“To thine own self be true” is more than just an oft-used platitude. It’s also good advice, given that concocting and pulling off a scheme rooted in artifice is virtually assured to fail. Such is the case when a long-term gay male couple, Chris and Min (Bowen Yang, Han Gi-Chan, respectively), hatches what they believe to be an ingenious plan for carrying out a marriage of convenience involving their lesbian friends, Lee and Angela (Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, respectively). In essence, Min, a South Korean national from a moneyed background whose US visa is about to expire, agrees to marry Angela so that he can qualify for a green card to stay stateside with Chris. In exchange, Min agrees to pay for the in vitro fertilization treatments that Lee is undergoing to enable her and Angela to have a child. It all sounds reasonable enough until Min’s stern grandmother (Youn Yuh-jung), the no-nonsense controller of the family purse strings, who’s thought to be unaware of her grandson’s sexual orientation, decides to visit Seattle to meet Min’s bride-to-be. But can the “couple” convince the aging matriarch that their upcoming betrothal is legitimate? Add to that additional complications involving Chris’s reluctance to commit to Min for the long term, Angela’s issues with her supportive but overbearing mother (Joan Chen) and questions about Lee’s ability to successfully become pregnant, and the situation becomes a hot mess, one that threatens the security of two couples and their collective and individual plans for the future (hence the wisdom behind being truthful to oneself). Writer-director Andrew Ahn’s latest feature, loosely based on filmmaker Ang Lee’s 1993 release of the same name, is a touching, heartfelt romantic comedy-drama examining the kinds of challenges that same-sex couples often face in their relationships. In light of that, I must admit I was quite surprised by what turned up in the finished product, for several reasons. To begin with, the trailer for this film is very misleading, making the picture look like a campy, screwball LGBTQ+ comedy. Far from it; to be sure, the picture is far more serious and substantive than the preview lets on. But that ultimately works to the film’s advantage, giving it an unexpected sense of depth that I definitely was not expecting. And that, in turn, helped to dispel the hesitation I had about wanting to screen this offering in the first place: To be honest, I was expecting to see a predictable, cliché-ridden story in the same vein as Ahn’s previous feature, “Fire Island” (2022), which I despised because of all of its trite gay stereotypes, something I was not looking forward to seeing again. I’ll freely admit that I was in error about that; thankfully, this film more closely resembles the artistic quality found in another of the director’s previous works, “Driveways” (2020). What helps this release succeed so well are the fine performances of its excellent ensemble cast, including a break-out portrayal for Yang, who exhibits a greater range here than he’s demonstrated in his previous roles, as well as the consistently solid turns by Chen, Yuh-jung and Gladstone. The film also employs humor in just the right amount, never becoming excessive nor falling prey to shopworn comedic devices, thanks to a capably penned script. “The Wedding Banquet” is truly a refreshingly unexpected treat, one of the better releases in the LGBTQ+ genre to have come out in some time. Indeed, this is one cinematic feast that’s well worth your time.
