Movie Review: The Wedding Banquet (2025)
A remake that respects the original while finding its own language.
The Wedding Banquet (2025) is one of the rare instances where a remake is not only superior to the film it is adapted from, but also manages to create its own path as a movie while also paying a huge amount of respect towards its source material, thus making for a strong cinematic experience on multiple fronts.
But before I talk about this film, I do have to say that the original 1993 film directed by Ang Lee is a good, enjoyable romantic comedy that while not bad by any means, does follow many of the expected story beats and tropes that one would come to expect from a romantic comedy of its type. Right off the bat, one aspect of the remake that I love is how vastly writers Andrew Ahn & James Schamus alter the original film from a story & character standpoint to a point where it feels like a different movie in a way. Sure it does feature themes & ideas from the original film (as well as containing a couple of plot points from said film), but a huge chunk of the film feels like its own creation to a point where you don’t really need to watch original film to fully appreciate this version (though I still recommend checking out the original regardless because of how fun & breezy it is). On top of this, this film carries all of the essence of the original’s thematic richness and message while also finding a voice of its own in how it tackles the conventions of the romantic comedy sub-genre with a ton of effective emotional depth, hilarious humor, and love for the characters on display. All this is something that I find important for a remake to accomplish when trying to be a different interpretation of a previous story and The Wedding Banquet (2025) succeeds in being a new spin on the original film while being a generally amazing story about family, culture, love, and acceptance.
Along with his excellent writing, Andrew Ahn’s directing for this film is equally remarkable for many reasons. For starters, his eye for craft here is a step up from his previous film, Fire Island (which I also found to be very solid work from him). How he utilizes the camera (with help from D.P. Ki Jin Kim) to create deeply intimate moments between the characters through his shot compositions & framing made the emotional impact for many scenes much more affecting, particularly in his usage of close up shots. In general, Ahn does a great job in letting his visual & cinematic language allow for his characters to feel as in their element as they can by letting them be themselves & playing said scenes for as long as needed through the great editing by Geraud Brisson. Plus, Ahn triumphs in controlling the tone of the film by blending comedy, hard-hitting pathos, sweet romance, and engaging family drama in an organic manner, which makes for a film that has something to offer for moviegoers of any kind. For a movie that could have been a nightmare from a tonal standpoint, Ahn thankfully has a clear understanding of when to incorporate humor into the story without taking away from the film’s dramatic moments while also using said scenes to provide a multitude of emotional gut punches that hit the mark because of how properly built up they were.
The last aspect of the film I will talk about is the ensemble cast, which I feel to be one of the nest that the year has to offer so far. This is a film where you can tell that everybody was on their A-game here, even if there was one performance that I feel was a bit too stilted at times. That performance is from Han Gi-chan as Min, who doesn’t give a bad performance here per se, but there were some instances where his line delivery can come off as slightly awkward compared to the rest of the cast. Aside from him though, everybody else brings some incredible work to their roles by making them all lovable yet still being deeply grounded individuals who each have their own personal struggles. If I were to pick my favorite performance in the whole film, it would definitely have to be Youn Yuh-jung as Min’s grandmother Ja-young, who gives a massive powerhouse of a performance in every way. It is such a terrific portrayal of a grandma that contains all the heart, warmth, emotion, & humor that she brought to her performance in Minari while also carving out something more fresh in said portrayal that works perfectly for her character.
Bottom line, I absolutely recommend seeing The Wedding Banquet (2025) at your nearest theater once it comes out. It is a phenomenal instance of a remake that captures each ounce of the original’s spirit while simultaneously improving it in ways that make it more fresh in its execution, making for some of the most fun you will have at the movies this year.
The Wedding Banquet (2025) is out in theaters tomorrow!
That is it for the review! I hope you all enjoyed reading it and please let me know if you plan on seeing this film! See you all next time! Later!
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I saw this at BFI Flare and I have to agree! I haven't seen the original but this one is such a wonderful film