The Wedding Banquet

1993, Comedy/Lgbtq+, 1h 47m

29 Reviews 1,000+ Ratings

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critics consensus

Ang Lee's funny and ultimately poignant comedy of manners reveals the filmmaker's skill across genres. Read critic reviews

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The Wedding Banquet Photos

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Movie Info

Wai-Tung (Winston Chao) and his boyfriend (Mitchell Lichtenstein) live happily as a gay couple in New York City. Wai-Tung has not been open about his sexuality with his Taiwanese parents (Sihung Lung, Ah-Leh Gua), and decides to acquiesce to their wish for a traditional Chinese union by marrying Wei-Wei (May Chin), a struggling artist desperate for a green card. But the simple arrangement turns into a lavish debacle when Wai-Tung's parents plan an extravagant wedding banquet.
  • Rating:
    R (Language)
  • Genre:
    Comedy, Lgbtq+
  • Original Language:
    Chinese
  • Director:
    Ang Lee
  • Producer:
    Ted Hope, Ang Lee, James Schamus
  • Writer:
    Ang Lee, Neil Peng, James Schamus
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     wide
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $6.9M
  • Runtime:
  • Distributor:
    Samuel Goldwyn Company
  • Sound Mix:
    Stereo, Dolby Stereo
  • Aspect Ratio:
    Flat (1.85:1)

Cast & Crew

Winston Chao
Wai-tung
May Chin
Wei-wei
Mitchell Lichtenstein
Simon
Liang Hsiung
Mr. Gao
Ya-lei Kuei
Mrs. Gao
Tien Pien
Old Chen
Ang Lee
Director
Ang Lee
Writer
Neil Peng
Writer
James Schamus
Writer
Dolly Hall
Line Producer
Ted Hope
Producer
Li-Kong Hsu
Associate Producer
Feng-Chyt Jiang
Executive Producer
Ang Lee
Producer
James Schamus
Producer
Mader
Original Music
Jong Lin
Cinematographer
Tim Squyres
Film Editing
Judy Dennis
Casting
Steve Rosenzweig
Production Design
Rachael Weinzimer
Art Director
Amy Beth Silver
Set Decoration
Michael Clancy
Costume Design
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Critic Reviews for The Wedding Banquet

All Critics (29) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (1)
Full Review… Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Full Review… Colette Maude Empire Magazine Full Review… Kim Newman Empire Magazine Full Review… Variety Staff Variety Full Review… Geoff Andrew Time Out Full Review… Stephen Holden New York Times Full Review… Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant Full Review… James Plath Family Home Theater Full Review… Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Full Review… Betsy Bozdech DVDJournal.com Full Review… Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com Full Review… Rob Blackwelder SPLICEDWire
View All Critic Reviews (29)

Audience Reviews for The Wedding Banquet

  • Nov 10, 2011
    I thought this was a really good movie dragged down with needless melodrama in the last 25 minutes or so, poor English dialogue (and some corny subtitles for Mandarin during the melodramatic moments), pacing being hit and miss, and just an overall poor performance from Winston Chao. Other than that, this movie is quite good. There's some funny scenes in the movie, but if it was supposed to be hilarious then I never got it, other than the banquet scene, which was entertaining but also went on too goddamn long. The movie has a good story that had the potential to be better than it really was. Everything in this movie just feels like a missed opportunity. It's a massively disappointing movie since it just doesn't stand the test of time, especially compared to some of Ang's later films. But again, it's still a good movie, just one I wouldn't exactly recommend.
    Jesse O Super Reviewer
  • Jun 27, 2011
    Good but dated. Ang Lee did a great job directing and the script is strong.
    Sunil J Super Reviewer
  • Oct 30, 2009
    The best of Lee's Taiwanese Trilogy!!
    Sylvester K Super Reviewer
  • Apr 08, 2009
    Ang Lee s romantic comedy drama The Wedding Banquet was about a gay Wai Tun,living in New York and son of a traditional Taiwanese family, who had never told his family the truth about his sexuality.He agreed to marry Wei Wei a young artist who did this only for the green card and for his family so they would never found out he was gay . Everything, as common in comedies, became complicated when his family arrived in New York for the wedding. The Taiwanese culture was quite funny and here you could experience traditions which were not yours in a funny way. Ang Lee is a great director and this romantic comedy he gave the messages about honesty and acceptance. It was a very enjoyable movie with some funny scenes but also some sad ones.
    Daisy M Super Reviewer
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