The Wedding Banquet

I know, I know, as a gay man I was supposed to love this movie (just like I did the original). But sad to say, this remake is not very enjoyable.

They get credit for putting new twists on the plot vs. The original, but pacing is waaaaay too slow and it takes forever to get going. Quite honestly, there's very little humor. The first hour drags and is pretty boring, and it's not until the grandmother shows up that things get interesting. The grandmother, in fact, is the most interesting character in the entire movie. Dialogue is mundane and the few funny lines stand out simply because there are so few of them.

With all the talent they had on hand, this could've been so much better.

The Wedding Banquet is a delightful, heartfelt remake of Ang Lee's 1993 classic that takes a beloved, time-honored premise and refreshes it for a new era. While the original film navigated issues of immigration, identity, and secrecy in a delicate blend of drama and comedy, this film shifts the focus toward relationships and personal growth, exploring the emotional depth of its characters with humor and sincerity.

The film's comedy, though undeniably lighthearted, works largely because the film is brisk, without sacrificing the emotional truth of the characters. The narrative unfolds at a fast pace, each twist and turn propelled by a charming, almost sitcom-like energy.

While the plot may feel predictable at times, and some of the situations bordering on farce, the direction allows the characters to shine through the chaos, striking a balance, using humor to gloss over some of the more contrived plot points, yet never losing sight of the genuine emotional moments at the film's heart.

The blend of comedy and sincerity is where the film truly excels. It never leans too heavily into one side, allowing for moments of deep emotional truth to coexist with the lighthearted absurdity of the characters' increasingly ridiculous plans. When the film slows down, the dialogue crackles with authenticity-especially during the quieter exchanges.

There is, however, a sense that the film could have pushed further into daring or edgier territory. It does not venture into particularly risky or provocative comedic waters. While this makes it a more accessible film for a broader audience, it also feels, at times, a little safe. In the era of modern streaming comedies and edgy narratives, a more bold exploration of the entanglements that ensue might have added another layer of excitement or complexity to the film.

Very surprised by all the positive reviews (both critics and movie-goers) of The Wedding Banquet.

My partner and I were very much looking forward to it - but were seriously disappointed.

Various reviewers described the film as hilarious, charming, heartwarming.

We did not see that movie.

It was like spending time - too much time - with neighbors who mostly converse in therapy-speak platitudes, irony-speak chatter and in the case of one of the characters, complain incessantly about their mother.

In addition to the annoying therapy-speak dialogue, the characters were not so interesting in our opinion. Angela's character (Kelly Marie Tran) was especially churlish and unappealing - it was impossible to see why Lee (Lily Gladstone) would have been in a relationship with Angela. For different reasons, it was difficult to see why Chris and Min were together.

The few interesting and thoughtful parts of the movie, in our opinion, were the scenes of Min and his grandmother.

I recall admiring the original Wedding Banquet - will watch it again to see.

Having been watching movies now for roughly 70 years, I relish finding something completely different from the usual fare. And hopefully also highly entertaining. This one meets those requirements, my wife and I found it unique and highly entertaining.

Also, with so many years of watching over 200 movies a year, I have noticed many times, a movie will start very well, get a bit muddled in the middle, and then doesn't know how to wrap everything up and arrive at a meaningful ending.

This one avoids that pitfall, it ends very nicely, in a very appropriate manner for the various characters and their situations.

The basic situation is this - two couples, one a female-female and the other a male-male, are good friends. In each case there are family impediments that make it hard to be their selves and live their best lives. That is part of the struggle.

Then, one of the guys, a Korean in the states for study, may outlive his visa and may need to return home, unless ... he can get married. But his partner is not ready for marriage.

The title of this movie would not be "Wedding Banquet" if there were no wedding, but what happens is a big diversion from where it was headed.

Anyway, we watched it at home on DVD from our public library. It is thoroughly entertaining with many laughs but also many meaningful adult themes.

They took a really wonderful movie (the 1993 original), and remade it as another lazy, run of the mill romantic comedy that's trying desperately to be modern and relevant.

Bowen Yang's acting performance was distractingly bad. However, Joan Chen and Lily Gladstone's acting performances were good and solid. But they couldn't save the film.

Overall, I think this one is worth skipping and will probably be forgotten about in 5 years.

I'm glad that this movie will at least bring more attention to the original, and maybe expose people to Ang Lee's earlier work which I personally think is his best.