When The Wedding Banquet originally came out in the fall of 1993, I confess it was the first foreign film I had ever seen. It was my birthday, and the guy I was dating took me to see it. The rest of the date was a disaster, but the film, directed by future Oscar winner Ang Lee, was a triumph.
When I first heard that The Wedding Banquet was being remade, I wasn’t thrilled—after all, the original was perfection. However, after watching the new version, I can confidently say that this is a re-imagining, not a remake. The story is similar but not identical. This version is a comedy, whereas the original was not. The first film was set in New York; this one takes place in Seattle. In the original, the foreign element was Taiwanese, while in the new version, it’s Korean. With marriage equality, marrying a woman for a green card isn’t as necessary as it once was, but for the family at the heart of this story, that’s exactly where things lead.
From director Andrew Ahn (Fire Island) comes a joyful comedy of errors about a chosen family navigating the disasters and delights of family expectations, queerness, and cultural identity. Angela and her partner, Lee, have been struggling with unsuccessful IVF treatments and can’t afford another round. Meanwhile, their friend Min, the closeted heir to a multinational corporate empire, has plenty of family money but a soon-to-expire student visa. When his commitment-phobic boyfriend, Chris, rejects his marriage proposal, Min makes an offer to Angela instead: a green card marriage in exchange for funding Lee’s IVF. However, their plan to quietly elope is thrown into chaos when Min’s skeptical grandmother unexpectedly flies in from Korea, insisting on an extravagant wedding.
With a pitch-perfect cast of multigenerational talent—including Bowen Yang, Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, and Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-jung—this fresh reimagining of Ang Lee’s beloved, award-winning rom-com teems with humor and heart. It serves as a poignant reminder that being part of a family means learning to both accept and forgive.
I had chance to chat with Ahn via Zoom and hear are the highlights.
Setting Wedding Banquet in Seattle, but Filmed in Vancouver, BC
We went down to Seattle a few times to shoot some B-roll. We had also scouted there beforehand. Lily Gladstone lives in Seattle, and she gave us a really wonderful personal history tour—an Indigenous history tour, to be exact. We drove around with her, passing by her dad’s high school as she reminisced about grabbing Dick’s burgers and having late-night meals.
It was kind of a coincidence, but it actually worked out beautifully that the film was set in Seattle. Originally, it was written for Los Angeles—just because I’m from Los Angeles—but when we moved filming to Vancouver for budgetary reasons, I really wanted to embrace the Pacific Northwest landscape. It’s such a beautiful region, and I didn’t want to fake Vancouver as Los Angeles. So Seattle made a lot of sense, especially considering the characters’ occupations. For example, Bone being a birder felt more natural in Seattle, and Angela—Kelly Marie Tran’s character—being an entomologist also made sense there. Seattle just clicked. [Gladstone Plays Angela’s Girlfriend, Lee.]
Why Wedding Banquet Needs an Update
Updating the film to a modern-day context was really interesting. So much has changed for the queer community since 1993. One of the biggest changes is that gay people can get married now.
From a dramatic standpoint, I wondered—why would two people enter a fake straight marriage when they could just get married for real? But then I thought about my own life and realized there are still many reasons why someone might not want to get married, even if they can. Sometimes, it’s the burden of choice—now that it’s an option, should we do it? Do we even want to? The pressure it puts on a relationship can be intense. These thoughts stemmed from conversations I’ve had with my boyfriend over the past seven years.
Then, of course, I started thinking about parenthood. In the original film, they have a baby by accident, but what if a gay couple actively wanted to have a baby? What obstacles would they face in making that happen? And how might self-sabotage come into play?
It’s funny to think about queer parenthood because it has to be so intentional. Any hesitation can become a massive roadblock. That’s why there’s a line in the film where Kelly Marie Tran’s character, Angela, says, “Well, if it happens, it happens.” That was actually something my boyfriend once said to me, and I had to tell him, No, not for gay people.
You can’t just oopsie-daisy a baby into existence.
So, in many ways, this is an extremely personal film. James Schamus and I used our own experiences as our creative North Star, ensuring that this reimagining had a real purpose.
Original Director Ang Lee’s Blessing
Ang sent us some really wonderful messages wishing us luck. He hasn’t seen the movie yet, but I’m excited for him to watch it.
Joan Chen Plays a PFLAG Mom
Joan is such an incredibly versatile actress. We’ve seen her in very dramatic, even tragic roles, but here, she gets to have so much fun. It’s a lively, sassy role, but she also brings a deep sense of intimacy and vulnerability to the emotional moments. Honestly, I don’t think any other actress could have played this role as perfectly as she did.
Star Wars’ Kelly Marie Tran Plays the Bride—And a Lesbian
She’s wonderful. The way she balances comedy and drama in this film is truly impressive.
Korean Actor Han Ji-Chan Plays the Groom
We found Han in Korea. I had seen a few of his TV shows, particularly Where Your Eyes Linger—a Boys’ Love (BL) drama. He was fantastic in it.
At first, I worried about whether he spoke enough English to take on the role, but when we reached out, he was so excited. This was his first time acting in English and his first time in North America—he had never even left Asia before. He didn’t fully understand the concept of jet lag until he arrived in Vancouver! It was a really cool new experience for him, and I loved working with him.
And Finally, Bowen Yang Plays the Commitment-Phobe Boyfriend—Who Has a Nude Scene
What I love about Bowen is that he’s so fearless. He brings such vulnerability to the screen, which makes him incredibly relatable and sympathetic. His charisma is effortless.
I worked with him on Fire Island, and now on Wedding Banquet. I can’t wait to continue collaborating with him—he’s an incredibly talented actor and a true star.
Possible Fire Island Sequel?
I love that cast! We still have a very active text chain—we were just texting two days ago. Pisces season just passed, and there were so many Pisces birthdays in the Fire Island crew!
I think the chosen family dynamic in Fire Island really resonated with people, and they want more of it. If Joel Kim Booster writes another one, I’d love to be involved.
Whether it’s Fire Island or Wedding Banquet, chosen family is an important theme, and it’s something that’s always on my mind and in my heart.
Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet hits movie theaters on April 17th.
