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The Wedding Banquet

Original title: Xi yan
  • 19931993
  • RR
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
16K
YOUR RATING
Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Romance
To satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.To satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.To satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
16K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Ang Lee
  • Writers
    • Ang Lee
    • Neil Peng
    • James Schamus
  • Stars
    • Winston Chao
    • May Chin
    • Ah-Lei Gua
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ang Lee
  • Writers
    • Ang Lee
    • Neil Peng
    • James Schamus
  • Stars
    • Winston Chao
    • May Chin
    • Ah-Lei Gua
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 54User reviews
    • 39Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 12 wins & 11 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Wedding Banquet
    Trailer 1:16
    The Wedding Banquet

    Photos44

    Winston Chao and May Chin in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao and May Chin in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Winston Chao
    Winston Chao
    • Wai-Tung Gaoas Wai-Tung Gao
    May Chin
    May Chin
    • Wei-Weias Wei-Wei
    Ah-Lei Gua
    Ah-Lei Gua
    • Mrs. Gaoas Mrs. Gao
    • (as Ah-Leh Gua)
    Sihung Lung
    Sihung Lung
    • Mr. Gaoas Mr. Gao
    Mitchell Lichtenstein
    Mitchell Lichtenstein
    • Simonas Simon
    Dion Birney
    • Andrewas Andrew
    Jeanne Kuo Chang
    • Wai-Tung's Secretaryas Wai-Tung's Secretary
    Paul Chen
    • Guestas Guest
    Chung-Wei Chou
    • Chefas Chef
    Yun Chung
    • Guestas Guest
    Ho-Mean Fu
    • Guestas Guest
    Michael Gaston
    Michael Gaston
    • Justice of the Peaceas Justice of the Peace
    Jeffrey Howard
    • Street Musicianas Street Musician
    Theresa Hou
    • Female Cashieras Female Cashier
    Yung-Teh Hsu
    • Bob Law, Wai-Tung's Old Friendas Bob Law, Wai-Tung's Old Friend
    Jean Hu
    • Guestas Guest
    Albert Huang
    • Guestas Guest
    Neal Huff
    Neal Huff
    • Steveas Steve
    • Director
      • Ang Lee
    • Writers
      • Ang Lee
      • Neil Peng
      • James Schamus
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film has the highest cost-to-return ratio of 1993, earning $23.6 million from a budget of $1 million. This gave it a of 23.6 ratio, considerably higher than 1993's biggest money-maker "Jurassic Park" whose ratio was 13.8.
    • Goofs
      During the small family dinner to which Simon treats the newlyweds and Wei-Tung's parents, Simon can be seen to alternately hold chopsticks, a small bowl or nothing in his left hand, depending on the camera angle.
    • Quotes

      Wai-Tung Gao: I don't know, we should have moved you out.

      Simon: I'll survive.

      Wai-Tung Gao: Not if Wei Wei keeps cooking.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Fugitive/The Meteor Man/Manhattan Murder Mystery/The Secret Garden/The Wedding Banquet (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      The Wedding Banquet

    User reviews54

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Father knows best
    Ang Lee with infinite wisdom seems to be saving the best part of this film for last. Acceptance is the underlying theme of this movie, which I recently watched for the second time. I saw the film when it was originally released in 1993. At that time, it seemed to have been breaking ground for tolerance from the straight world toward gays, in general.

    Ang Lee is one of the best film directors working these days. This is a small film in comparison to what came afterward. The story of how parents in a conservative society view their children that are "different" is always an interesting idea. Those same parents produced that child; the mere idea they will turn their backs to a son who is living openly as a gay man is a complex problem, at best.

    Different cultures react differently, as is the case in this film. While the parents are not completely taken over by the way they discover their son has turned out to be, they go along with the flow, never condemning the son, his partner, or the young woman who is pretending to be, what she is not.

    The acting is good in general, but it has to be the actor who plays the father, who ultimately wins one's heart. His culture goes back for centuries and he is won by his son's lover because he sees how kind, decent and honest he really is.

    It's better never to judge, or so it seems that Ang Lee is telling us.
    helpful•13
    3
    • jotix100
    • Aug 2, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 4, 1993 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Taiwan
      • United States
    • Languages
      • Mandarin
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El banquete de bodas
    • Filming locations
      • Phoenix Ballroom, Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel, Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Ang Lee Productions
      • Central Motion Pictures
      • Good Machine
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $6,933,459
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $134,870
      • Aug 8, 1993
    • Gross worldwide
      • $6,933,459
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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    Winston Chao, May Chin, and Mitchell Lichtenstein in The Wedding Banquet (1993)
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