The Wedding Banquet (1993)

The Wedding Banquet (1993)

A charming gay romcom filled with strong cultural detail

7.2

Movie

Taiwan, United States of America
English, Mandarin
Comedy, Drama, Romance
1993
ANG LEE
Ang Lee, Dion Birney, Gua Ah-leh
109 min

What it's about

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

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

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

The Half of It (2020)

An atmospheric romance that starts with “this is not a love story"

7.3

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

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

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

Dear Ex (2018)

A heart-wrenching tale of love and hate

7.4

Chungking Express (1994)

7.9

Paris, 13th District (2021)

A sensuous drama following the love and sex lives of three young Parisians

7.0

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.