AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Wizard-8 If you have been reading my reviews, you will probably know that normally a movie like "The Wedding Banquet" is not my normal cup of tea. But I sat down today to watch it after my Taiwanese girlfriend suggested that I give it a look. And I am very glad that I did. It was a comedy that was a refreshing change after seeing so many strident and in-your-face comedies from Hollywood. The tone here is much more laid back and gentle, and this easygoing attitude helps to make the movie captivating. The characters are much more realistic, and practically every character who makes an appearance is sympathetic and relatable, no matter what your ethnicity or sexual preference might be. As for the humor, it always has a ring of real life to it, and while you may not laugh out loud most of the time, the humor will give you a big smile on your face. This movie is a real sleeper, and I highly recommend you seek it out.

gavin6942 To satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord (Winston Chao) and a female tenant (May Chin) agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.Elisabetta Marino argued that "Lee's creative process and his final choice of two languages, Mandarin Chinese and English, for the movie are in themselves symptomatic of his wish to reach a peaceful coexistence between apparently irreconcilable cultures, without conferring the leading role on either of them." This is interesting, because I found myself not really relying on the subtitles, but seeing the humanity and emotion transcending the language, essentially making this more than a "foreign" film.Marino says the film suggests that there can be a reconciliation between Eastern and western cultures, unlike Amy Tan's novels where the cultural differences are portrayed as irreconcilable. I can certainly see that. At the very least, the gay couple is an Asian-Caucasian mix, and there seems nothing unusual about it. We also see how seamlessly a woman who cannot speak English is married by a justice of the peace... assimilation works!

mdm-11 A successful young professional Asian man in a long term relationship with his American male partner is worried about the imminent visit of his parents, who he fears will not accept his homosexuality. To hide the truth, the illegal Chinese housekeeper is presented as the fiancé. Believing the charade would only be played for the duration of the parents' visit, all agreed on the plan. Little did anyone know that the old Chinese Tradition required a boastful wedding banquet, all paid and insisted upon by an old family friend. Unexpected complications seem to end in disaster, yet there is nothing that can ever stop true love. A bitter-sweet ending is testimony to our changing world and the growing acceptance of all people, regardless of ethnicity or sexual orientation.This film not only deals with its gay theme in a matter-of-fact way, but there also never is any mention of the fact that the main characters are interracial. This should never matter, however it seems that our society adds another stigma when someone enters an interracial relationship. Unusual and even shocking to contemporary society, The Wedding Banquet will appear free of any issues in another 10 or 20 years. For a European audience the "big whoop" may already be illusive.Believing that exotic cultures are least likely to part with traditional social norms can be quite wrong. Family bonds and strong character are valued above all, with sexual orientation not even being considered at all. The elderly are given too little credit for their capacity to understand life and social issues. This film gives strength to the argument that all people are quite willing and able to live peacefully without passing judgment on others.

jkdrummond There is absolutely nothing wrong with the production values, much less the acting in the film. And, to a degree, the inter-cultural difficulties that move the plot are sometimes - though, in my opinion, not very often - rather droll. What it lacks utterly is a believable script.First of all, by way of explanation - perhaps - I haven't liked a single film by Ang Lee that I've seen so far (4 now), with the single exception of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, and that had a great deal more to do with Emma Thompson's Oscar-winning screenplay than Lee's direction.I don't know what the "issues" Lee has with homosexuality, as such, might be, but there is simply no question in my mind and experience that the psychology of THE WEDDING BANQUET is flawed right down to the ground. THE central incident that drives the plot forward -- (SPOILER: **i.e., Winston Chao's acquiescing to May Chin's extremely importunate eliciting of a physical relationship** -- ES) -- could only have been written and directed by someone who doesn't have clue one about how virtually any gay man caught up in that kind of situation is going to react. Therefore, I do not think it unfair to opine that the ENTIRE plot is based -- apart from a few cultural quiddities about gay men in a traditional and/or homophobic society coming out -- on a false presumption; accordingly, the whole film becomes an exercise in mere twaddle: If your main plot reversal/complication is based on a psychologically invalid director's "I want it this way," then you have a tremendous flaw right at the heart of the script and -- old but true words -- you don't have a script, no matter how good everything else is, you just don't have a good film! And how can anyone think some gay person, male or female, knuckling under to cultural and tribal traditions and shibboleths is the stuff of comedy??? Literally millions of gay people have been and continue to be forced to compromise their lives and hearts and desires to fit into their cultures; this is scarcely funny; it, far more often, eventuates in emotional exile, mental illness, violence and, not infrequently, great tragedy.EDITORIAL COMMENT/POSSIBLE SPOILER: *This film is THE film that has made me dread Lee's directing BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (not yet released), the short story by Pulitzer winner Annie Proulx. With his clearly demonstrated lack of understanding and/or issues with "gay" sensibilities, I dread it.*