The Wedding Banquet
Bleecker Street Media | Release Date: April 18, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldApr 18, 2025
Despite a plot twist you’ll see coming all the way from Vancouver, The Wedding Banquet is a worthy successor to Ang Lee’s classic, and a chance for a group of actors to shine together and separately. There’s plenty of silliness, but also time to be moved by quiet moments. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflyApr 17, 2025
The Wedding Banquet serves its richest dish through the shared love amongst its characters, even inspiring a few organically shed tears during compassionate, wisely written moments between Chris and Ja-Young, especially Angela and May. Read full review
85
Film ThreatAlan NgApr 18, 2025
The Wedding Banquet is the kind of film that reminds you why we fall in love with movies in the first place—because they surprise us, move us, and make us laugh at how messy and magnificent life can be. Read full review
80
Little White LiesLaura VenningMay 9, 2025
Where The Wedding Banquet really shines is in its characters, not only in its two romantic pairings that feel profoundly real, but also in subverting our expectations of its intergenerational relationships. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyMay 8, 2025
The Wedding Banquet old and new may take different paths, but they end with the same conclusion: there is indefatigable strength in the chosen family. Read full review
80
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonApr 17, 2025
The Wedding Banquet is so charming, and then so unexpectedly moving, that its strengths eventually outweigh the bits of mess. Read full review
80
SlashfilmBill BriaJan 31, 2025
The Wedding Banquet may be the feel-good movie of the year, but that's not to call it a frivolity. It's a film that, once again, demonstrates how all of us, no matter from what background, can relate to each other, and in the era we're currently suffering through, that's a message we could all use more of. Read full review
80
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiJan 28, 2025
The combination of cast and storytelling makes for an emotionally gorgeous, hilarious, and touching film that you’ll want to rewatch over and over again. Read full review
80
VarietyCarlos AguilarJan 28, 2025
While occasionally heavy on exposition, memorable dialogue thrives via the actors’ convincingly comfortable banter. Read full review
80
ColliderTaylor GatesJan 28, 2025
The Wedding Banquet is a classic rom-com with modern touches that rarely ring false or feel heavyhanded. The entire ensemble is top-notch, allowing beloved actors like Gladstone and Yang to do something slightly different from their usual fare. Read full review
75
Washington PostTy BurrApr 17, 2025
A remake of Ang Lee’s 1993 film of the same title...the new film is unnecessary as such, but it’s a determinedly openhearted crowd-pleaser with a handful of delicious performances, and it’s just about impossible to dislike. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubShayna Maci WarnerApr 17, 2025
The Wedding Banquet may not take its modern queer skepticism as far as its characters could naturally go, and its green card plot device may feel particularly tenuous in light of the alarmingly pressing fascism of border control, but it is an enjoyable, worthwhile 100 minutes spent laughing, groaning, and hoping. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonApr 16, 2025
Though it doesn’t break any new ground, “The Wedding Banquet” does occasionally zig when you expect it to zag. These moments, along with the performances and the unobtrusive direction by Ahn, make this a successful and fun remake. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineMarshall ShafferJan 30, 2025
The humor lands as if it’s coming not from the writers but through the characters by its grounding in the details of their lives. Read full review
75
TheWrapChase HutchinsonJan 28, 2025
Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out in terms of where things are going, a new wrinkle will be introduced that delightfully sidesteps all of your expectations. Read full review
70
The New YorkerJustin ChangMay 9, 2025
It’s the warmth of Gladstone’s presence that leaves a lasting impression and endows this remake—with all its reshufflings, inspired or strained—with a whisper of something authentically new. Read full review
70
TimeStephanie ZacharekApr 18, 2025
It’s a fun, open-hearted picture, and even if it lacks the wistful subtlety of the original, it ends up on the same landing note: the people we love best are always worth fighting for. Read full review
70
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Alexander MooneyApr 17, 2025
The Wedding Banquet’s endearing qualities largely outweigh its deficiencies. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJan 30, 2025
Even though we can foretell just about everything that will happen in The Wedding Banquet — every plot twist, every screwball complication — we don’t much mind, because the comedy is so brisk and good-natured. Read full review
70
Screen DailyAmber WilkinsonJan 28, 2025
A smart if broad comedy that is exposition-heavy in places, it boasts a strong ensemble cast who give it a shot in the arm. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 28, 2025
Funny and poignant in equal measure, the comedy of manners does sag here and there, with a noticeable energy dip around the two-thirds mark. But the winning cast are able to steer it back on track before the irresistibly sweet conclusion. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesApr 17, 2025
The Wedding Banquet, Ang Lee’s’ 1993 breakout feature, is actually an inspired vehicle to revisit. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrApr 15, 2025
You can also excuse a lot in a film that was clearly made with its heart in the right place and a deep love for all its characters, even in their messiest, most unsympathetic moments. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesTara BradyMay 8, 2025
It falls to the charming cast to outshine the flimsy material. Gladstone and Tran are as warm and well-worn as a much-loved bed sweater. Bowen Yang thrums with millennial angst. Joan Chen steals scenes as Angela’s loudly gay-positive mother. Read full review
58
IndieWireNatalia WinkelmanJan 28, 2025
While watching Andrew Ahn’s amiable dramedy, which expands on the original premise while maintaining its central themes of found family and tolerance, one rarely questions the story’s relevance. More vitally, it lacks panache. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 18, 2025
The film itself is more recognizably human and considered, while lacking any comic edge or sense that the romantic stakes are high. Read full review
50
Original-CinKaren GordonApr 17, 2025
There are a lot of moments that are quirky, but the film never quite finds the right comedic rhythm. Things that should feel funny rarely rise to make us chuckle, and too often the film, which does have a genuine warmth, falls flat. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesAmy NicholsonApr 17, 2025
The four leads are yanked not by their heart strings but by the machinations of a plot that steers them from one contrived scene to another, just so it can point to the skid marks and call them a sketch of the new American family. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalZachary BarnesApr 17, 2025
The Wedding Banquet has been awkwardly contorted to fit the world of today, with flat direction and a cast that largely flounders in a muddled middle ground between antic comedy and sentimental drama. Read full review
40
EmpireSophie ButcherMay 12, 2025
Despite some sweet moments and strong on-screen talent, The Wedding Banquet’s off pacing and limited character development mean it ultimately falls flat. Read full review
40
The GuardianJesse HassengerApr 17, 2025
Tran and Gladstone keep the movie watchable, mixing prickliness and warmth in a situation that’s more common than movies often acknowledge: a partnership where one person is far more invested in parenthood than another. Read full review
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