If I’m ever going to finish this review, you’re going to have to put up with my straight male phrasing. The Wedding Banquet is a very gay movie. It opens at an LGBT Ally ceremony honoring May and features a variety of dance music, as well as lion dancers. Every discussion has something to do with being gay, and the problems our quartet faces are specific to gay couples. But then again, this is a gay movie…to put it bluntly.
On the flipside, it’s a distinctly Asian movie. Having grown up in the Asian community in Los Angeles, The Wedding Banquet feels incredibly authentic. Chris and Angela are very neurotic, and seeing how May’s passive aggression upstages Angela and uses his darkest secrets to portray herself as an LGBT ally is real. I know way too many emotionally-damaged Asians who all point to their parents for their condition, and it’s all valid. The Wedding Banquet is a glimpse into what it’s like living as an Asian-American…even with all the gay stuff on top.
The LGBTQ and Asian stuff is all window dressing to a story where love is its foundation. We have two couples who are soulmates to one another, and like any married couple, you know that no one is ever ready to be married, while at the same time, they need to jump into it or it will never happen. In other words, you’ll never be perfect enough for marriage, and it’s the Yin and Yang of each participant that make a whole couple. Now add kids to it.
“It is smartly written.”
Written by Andrew Ahn and James Schamus, The Wedding Banquet is about love, gay love, and all the foibles surrounding love. It is smartly written. The emotional elements are spot on for a love story, and yes, I laughed out loud…through the wedding shenanigans. There’s also a twist that I found as a game changer and wondered if you’re legally allowed to do it in an LGBT story.
Lastly, it’s great to see Bowen Yang on the big screen. He’s the best part of SNL at the moment and is finally able to exercise his acting chops starring in a feature film. Joan Chen’s character is one that I thought could never be pulled off in film. May is such a juicy role, and Asian or not, someone in your life is a May.
The Wedding Banquet is the kind of film that reminds you why we fall in love with movies in the first place—because they surprise us, move us, and make us laugh at how messy and magnificent life can be. With rich cultural authenticity, whip-smart writing, and a pitch-perfect ensemble cast, Andrew Ahn delivers a rom-ca very gay movie.om that’s equal parts heartfelt and hilarious.
"…a very gay movie."
