Directed By Andrew Ahn

Starring – Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran

The Plot – A gay man (Han Gi-chan) makes a deal with his lesbian friend (Tran): a green-card marriage for him, in exchange for in vitro fertilization treatments for her and her girlfriend (Gladstone). Plans evolve as Min’s grandmother (Youn Yuh-jung) surprises them with a Korean wedding banquet, forcing them to adapt to her and some unforeseen surprises that none of them expected.

Rated R for adult language and some sexual material/nudity.

The Wedding Banquet | Official Trailer | Bleecker Street

POSITIVES

Remaking a thirty year old Ang Lee movie probably wasn’t atop the year possibilities for Ahn, but his incarnation of “The Wedding Banquet” lands with the unfortunate reality that as much as things have changed for LGBTQ relations in a conservative world, the more they stay the same, and the film is a prime example of the many challenges that not only gay people face in their everyday realities with family, but also the conflicts pertaining to immigration, which feel as relevant currently as they ever have before. This is not to say that Ahn’s film is a melodramatic bummer, as it’s quite the opposite in reality, with a gently glowing and affectionate direction meant to not only bring out the vulnerabilities of these very developed human beings, but also the imperfections with their respective designs, which were surprisingly refreshing towards bringing the occasionally bizarre decisions that each of them make, with regards to the inevitabilities of their futures. Ahn also takes ample time towards focusing on the many uncomfortable conversations and treatment of those family outsiders, who use their relative’s sexuality as a means of making themselves feel like a savior of sorts to further re-affirm their own morality. This is realized in the depths of Tran’s on-screen mother (Played terrifically by Joan Chen), whose job and lifestyle reflect that of her daughter’s conscientious decision, and it proves that even those in support of gay relations unknowingly act to demean something so personal to someone else, proving that conflicts don’t just materialize from those who are not in support of personal happiness, but also those acting shallowly and selfishly to inherit what a gay relative does for them. It’s also definitely not as humorously dependent as Ang Lee’s 1993 original film of the same name, but its faithfulness towards dramatics, with the occasional comedic imprint of awkwardness between a conservative grandmother and this progressive foursome, does make it all the more compelling during these intimately revealing interactions between the many internalized group dynamics, leading not only to some sizzling and stirring developments in the exploration of this journey, but also some gut-wrenching insights towards the remarkable climbs that LGBTQ people face simply to just be happy, and it’s one of those important films that I think everyone should have to see, especially if you’re so against the notion of people loving who they wish to love. The script definitely follows many of the same structures as its predecessor, particularly in the details of this artificial marriage and the stakes that surround it, but the geographical switch to Seattle, instead of Manhattan from the previous film, does wonders towards the atmospheric ambiance and radiance of Ki Jin Kim’s glowingly nurturing cinematography, with a barrage of cleverly exuberant framing in the symbolism of these respective couples that convey so much about them long before the dialogue ever has a chance to. In addition, despite these being completely different characters and personalities than the ones from Lee’s film, I found the supporting characters to be more fleshed out this time around, especially Gladstone’s Lee, who serves as the moral compass of everything transpiring within this unpredictable engagement. That feels like a great time to transition to the performances of the film, as everyone involved submits something equally endearing to the benefit of the movie’s foundation, with Tran, Yang, and Yuh-jung giving some truly remarkable dramatic work to their portrayals. As a comedian on TV’s Saturday Night Live, Yang rarely receives the opportunity to command the screen for anything other than off-beat deliveries, but here he showcases an open-ended vulnerability that truly transcends the familiarities of this comedic expectations, and I hope it’s the foot in the door opportunity for him to legitimately act in more dramatic films. As for Tran, she follows up my overwhelming praises of her in 2021’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” with an internally conflicted portrayal as Angela that occasionally tests your good graces for the character because of these spontaneous decisions that compromise the lives and well-being of those involved, and Tran’s traumatic backstory in the trials and tribulations of coming out to her family seemingly are brought to life in the character’s well-guarded demeanor, which when let down devastates everyone and everything in her surroundings. However, I truly think it’s 78-year-old Youn Yuh-jung who stole the show, despite the limited screentime in comparison to her four youthful counterparts. Yuh-jung’s work is ultimately tied to the before and after of finding out these enclosed secret of her grandson, where initially she’s coldly damp and condemning towards those interacting with her, before opening up with the logic and knowledge of generational experience that breeds hope to those who need it, and her work here is nothing short of mesmerizing, especially considering she is given a majority of the movie’s comedic muscle, in order to gauge a response to the everyday madness that her character is continuously forced to endure.

NEGATIVES

While I definitely feel that this remake is a better made and executed one than that of Ang Lee’s original, it doesn’t feel as memorable as its predecessor, even an hour after having seen it, and I truly feel the reasoning is in that lack of comedic commitment, which even if responsibly towards omitting out some of those uncomfortably outdated depictions and vocal points, doesn’t find anything equally endearing to replace them with, leading to a finished product, that, while importantly compelling with its insightful discussions and situations towards gay rights, feels far too strictly constricting on the feel good narrative to ever take for granted the vulnerabilities of Ahn’s otherwise impressive direction. Considering the humor was very slapstick in the original, I definitely didn’t expect that here, but what I did expect was more emphasis in the appeal of what humor brought to the foundation of the film, as the laughs were very few and far between for a film featuring no shortage of vibrantly intoxicating personalities, and I feel that it would allow the third act shift into devastating territory for this group of friends if they were allowed to be their immature selves all the more expressively during those opening two acts. On top of this, my other major issue with the film pertained to the development and manifestation of the established plot, which took a bit longer than expected to properly materialize, leaving very little time for it to play out before its resolved almost just as instantly. Part of me can somewhat forgive this unfortunate aspect, as the characters are vividly fleshed out in ways that allow the audience to understand the complete pictures within their respective ambitions, however because the resolution of the conflict is one thing that remains faithful to its 93′ original, it isn’t pursued as meaningfully or impactfully as I would’ve liked for an established plot, making many of the developments during even a superior second half feel a bit too rushed and abruptly resolved for my personal taste. When you consider that this movie clocks in at a brief 97-minutes of runtime, it’s quite surprising to realize that only forty-five of that is left once the grandmother makes her overseas trip to meet and dispel this gauge the legitimacy of this newfound relationship, and it makes me wish the script took a little longer towards her figuring everything out, which in turn could’ve produced more of those aforementioned comedic moments in keeping up the fictional front for this highly intelligent grandmother.

OVERALL
“The Wedding Banquet” is an intimately glowing and warmly affectionate remake of the 1993 Ang Lee original, with a far more poignantly persistent means of exploring such grippingly grounded characters with humanistic detail. While the film isn’t as memorably hilarious or extreme as its game-changing predecessor, as a means of omitting the 90’s standard of uncomfortable gay representation, it is a more than compelling delve into the lives of four gay friends at a crossroads with their own inevitable futures, making this one insightfully responsible wedding worthy of your R.S.V.P

My Grade: 7.6 or B-