Movie #20: The Wedding Banquet

 I know guys... I have been going crazy with movies and none of them are Alfred Hitchcock like I said! I swear I will watch "Vertigo" soon!! But my mom wanted to watch this movie because she absolutely adores Bowen Yang. She was telling me today how she is worried about him due to his burnout! Like worry about me and my burnout! Only joking, she cares for me a lot. Hopefully more than my sister <3

"The Wedding Banquet" 2025 was directed by Andrew Ahn starred Yang and Han Gi-chan as boyfriends who have been dating for 5 years. They live with a lesbian couple played by the fabulous Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran. After Chris (Yang) rejects Min's (Han) proposal, Min who is an international student from Korea, scrambles to marry someone appease his wealthy grandparents. In the meanwhile, Lee (Gladstone) and Angela (Tran) just discovered their second round of IVF did not stick. In order to solve all of their problems, Min offers to pay for their next treatment in exchange for marrying Angela. Antics ensue...

The performances by the entire cast were amazing. I have not see Han in works before but I thought he portrayed a hopeless romantic perfectly. He added cuteness and comedy. Yang provided a thought-provoking performance on insecurity and lack of self-worth. Gladstone's performance, while far too small for my taste, was as usual AMAZING. She has a sense of calmness and security that ties together with dealing with the tragedy of the IVF treatments not working. SHE DESERVED THAT OSCAR GOD DAMN IT! THE ACADEMY WILL PAY!!!!! Tran's acting was great as she displayed a chronically pessimistic person very well. Almost too well. I thought to myself I would never date someone as negative as this. 

The standout performance has to be from Mother Joan Chen. Of course, I have seen her in "Saving Face" so it was interesting so see her as an accepting mother. Chen was an over supporting mother, that while occasionally stole the spotlight, loved her daughter. I wish all parents gave support like this to their queer children. 

The story and plot were hilarious. It did not drag on and ended perfectly. The production and shots were great and just the concept of a group of friends like this sounded phenomenal. Family is what you make it. This movie discussed many complexities of friendships and romantic relationships on the back of trauma that comes with the intolerance of queerness. Having a movie that displayed both POC lesbian and gay relationships was something beautifully done. We need more of it now! And not side characters! And they cannot die at the end; they must have a happy ending!

To conclude this post, I really loved this movie. It was six dollars on amazon prime to rent and totally worth it. They all ATE at this wedding banquet!