Reel Review: The Wedding Banquet Delivers Funny and Compelling Queer Love Stories
It is about time that we finally get a lighthearted, funny, and compelling queer romantic comedy, and The Wedding Banquet delivers on all fronts.
Min (Han Gi-chan) is facing the fact that he might have to move back home to Korea unless he is able to get married to his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris (Bowen Yang). When his proposal goes wrong, Min comes up with another idea. He can use his inheritance to pay for his friends, Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) and Lee’s (Lily Gladstone), IVF treatments in exchange for a green card loveless marriage. While they plan a quick elopement, news of the nuptials makes its way back home leading Min’s grandmother to make a surprise visit to plan an extravagant wedding banquet.
While it may seem that there are a lot of heavy topics including IVF, citizenship, being out to your family, and more, this movie at its core is about love and support. They are able to strike the perfect balance between heartfelt, funny, and light.
Bowen Yang is known for his comedy, but it was nice to see him take on a more genuine role. Lily Gladstone is able to really tap into the longing feeling of wanting to be a mother but struggling to do so, a topic that is notoriously been viewed as very taboo even though so many women struggle with it. Kelly Marie Tran really encapsulates the millennial and gen z attitudes towards relationships, parenthood, and overall life trajectory. Han Gi-chan is able to tap into the family pressures of continuing a legacy but wanting to pursue the things he really loves.
There are bits and pieces of every single character that almost anyone can resonate with. There are so many laugh out loud moments that counteract the otherwise very serious undertones. While this movie is inherently queer and rather progressive, it doesn’t hit you over the head with an agenda. It just feels real, raw, and emotional without being overtly political.
It is clear to see why The Wedding Banquet garnered so much buzz after its Sundance Film Festival premiere, but it doesn’t look as though that sentiment carried into its theatrical release. While I believe it’s always best to see a movie in theaters, I hope that this one can find a second life on streaming for more people to see, because it deserves to.
The Wedding Banquet is playing in theaters now.
