Andrew Ahn’s remake of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet opened in theatres on April 18. Ahn co-wrote the film with James Schamus, who produced and co-wrote the original.
Kelly Marie Tran, Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Han Gi-Chan star as the main couples who get wrapped up in a hilarious and dramatic situation as they collectively decide to pull off a sham wedding to solve their problems. The quartet are joined by Bobo Le, Joan Chen and Youn Yuh-jung.
I had the amazing opportunity to chat with writer-director Andrew Ahn to discuss his journey to this project, how the cast came together, his appreciation for Alice Wu and more.
Watch the full interview with Andrew Ahn below:
When it came down to writing this version of The Wedding Banquet, I wanted to know what was something of the utmost importance that Ahn wanted to come across in his writing, and what he wanted the audience to resonate with.
Ahn shared, “You know, when I started developing the screenplay and writing it with my co-writer, James Schamus, I was entering this new phase of my adulthood where I was having conversations with my boyfriend about marriage and about having kids, and I wanted to use that personal experience and insight to guide the process, and I want this film to be about how difficult it is to build a queer family. It’s difficult to build a family at all and to make commitments to make space for the next generation. These are incredibly hard things to do, and it can feel like growing pains, both individually and as a family, but my hope is that people are inspired to do that and find themselves on the other side, just so happy that they did.”
In Ahn’s previous films, he has such a great way of capturing emotions like longing and bliss as it pertains to someone the character in the film cares for. In The Wedding Banquet, sorrow and regret are captured beautifully, especially between Min and his grandmother. Ahn did a great job at flipping the expectations and narrative of what one might expect Min’s grandmother’s reaction to be.
Ahn told me, “You know, it was really important for me that Min’s grandmother not act out of any sort of homophobia, you know, and I think that might be what you initially suspect, as a very traditional woman. She may at first glance, you know, be not so open to, queer people. But ultimately, I think what you learn in the film is that she was really trying so hard to protect him, and that she was really acting out of care and love. It’s just that she didn’t have the right priorities. She didn’t understand what her grandson really needed. And it wasn’t until you know this trip, this ruse, the scheme, that she was able to learn that, through her interactions with his chosen family. And I think that a lot of biological family, don’t understand the value of chosen family for queer people, and you kind of have to force them to. And I think that the wedding did that in this film.”
The cast in The Wedding Banquet is fantastic and all the actors perfectly embody their roles. I asked Ahn what it was like for him to cast the actors in the film, and the need to have them feel like family.
“I worked really hard with our casting director, Jenny Jue, who is one of the best in the business, and we wanted to find people who could inhabit these roles but then also be incredible collaborators and super generous. You know, we wanted this cast to feel like a family. And, you know, this ensemble is, you know, there’s just a lot of magic between them, and I think that there’s an intimacy and a history that just feels so unique, and I’m so excited for people to watch the film and feel like they’re a part of that family,” Ahn said.
One of my favourite scenes in the film is where the couples have to “de-queer” the house, and as they’re clearing the DVD collection, audiences can see a glimpse of Alice Wu’s The Half of It. As one of my favourite movies, I asked if it was a real DVD and the inspiration behind including the movie in the film.
Ahn said, “No- it’s a little like, wink, wink, you know, like that. I kind of like this idea that Lee and Angela love that movie so much that they got a bootleg copy just for fun.”
Ahn continued, “…you know Alice Wu is such an inspiration for me, and Saving Face is one of my favorite films. And, you know, is definitely a predecessor to films like Fire Island and The Wedding Banquet. And so I, you know, I wanted to pay a little homage to Alice.”
My last question for Ahn was about a streamign release verus a theatrical one. With The Wedding Banquet being Ahn’s first theatrical release, I wondered if he had a preference as a filmmaker between the two.
“I think at the end of the day, when I’m making films, I try not to focus on, like, what’s its distribution method. I’m just trying to craft the best story, the best film I can but there’s definitely a difference in how, you know, the film gets out there. I wasn’t sad that Fire Island didn’t get a theatrical, that’s how that project was put together. It was always going to be a streaming film for Hulu and its financing,” Ahn said.
“I think this is just a new experience. I’m very thankful that a film about community and about family, that people can go to a theatre with people that they love and get to see it all together, you know, have that communal experience. I also know that it’s, it’s a rare thing to get a theatrical. So I feel very fortunate.
I don’t think it’s necessarily the only way to do things. I’m excited for when The Wedding Banquet gets on to streaming so that even more people can see it too. This is just a new experience for me. I haven’t had a proper and wide release in my career so far, and so this is a first, and so maybe after a couple weeks, I’ll have some more insight.”
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