The Wedding Banquet

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Kalissa H. @kali_416 Nov 5 Really emotional at times. I was not a fan of the fact that there was no consent in the after wedding scene, not a great. The remake does that storyline better with consent from both parties. See more Noel L Oct 26 Now I know where the idea of Just Go With It came from. Except this movie was way better in quality See more thiago s @Thiagostone Sep 19 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Haiku R 11/08/2023 [Slight spoilers] An East-West drama, which is sweet but also profoundly sad - in the end the conservative values of the parents win out, it's not about individual happiness or fulfilment that matter but fulfilling one's familial duty (in this case, to have an over the top wedding and most importantly, producing an heir - mainly making Pa happy). In 1993 it may have seemed open minded, thirty years later we can feel sorry for Simon and Wei Wei, who are innocents caught up in Wai Tung's family drama. It's hard to watch poor Simon, already the giver & carer in a somewhat unequal relationship, smile through the gross heteronormativity of the wedding banquet and weeks of play-acting the landlord/friend while being cut-down by his boyfriend for not speaking Mandarin well enough or giving awkward presents - yet he cares for Wai Tung's parents more tenderly than Wai Tung. Not to mention Wei Wei, who is doing this just for a green card but comes to model the ideal daughter-in-law (and maybe really loves Wai Tung), in the last scene curtly cut down by Wai Tung's father who realizes what is going on - his family is "forever grateful" to her for her role in preserving the lineage but apart from that her happiness and security don't mean much. Both of them saw what was happening and almost took steps to walk away but in the end got carried away with the romance of it; it's a 'happy' ending but in the end neither of them can count on anything; Simon's stuck with this very cool and conflicted boyfriend who won't stick up for him; Wei Wei is an odd third whose value is reduced to her womb, without any hint she deserves a love of her own. See more PridePosterStudios 09/20/2023 Curative r*pe is deplorable. Letting it go is worse. See more Tony S 05/18/2022 It is better to live a lie than suffer the consequences of the truth. Or so it seems, until everyone gets their desired ending. Apparently made to satirize the cumbersomeness of wedding ceremonies, according to Lee, it has the opposite effect, as the banquet itself is probably the most genuine and sincere thing in the movie, even if by design it is an unwilling sham. In comparison, it completely dims the cornerstone relationship between Gao and Simone. The fakest gay couple I have probably ever seen. There is legitimately no chemistry in every intimate scene they have, and with the caveat that Lichtenstein is actually gay, coupled with very awkward English language acting, turns the couple into a farce. And with the addition of Wei-Wei taking over the partner's duties, it becomes even more of a sad display. Aside from that, the film has excellent characterization of all of its main leads, especially the parents. Due to restraint in the portrayal of homophobic, conservative Chinese parents as not some kind of irrational, antagonistic paper cutouts who just need to get on with the times, but as actual, tangible people. As I said in the beginning, the insistence of the film to still deliver the happy ending to the doorstep of every character through really contrived means lessens whatever perceived social commentary about Chinese and western values the movie thinks it has. See more Read all reviews

The Wedding Banquet

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