The Wedding Banquet (1993)

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.

Director:

Ang Lee

Writers:

Ang Lee, Neil Peng

Stars:

Winston Chao, May Chin, Ah-Lei Gua

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ah-Lei Gua	...	Mrs. Gao (as Ah-Leh Gua)
Sihung Lung	...	Mr. Gao
May Chin	...	Wei-Wei
Winston Chao	...	Wai-Tung Gao
Mitchell Lichtenstein	...	Simon
Dion Birney	...	Andrew
Jeanne Kuo Chang	...	Wai-Tung's Secretary
Paul Chen	...	Guest
Chung-Wei Chou	...	Chef
Yun Chung	...	Guest
Ho-Mean Fu	...	Guest
Michael Gaston	...	Justice of the Peace
Jeffrey Howard	...	Street Musician
Theresa Hou	...	Female Cashier
Yung-Teh Hsu	...	Bob Law, Wai-Tung's Old Friend

Storyline

Simon and Wei-Tung are a gay couple living together in Manhattan. To defer the suspicions of Wei-Tung's parents, Simon suggests a marriage of convenience between Wei-Tung and Wei-Wei, an immigrant in need of a green card. When Wei-Tung's parents come to America for the wedding, they insist upon an elaborate banquet, resulting in several complications.

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Plot Keywords:

marriage of convenience | gay couple | gay son | marriage pressure | asian man white man relationship | 

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Taglines:

You are cordially invited to a wedding where everybody wants to kiss the bride... except the groom.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Winston Chao, who was discovered on an airplane flight, where he was part of the crew. In order to overcome his fear of being in his first ever acting role, writer/director Ang Lee had to promise that Chao would receive acting lessons on the set from his own designated acting coach.

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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.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Dinner for Five: Episode #2.11 (2003)

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Soundtracks

Madame Butterfly
Written by Giacomo Puccini

User Reviews

More Than Just a Comedy

The Wedding Banquet is marketed as a comedy, but it is more than that. Closer in plot and style to Green Card than The Birdcage it examines the personal consequences of deceit. The comedy is there of course, but so is much tenderness and pain as a marriage of convenience between a gay man and a woman deportee unravels. Like Green Card which had similar plotlines, the "obvious" resolutions do not appear so likely as the film progresses which adds to its attractiveness.

I recommend it highly.

Details

Country:

Taiwan USA

Language:

Mandarin English

Release Date:

4 August 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wedding Banquet

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$134,870, 8 August 1993

Gross USA:

$6,933,459

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,933,459

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ang Lee Productions, Central Motion Pictures, Good Machine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1