A contemporary adaptation of the 1993 Ang Lee film of the same name, The Wedding Banquet takes the culture-shock premise of the original and gives it a millennial varnish. Though it isn’t quite as well-written as it could be, it has strong performances, and charm and truth to spare. In Andrew Ahn’s adaptation, the idea of comparison is heavily emphasized. Young people in today’s society know all too well how the influence of social media leads us to compare everything in our lives to others’ lives to the point of exhaustion. This new Wedding Banquet is a gently funny reminder that your path in life is totally your own, and you have to embrace it no matter what others might think.
Lesbian couple Lee (Lily Gladstone) and Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) have hosted Angela’s best friend Chris (Bowen Yang) and his boyfriend Min (Han Gi-chan) in their guest house for a while now. Artist Min comes from an extremely wealthy Korean family, and his grandparents are threatening to cut him off unless he goes to work for the family business. The only way he can stay in Seattle without incurring his family’s wrath is to get married and thereby get a green card. However, Chris is nearly deathly afraid of commitment, and in any event, Min isn’t sure his family is accepting of his sexuality. A comedy-of-errors solution springs from the idea that Min and Angela could get married in a traditional Korean ceremony. All the while, Lee is trying to get pregnant again after many failed attempts, an endeavor which makes her relationship with the trepidatious Angela rockier than it would otherwise be.
The cherry on top of an excellent cast is Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-jung as Ja-Young, Min’s grandmother. She becomes a fascinating voice of reason amidst all of the absurdity of these relationships. The turn the film takes in regards to how that comedy-of-errors plot point play out is a stroke of genius, because it allows for further growth and character development for Ja-Young and all of these characters. The other standout is Tran, who often carries the film. Like Chris, Angela isn’t as sure about things as her partner, and it’s lovely to see the two friends blossom as they accept their respective hangups, but persevere to do what they think is right.
As I alluded to earlier, there are some elements of the film which are undercooked at a script level. While the film does have more than enough funny moments to carry the story along, the tone does sometimes stray in ways which don’t quite balance out the comedy and the drama. However, one completely wordless moment in particular really floored me, and it provided a brilliant acting showcase for two particular actors, so I guess less can sometimes be more.
In any event, The Wedding Banquet honors both its predecessor and new viewers alike by making important social and cultural statements, including but not limited to dispensing with the idea of life comparison. As one character so rightly observes here, no one can do it all alone, and that’s kind of the point of life. We can’t all live the same life, and that’s okay. Our lives are all extraordinary in unique ways because love is extraordinary and unique. | George Napper
