The Wedding Banquet (2025) Just Became My Comfort Movie as a Lesbian
Okay, let me start by saying I went into the theater expecting to be mildly entertained by Ang Lee’s 2025 reimagining of his own 1993 classic… and I left absolutely wrecked (in the best way possible). Like, ugly-crying-in-the-parking-lot, texting-all-my-exes, “you need to see this” kind of wrecked.
For anyone who somehow missed it, The Wedding Banquet (2025) follows Min, a successful Korean-American lesbian living in New York with her white girlfriend Angela (Lily Gladstone, who is Indigenous and queer IRL – casting perfection). They’ve been together forever, they’re madly in love, but Min still hasn’t come out to her traditional parents back in Taipei. When her grandma offers a fat cash gift for a wedding, Min and Angela decide to stage a lavish fake wedding… except Angela ropes in her hot ex, Simon (Bowen Yang being the chaotic bisexual best friend we all deserve), to pose as the groom. Chaos, family secrets, and the kind of love that makes your chest ache ensues.
Look, as a lesbian who grew up in a conservative family, this movie felt like someone reached into my soul and turned it into cinema. The quiet moments when Min flinches at her mom’s casual homophobia? Been there. The way Angela looks at Min like she’s the only person in the room even when 200 relatives are screaming? I felt that in my BONES. And don’t even get me started on the scene where they slow-dance in the kitchen at 3 a.m. after the rehearsal dinner – I had to pause the screener because I was sobbing too hard to see the screen.
What makes this remake different from the original (besides being gayer and 1000% hotter) is how unapologetically it centers lesbian love without making it the tragedy. Yes, there’s pain. Yes, there’s the immigrant parent struggle we all know too well. But the love between Min and Angela is never the problem. It’s never something to “get over” or fix. It’s the most solid, beautiful thing in the entire film, and the movie knows it.
Also, can we talk about the chemistry? Kelly O’Connell (playing Min) and Lily Gladstone have the kind of tender, lived-in intimacy that you usually only see between actors who’ve been married for 20 years. Every touch, every glance, every time Angela tucks Min’s hair behind her ear… I’m not okay. The sex scene (tasteful but VERY gay) had me fanning myself in the theater like a Victorian lady seeing ankle for the first time.
And Bowen Yang as Simon? The representation we didn’t know we needed. He’s messy, he’s dramatic, he flirts with literally everyone at the wedding, and when he gives that toast about “love being love even when your mom thinks it’s a phase” – the entire audience lost it.
This isn’t just a queer movie. It’s a lesbian movie made for lesbians, by people who get it. It’s the film I wish I had when I was 19 and terrified to bring my girlfriend home for Lunar New Year. It’s the film that says yeah, coming out might break your parents’ hearts for a minute, but staying in the closet breaks yours forever.
I’ve already seen it three times. My straight friends love it. My queer friends are obsessed. My mom (who still pretends she doesn’t know I’m gay) texted me after watching it saying “very good movie, very emotional.” Progress???
If you’re a lesbian, go see The Wedding Banquet (2025) immediately. Bring tissues. Bring your girlfriend. Bring your situationship who’s scared to define the relationship. This one’s for us.
10/10, no notes, injecting it directly into my veins.
Now excuse me while I go rewatch that kitchen dance scene for the 47th time.
Post a Comment