Film Review: The Wedding Banquet

The Wedding Banquet
Director: Andrew Ahn
ShivHans Pictures, Kindred Spirit, Symbolic Exchange
In Theaters: 04.18.2025

There’s a rabid, overgeneralized tendency among critics and internet fans to vilify remakes as if they were an insidious danger to life as we know it. And while there are far too many of them that are unable to justify their existence, every so often, one comes along that possesses a level of inspiration that makes it worthwhile, and The Wedding Banquet is one such film.

Min (Han Gi-Chan, Where Your Eyes Linger), a Korean textile artist living in Seattle, faces deportation when his visa expires. His wealthy family urges him to return to Korea and join the family business, but Min, deeply rooted in his chosen queer family, wants to stay. After his boyfriend Chris (Bowen Yang, Fire Island, Wicked) turns down a marriage proposal, Min hatches a new plan: a green-card marriage to his friend Angela (Kelly Marie Tran, Star Wars: The Last Jedi), whose partner, Lee (Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon), desperately wants another round of IVF. In exchange for funding the procedure, Angela agrees—until Min’s traditional grandmother, Ja-Young (Academy award winner Youn Yuh-jung, Minari) arrives from Korea expecting a proper wedding. As secrets unravel and family tensions rise, the four friends navigate identity, love, and the messy intersections of obligation and authenticity.

The 1993 version of The Wedding Banquet launched the career of three time Academy Award winning director Ang Lee, one of the most consequential filmmakers of the century thus far, and daring to reimagine a film that comes from such an icon of cinema seems like a terrible idea. Writer-director Andrew Ahn (Driveways, Fire Island) has collaborated with James Schamus, writer of the original, to breathe a vibrant contemporary spirit and edge to the material. While it was a groundbreaking moment in the mainstreaming of queer cinema in its day, Lee’s film feels antiquated by today’s standard, and Ahn’s version broadens the representation of the LGBTQ+ community considerably, going from two gay lead characters to four, plus some supporting characters. The result is a smart variation on the story that brings in fresh perspectives on identity and relationship dynamics. It is, however, uneven at times, a comedy-drama with the contrived setup of a romcom, but it’s more intermittently amusing than it is truly funny. The Wedding Banquet is a special occasion indeed when it’s focusing on touching moments of character drama, but it could have benefited from a bit more zaniness and even a touch of farce.

The stellar ensemble does a lot to sell this one, with Gi-Chan and Tran bringing layers of depth and vulnerability to these fragile yet ultimately brave characters. Tran, who infamously was eaten alive online by the toxically white cis male Star Wars fans who have all but drained the light side of the Force from the franchise, almost seems to channel the hurt and anguish of that experience into her performance, coming through with innate strength and tenacity that makes Angela one of her great signature roles. Han’s sweet and innocent manchild is a delicate flower who cannot be crushed, and both shine in their interactions with Yang, who is pulling back his zany tendencies and keeping Chris more grounded in reality than I was expecting. Yet, it’s Yuh-jung who once again steals the show through a mix of impeccable comedic timing and soulful humanity.

The Wedding Banquet may be short on belly laughs, but it’s still one of the best romantic comedies I’ve seen in a while, and a film that’s wonderfully matched to the moment. If you’re looking for a wedding gift that combines entertainment, heart, and empowerment all in one deceptively pretty little package. Ssnatch up The Wedding Banquet and get it wrapped and ready as quickly as you possibly can. You won’;t need the receipt, no one’s going to be trying to exchange this one. —Patrick Gibbs

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