The new movie The Wedding Banquet may share a name with Ang Lee’s queer romantic comedy from the 1990s, but director Andrew Ahn says it isn’t a direct remake.
“I think the term that we’ve landed on is ‘reimagining,’” Ahn tells ABC Audio.
The original The Wedding Banquet tells the story of a gay man who stages an elaborate wedding to a woman in an effort to fool his traditional Taiwanese parents. Ahn says he wanted to preserve Lee’s “themes and storytelling philosophy,” while updating it all for a modern, queer audience.
“We were given the freedom to really create our own characters independently of that original film. And I think that it really helped make this version its own beautiful thing,” says star Kelly Marie Tran.
Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone plays Tran’s partner and says she was drawn to the project because it was a departure from her recent dramatic roles.
“I feel like when you’re doing comedy, when you’re doing ensemble, when you have a ball to keep in the air, that’s where you see the work happen, that’s where you get to see character happen,” Gladstone says.
Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang similarly found himself playing against type, but the comedian says he felt at ease.
“Everyone here on this cast has been so patient with me. Andrew [Ahn] is obviously so nurturing as a director,” says Yang.
Ahn says the original The Wedding Banquet was the first gay film he ever saw. He hopes the new version can provide comfort to the queer community in an uncertain time.
“I think that there’s a lot being done to dismantle queer family, [which] is very scary. I wish that we were in better times,” says Ahn. “My hope is that this film can offer audiences a sense of safety, a sense of celebration and a sense of community.”
The Wedding Banquet hits theaters Friday.