Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Really Surprised!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The story of The Wedding Banquet (1993) is an engaging cross-cultural movie about Wai-Tung, his five year secret lover Simon, and the demands of marriage placed on Wai-Tung by his parents. In the typical "living a lie" plot device fashion, Wai-Tung stages some larger than life lies by marrying one of his tenants, Wei-Wei, who just happens to be in need a of a green card. By arranging this whirlwind marriage, Wai-Tung hopes to avoid being set up by his parents, but ends up making matters worse through his web of lies. His father's ailing health factor's into the difficulty of the situation as he fears that news of his true identity would be his father's end. The lie perpetuates, things get sticky through this dramedy romance. I enjoyed this film as it exemplified the Asian American cross cultural lifestyle. The writers were Ang Lee, Neil Pang, and James Shamus. The strengths in the writing are that the film was tasteful and respectful and still managed to be comedic. The film was directed by Ang Lee and one of its greatest strengths is that it was a $750,000 film that looked like it had a larger budget. There was nothing terribly fancy about the editing, it had a very natural feel to it. The cinematography was the only thing that I felt could have been improved in this film. There were many parts of the film where the lighting was scant or not really well adjusted in post. All in all, I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to a friend.

A gay couple stage a fake marriage to throw off the Chinese parents of one of the men. Sort of a Cage Aux Folles that does the real thing.Who was this movie aimed at? Gay people don't like reliving all the trauma of their early life. No matter how "pro-gay" this movie was--- and it was!--once the sex takes place at the wedding you are unable to enjoy the film. You try to keep liking it but can't--dreading the next turn of events. It activates a PTSD syndrome in any normal gay person.Most straight people would find this hard to understand. You have to be gay to understand it.The production values are great the actors great---just a flawed story...It is much more of a social issue story than a comedy and even misses the mark there--the sex ruins it.It is a pity---RECOMMEND???

I think it's fascinating that the earnings ratio for this flick was so high; this perhaps makes it one of the very best to point to when debunking the "big budget = better" assumptions among many film buffs.Loved it. It hits on almost all the key indicators: Visually beautiful, storyline solid as a rock, fine character development, generally fine acting, great music, well paced and edited, and timely themes with an overarching message which is both age-old and timeless: When worlds collide, you might discover that the experience can be one of delight rather than dread. Love, open-mindedness, and open-heartedness are operative factors capable of cracking time-honored, trans-generational assumptions.As if all this weren't enough, there's even a tender little bone thrown to the romantically inclined among us who feel that abortion is not a life-affirming option. If you're a pro-lifer--a *real* pro-lifer, not one who feels that life is sacred only until birth--watch this movie and have a hankie at hand.I guess I should flesh in my summary line allegation of early sluggishness. Not quite sure what it was. Maybe I actually had to sort of recover my sensibilities and let this movie unwind at its own pace. It might have had something to do with the male lead not being a trained actor, learning his chops as the filming proceeded. Not quite sure. You may find the first third (or so) of the film to be a bit slow. But hang with it: It's well, *well* worth the time and suspension of disbelief invested!One last observation: I live in Taiwan, so I found the capturing and capsuling of Chinese culture to be well done and nicely modulated (not over the top) for western audiences. I hope westerners out there can savor that.

You could describe this movie as a romantic comedy. And I do agree with one of the previous reviewers, the romantic part isn't sappy and the comedic part isn't slapstick either. It has the right balance to it! And as an absurd plot progresses (you have to watch this), and by absurd I mean more like abstruse or something like that, the (main) characters remain down to earth. The actors are well casted and carry the plot, while playing it "straight" (not everyone is playing "straight", as you will see if you watch the picture, but that's something you'll realise the first minutes into the film).I haven't watched the film for quite some time now, but if you like a real (offbeat) comedy, than this is for you! :o) It's a great movie and a testament how great a director Ang Lee is!