” is used in an appropriately funny context. The whole ensemble delivers on the comedy as well. Yang nails each of his one-liners while also capturing Chris’ inner troubles. Similarly, it’s nice to see Gladstone show off her comedy chops, although she still has scenes that let her flex her dramatic flair (one wordless moment between her and Tran is especially wonderful). But Tran is the true heart of this film, finally getting a part that allows her to show the depths of her talents. Not only is she effortlessly funny, but through Angela, she channels relatable moments of insecurity and hurt that have been festering inside for years. To no one’s surprise, Chen and Youn steal the show. They don’t have to do much to make one laugh, especially when Youn’s sarcastic deliveries are so amazing to hear, and when they dig deep for sentimental moments, you’ll find yourself swelling with tears. If there is one critique to be made about this film, it’s that Ahn could have given us even more raunchy zingers and standout sequences as he did with “Fire Island” — the Marisa Tomei scene continues to withstand the test of time —, but that’s easily forgiven.
Movies like “The Wedding Banquet” deserve to be celebrated for everything they stand for and bring to the big screen, no matter if it’s 1993 or 2025. And what a treat Ahn has delivered with his latest feature. With an excellent cast, sharp writing, and a lot of heart, he has another winner on his hands.
