The Wedding Banquet (1993) on Netflix
Wai-Tung hides his boyfriend Simon from his parents in Taiwan, who want him married. He weds Wei-Wei, a tenant needing a green card, and his parents arrive for the banquet.
- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb7.6/1019,149 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes96%
Trailer
Plot summary
Wai-Tung, a gay Taiwanese immigrant, has lived in Manhattan for years with Simon, his partner, and has never told his parents in Taiwan about the relationship. Eager for a grandchild, they hire a dating service, and he and Simon answer with impossible demands that the service somehow meets. Simon proposes another solution: Wai-Tung will marry Wei-Wei, a struggling artist from mainland China who rents an apartment from him and needs a green card. Wei-Wei, who knows about the relationship, agrees. Then Mr. and Mrs. Gao announce they are coming for the wedding. Before they arrive, Simon coaches Wei-Wei on Wai-Tung's habits, and the men replace the artwork in the house with Mandarin calligraphy scrolls. The Gaos, who bring money for an extravagant celebration, stay in the house, and Wai-Tung introduces Simon as his landlord.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Wedding Banquet (1993)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- With budgets reported at $750,000 by The New York Times and $1 million by Variety, The Wedding Banquet was the most financially profitable film of 1993 by ratio of return, while top grosser Jurassic Park managed only a ratio of 13.8.
- Neil Peng brought Ang Lee the idea in 1986 after revealing that a mutual friend of theirs had moved to the United States and was in a same-sex relationship without his parents knowing.
- Co-writer James Schamus said the screenplay was first drafted in Chinese, translated into English, rewritten in English, translated back into Chinese, and ended up subtitled in Chinese, English and a dozen other languages.
