Ang Lee’s 1993 movie The Marriage ceremony Banquet was an enormous step ahead in how Asian tales have been proven in international cinema. It fantastically mixed themes like cultural identification, household expectations, and queer love. The story follows a Taiwanese-American homosexual man who struggles to steadiness his private fact together with his conventional upbringing. At a time when Asian voices have been typically ignored in Western movies, this film helped shift views. Now, over thirty years later, director Andrew Ahn is planning to deliver a contemporary model of this basic story to a brand new era.
The Marriage ceremony Banquet follows the emotional and sometimes hilarious journey of two queer {couples} as they face love, household, and identification. Lee (Lily Gladstone) and Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) try to start out a household via IVF, however after a number of makes an attempt, Lee nonetheless isn’t pregnant. On the similar time, Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min (Han Gi-Chan) are slowly transferring ahead of their relationship. However Min’s plans take successful when his conventional grandmother, Ja-Younger (Youn Yuh-Jung), calls him again to Korea to run the household enterprise. Min can’t deliver himself to inform her he’s homosexual or that he desires to marry Chris, who isn’t certain he’s prepared for marriage both. In the meantime, Angela is coping with her family troubles, particularly her tense relationship together with her mom, Might Chen (Joan Chen). What follows is a heartfelt mixture of misunderstandings, cultural expectations, and private revelations. The movie blends queer romance, Asian household traditions, and comedy in a deeply transferring and entertaining means—making The Marriage ceremony Banquet a contemporary rom-com that really stands out.
Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran in ‘The Marriage ceremony Banquet’ (Picture Courtesy: Luka Cyprian/Bleecker Avenue)
A Plot That Dares to Be Tenderly Chaotic
What makes this plot so resonant is its refusal to simplify. The story might’ve simply change into a farce or a melodrama, however Ahn walks a fragile tightrope. The movie permits area for comedy (and there may be a lot comedy), but additionally actual emotional stakes, notably when Angela, in a second of drunken confusion, sleeps with Chris, resulting in a being pregnant that throws all the things off-kilter. From the absurdity of hiding lesbian paraphernalia from a visiting Korean matriarch to the uncooked ache of a breakup between lovers who nonetheless deeply care, The Marriage ceremony Banquet is wealthy with moments that really feel lived-in and heartbreakingly trustworthy.
One other side that makes this movie such an excellent watch is Andrew Ahn’s course. This can be a filmmaker who deeply understands the intersections of queerness, immigration, and Asian familial expectations. There’s no preaching—simply immersive, emotionally clever storytelling that trusts its viewers to attach the dots. The script, crammed with sharp humor and heartbreaking truths, flows effortlessly, permitting every character area to develop, mess up, and discover their very own decision. Importantly, the movie is a celebration of queer love—not a tragedy. It’s about making area for unconventional pleasure and household past the binaries and traditions which have boxed individuals in for generations. The queer lens isn’t a filter right here—it’s the narrative engine, the emotional compass, the beating coronary heart.
Ahn additionally weaves in moments of cultural specificity with loving element: Min hand-sewing a hanbok for his grandmother, the hilarity of Korean individuals gossiping at a pretend wedding ceremony, the generational misunderstandings between an Asian immigrant mom and her queer American daughter. These scenes by no means really feel tokenistic—they pulse with fact.
The Marriage ceremony Banquet options the most effective ensembles
Bowen Yang and Han Gi-Chan in ‘The Marriage ceremony Banquet’ (Picture Courtesy: Luka Cyprian/Bleecker Avenue)
With regards to performances, Bowen Yang proves as soon as once more why he’s one of the crucial very important queer performers of this period. As Chris, he’s quick-witted and irresistibly sarcastic, however his vulnerability offers the movie its emotional core. His arc—from a sardonic finest buddy to somebody confronting the prospect of fatherhood and love—feels so earned and tender. His chemistry with Han Gi-Chan is strikingly actual, equal elements candy and flamable, and their ultimate scene collectively, the place they break up solely to reunite in a courthouse proposal with Ja-Younger’s reluctant blessing, is film magic. Lily Gladstone’s efficiency as Lee is quiet, grounded, and devastatingly exact. Coming off her stellar work in Killers of the Flower Moon, Gladstone exhibits a very totally different vary right here—one which’s crammed with longing, frustration, and beauty. Lee is a lady able to be a mom however not sure if the universe will let her, and her journey via failed IVF and a accomplice’s betrayal is handled with the care it deserves.
Kelly Marie Tran delivers her finest efficiency but. Angela’s character might’ve simply been decreased to a mediator in everybody else’s drama, however Tran finds unimaginable depth in her. Watching her navigate estrangement together with her mom, Might (a splendidly layered Joan Chen), her partnership with Lee, and her odd marriage association with Min is a balancing act few actors might pull off. Tran is constantly humorous, however by no means on the expense of emotional fact. After which there’s Youn Yuh-jung—legendary, formidable, and hilarious because the matriarch Ja-Younger. Her scenes really feel like a masterclass in timing, restraint, and revelation. She begins off as an nearly villainous power of custom, however by the top, she turns into one thing much more complicated: a lady who as soon as sacrificed for look and standing, however now acknowledges a special sort of braveness in her grandson.
A Daring, Stunning Queer Masterpiece
Whereas the plot’s ultimate twists might simply really feel contrived in lesser arms, right here they sing. The courthouse interruption, the place Min and Chris lastly declare their love and intentions, is each absurd and exhilarating. It’s adopted by a quiet, wordless reconciliation between Angela and Lee that speaks volumes about forgiveness, resilience, and shared desires. The Marriage ceremony Banquet is a triumph—humorous, poignant, daring, and fully authentic. For audiences craving for tales that mirror queer Asian identities with each nuance and pleasure, this movie is a present. Andrew Ahn has created one thing uncommon: a film that’s deeply private but universally resonant, culturally particular but emotionally boundless.
All in all, THE WEDDING BANQUET is a delight and one of many uncommon rom-com movies the place neither the romance nor the humor is sacrificed, making it one of the crucial riveting watches lately.
