The Wedding Banquet is a new film that released wide in theaters this weekend from director Andrew Ahn and is a remake of the 1993 film from Ang Lee. The new film stars Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-han, Joan Chen, and Youn Yuh-jung. Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris and running out of time, Min makes a proposal: a green-card marriage with their friend Angela in exchange for her partner Lee’s expensive IVF. Elopement plans are upended, however, when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an extravagant Korean wedding banquet.

I knew a little bit about this beforehand. While the film has an incredibly impressive cast, it was Lily Gladstone that grabbed my attention. After her amazing performance in Killers of the Flower Moon, I knew I would watch whatever she did next. Even more, this seemed like something different than what I would her to do next. I also have liked Andrew Ahn’s previous works. It was Paul McGuire Grimes’ interviews with the cast and filmmaker, along with her review, that sealed the deal to give this a watch.

While this film may be overshadowed this weekend at the box office by Sinners, the film is never overshadowed by its cast. If you look at the top-billed, Bowen Yang is at the very top, but I also think that’s due to his prior work with Ahn. Arguably, I’d say Kelly Marie Tran is the main character as Angela, who is in a relationship with Lily Gladstone’s character, Lee. Bowen Yang plays as Chris, who is in a relationship with Han Gi-chan’s character as Min. Director Andrew Ahn understands the importance of each character in this story that allows them to properly play off each other and never outshine the other.

Joan Chen plays as May, Angela’s mother, who is now an award-winning member of the local PFLAG chapter. Her dedication to the community has left a lasting impact, except for her daughter who feels like she was missing for an important time in her life. May can be quite funny, but it can also be frustrating to see how her actions have impacted her daughter. Youn Yuh-jung plays as Min’s grandmother, Ja-Young, who is hard on Min and wants to take over the family business. While I found her character’s arc a bit predictable, she still gave a tremendous performance. She has an emotional conversation with Min at one point that even brought me almost to tears. Between May & Ja-Young, it’s part of the reason why these two couples end up finding a family with each other.

When it comes to newfound family, I can strongly identify with that as someone who gets older and is creating a family of their own. The film show how friends can even be family to which I strongly believe in. Director Andrew Ahn finds a way to make this remake standout against a highly acclaimed film. I haven’t seen the original. Based on what I know though, this one seems to be fresh and timely to today’s events.

Within the film’s opening minutes, it already had the type of humor that I enjoyed, but it can still get surprisingly dark. There’s a hilarious scene involving Kelly Marie Tran & Lily Gladstone that solidified the sense of humor they were going for, offering something original to the rom-com genre. The film can also lean heavily into the dramatics, tackling heavy themes as characters have to wrestle with their decisions. This can result in some mixed pacing; however, the film covering the mature themes is all the better for it.

The only thing that sticks out the most that I heavily believe could have been improved is with some of the plot points that are never fully fleshed out. Chris’ character has a cousin in the film that looks up to him as a father. There’s a brief moment where she talks about issues with her apartment that’s never explored more. I also didn’t understand why Chris didn’t want to commit when he’s been in a relationship for five years. That’s never fully explored. There’s a character that leaves their house, but I feel like that would have been the other way around. I get it though. Whatever it takes to get the plot moving. I also think the film could have explored who Chris’ parents were & what happened to Lee & Min’s family. For a film that leans heavily into culture, I wanted more background on where these characters come from.

There is a specific plot point that occurs halfway through that I won’t spoil here. Unfortunately, when I saw it happened, I knew what was coming next. There is a nice little twist that does challenge these characters, but the end result was all the same for me, resulting in rushed character arcs that needed more time to breath.

Overall, The Wedding Banquet was a great time that offers a lot of value through its performances and themes. Director Andrew Ahn creates something new & original that feels timely. The cast is delightful across the board that will make its audience easily connect with them. I highly recommend seeking this one out when you can.

VERDICT: 3.5/5 (Pretty Good)