Andrew Ahn’s Fire Island, a film inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, put a positive spotlight on AAPI and LGBTQ+ representation. Now the director is back for another with “The Wedding Banquet,” a remake of Ang Lee’s 1993 of the same name but with a few contemporary touches that would speak to today’s generation.
In the original “The Wedding Banquet,” the film followed bisexual Taiwanese immigrant man (Winston Chao, in his film debut) who marries a mainland Chinese woman (May Chin) to placate his parents (Gua Ah-leh and Lung Sihung) and get her a green card. His plan backfires when his parents arrive in the United States to plan his wedding banquet and he has to hide the truth of his gay partner (Mitchell Lichtenstein).
Ahn, co-writing the screenplay with James Schamus, who co-wrote the original film, is a contemporary 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 (Youn Yuh-jung) surprises them with an extravagant Korean wedding banquet. The film also stars Joan Chen.
The trailer starts off with Min and Chris walking alongside Angela and Lee as they talk about their plans for having a baby, with Min designating himself as the art teacher while Chris handles diaper duty. Soon the tags provides the necessary exposition, with footage following up with the couple’s challenges. For Angela and Lee, there are money troubles and figuring out who should be the one to get pregnant. Meanwhile, Min and Chris have problems of their own as Min’s visa is set to expire and he doesn’t want to go back to Korea. Also, there’s the little tidbit about Min’s grandmother not knowing that he’s gay. And if he comes out to the family, they will cut him off.
So, with two big problems, the two couples come up with a little lie. Angela marries Min and Min pays for Lee’s IVF procedure. Sounds like a perfect ruse. That is until, Min’s grandmother makes a surprise visit and throws off the plan. So Chris has to get Angela and Lee to “de-queer the house” and get Angela to not be gay based on her fashion choices. Angela’s mom (Chen) is aware of her daughter’s relationship and considers herself an ally, is a bit confused as to why she is hearing her daughter is marrying a man. Of course, Angela has to explain the situation. But if they are to sell this fiction, that means she has to deleted all of the support she has for the LGBTQ+ community off her socials. And if she ever wants grandkids then she has to stop posting on Instagram stories and just delete Instagram entirely. Soon the couples realizes how in over their heads they are in. Then Min admits he doesn’t want to be an American because the trains are so slow and he doesn’t now how much to tip.
“The Wedding Banquet” made its official debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and was met with rave reviews, which praised Ahn’s directing efforts and the cast’s performances.
“The Wedding Banquet” opens in theaters on April 18, 2025
