A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order to keep his parents off his back and to get the woman a green card. Chaos follows when his parents arrive in New York for the wedding.
The take
Even with a plot that wholeheartedly embraces the tropes of a fake marriage and of found families, The Wedding Banquet never falls into the trap of histrionic melodrama. There's a calmness to this film that's made all the more poignant by how none of these characters are truly right or wrong, good or bad. Everyone is just trying to stay in their lane while nurturing the little bits of happiness they can find. The Wedding Banquet is a relatively early example of a lighthearted gay romance and an American co-production that's incredibly sensitive about representing Taiwanese culture properly on screen.
Comments
Add a comment
Your name
Your comment
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
More like this in
Booksmart (2019)
Two academic overachievers from high school set out to prove that they're a smart and fun for one last time.
9.0
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
Two boys bond with the village seamstress through banned books in this coming-of-age historical drama
7.2
The Half of It (2020)
An atmospheric romance that starts with “this is not a love story"
7.3
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
A film that centers family, food, love and the relationships between them.
7.8
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
A rich, melancholy tale of 1960s youth in Taiwan
9.0
Dìdi (弟弟) (2024)
Sean Wang remembers internet adolescence in this fresh, honest coming-of-age comedy drama
8.8
Paris Je T’aime (2006)
An anthology ode to the City of Love stacked with talent behind and in front of the camera
7.6
Happy Together (1997)
A Cantonese romance that explores love amidst heartbreak
7.0
Days of Being Wild (1990)
A dreamy rumination on the beauty of unattainable romance
8.1
Lust, Caution (2007)
A wartime spy falls for a collaborator in this erotic espionage drama