By John Corrado

A contemporary remake of the 1993 Ang Lee film of the same name, The Wedding Banquet is a queer crowdpleaser that could best be described as a modern screwball comedy.

This updated version focuses on two same-sex couples, instead of just one, and moves the setting to Seattle. But the basic setup from Lee’s film, involving a gay person hatching a scheme to marry straight for a green card, remains similar.

Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) and Lee (Lily Gladstone) are a lesbian couple trying to have a baby through IVF. Chris (Bowen Yang) is Angela’s college friend, who lives in their guest house with his boyfriend Min (Han Gi-chan).

Min needs a green card, but Chris isn’t ready to get married. So he proposes to marry Angela instead, in exchange for funding another round of expensive IVF treatments for her and Lee through his family’s fortune. The fake wedding is mutually beneficial; it will not only allow him to stay in the country, but also please his Korean grandmother, Ja-Young (Youn Yuh-jung). But complications ensue.

Directed by Andrew Ahn, who previously made the delightful Fire Island, The Wedding Banquet works as an enjoyable modern variation on Lee’s film. Ahn, who co-wrote the screenplay with James Schamus (also credited as co-writer with Lee on the original), lets us spend time getting to know these characters before fully setting the plot in motion, and it’s a wise move. We simply enjoy spending time in their company.

Ahn embraces the messiness of their lives, while also exploring the unique milieu and complexity of queer identities, which is crucial for the different dynamics at play to work. For example, Angela’s mother May (Joan Chen) presents herself as an uber ally, to the point that she uses her daughter’s identity to increase her own social status. But Angela understandably still harbours some resentment from a time when her mother wasn’t as open. It’s an interesting twist on the usual unaccepting parent storyline.

Ahn leans into a more farcical, comedic tone at times, while still delivering tender character moments, and that’s ultimately what keeps his film grounded. The cast nails their comedic and dramatic chemistry together. Youn, who stole scenes and won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Minari, has some lovely moments in particular, with her Korean grandma offering some surprising perspectives throughout. It’s a gentle, crowd-pleasing winner.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)

The Wedding Banquet opens exclusively in theatres in limited release on April 18th. It’s being distributed in Canada by VVS Films.