The Wedding Banquet **

Starring: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-Chan, Joan Chen, Youn Yuh-jung  

Director: Andrew Ahn

Country: USA

UK Distributor: Universal Pictures

The original version of The Wedding Banquet, which was made by Ang Lee and released in 1993, was received well by audiences and critics alike. It may not have had the same cultural impact as Lee’s later Brokeback Mountain, but it was certainly a ray of LGBT+ positivity at a time when the AIDS Crisis was still in full swing. And now comes its remake, an indie rom-com by Andrew Ahn (Fire Island) that transfers its simple narrative into the twenty-first century.

Angela (Tran – Star Wars franchise) lives with her partner, Lee (Gladstone – Killers Of The Flower Moon). Their attempts for a baby using IVF have been so far unsuccessful, but their money is running out. Their friend Chris (Yang - SNL) lives with his partner Min (Gi-Chan) in their garage, but when the latter’s wealthy grandmother (Yuh-jung - Minari) commands him to return to South Korea to work in the family business, his proposal of marriage is refused because Chris doesn’t want to marry him just for a green card. That’s when the two couples hatch a plan; if Angela will marry Min instead, he will fund their IVF. But when his grandmother arrives unexpectedly, they realise they’re going to have to stage an elaborate wedding.

All of the characters are eminently likeable, with Min probably the stand-out. Meanwhile Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung is delightfully coarse opposite Joan Chen (Lust, Caution) playing Angela’s pride-Mom. But for a film with real comedy pedigree attached to it, this is a surprisingly unfunny movie, with a script that is strikingly devoid of any humour whatsoever. Some of the situations are humorous by default, but if you can’t find some gags in a scene when a gay man and a lesbian wake up hungover not remembering whether they had sex the night before, then there’s something wrong with your screenwriter.

The movie’s original incarnation actually made more sense, as it was made before the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Now, the central premise feels somewhat diluted, because it revolves around Chris’ refusal of Min’s proposal. And with acknowledgments that even conservative attitudes have changed a lot since 1993, the stakes really do feel somewhat lower. And that’s the film’s biggest flaw of all; it’s all just a bit too inconsequential. All it would take is Chris changing his mind and the whole problem would simply go away, but yet his reservations are given much more weight than they deserve.

I’m a firm believer that a remake should be judged on its own merit, but it simply can’t exist in a vacuum. The original film may not be regarded as a Queer classic, but this one will be remembered even less so. It may succeed in depicting the LGBT+ Asian-American experience on screen, but that should have been supported by a funny script and a narrative that’s not been undermined by being updated. Andrew Ahn and Bowen Yang were a perfect partnership for Fire Island, but this one is a complete misfire.

UK Release: Out now in cinemas, released by Universal Pictures

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