‘INSIDE’ Review (TRIBECA) | A Haunting, Opera-Like Prison Drama Anchored By Three Glorious Performances

Ang Lee’s 1993 film The Wedding Banquet was a big step forward in how Asian stories were shown in global cinema. It beautifully combined themes like cultural identity, family expectations, and queer love. The story follows a Taiwanese-American gay man who struggles to balance his personal truth with his traditional upbringing. At a time when Asian voices were often ignored in Western films, this movie helped shift perspectives. Now, over thirty years later, director Andrew Ahn is planning to bring a fresh version of this classic story to a new generation.

The Wedding Banquet follows the emotional and often hilarious journey of two queer couples as they face love, family, and identity. Lee (Lily Gladstone) and Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) are trying to start a family through IVF, but after multiple attempts, Lee still isn’t pregnant. At the same time, Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min (Han Gi-Chan) are slowly moving forward in their relationship. But Min’s plans take a hit when his traditional grandmother, Ja-Young (Youn Yuh-Jung), calls him back to Korea to run the family business. Min can’t bring himself to tell her he’s gay or that he wants to marry Chris, who isn’t sure he’s ready for marriage either. Meanwhile, Angela is dealing with her own family troubles, especially her tense relationship with her mother, May Chen (Joan Chen). What follows is a heartfelt mix of misunderstandings, cultural expectations, and personal revelations. The film blends queer romance, Asian family traditions, and comedy in a deeply moving and entertaining way—making The Wedding Banquet a modern rom-com that truly stands out.

Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran in ‘The Wedding Banquet’ (Image Courtesy: Luka Cyprian/Bleecker Street)

A Plot That Dares to Be Tenderly Chaotic

What makes this plot so resonant is its refusal to simplify. The story could’ve easily become a farce or a melodrama, but Ahn walks a delicate tightrope. The film allows space for comedy (and there is so much comedy), but also real emotional stakes, particularly when Angela, in a moment of drunken confusion, sleeps with Chris, leading to a pregnancy that throws everything off-kilter. From the absurdity of hiding lesbian paraphernalia from a visiting Korean matriarch to the raw ache of a breakup between lovers who still deeply care, The Wedding Banquet is rich with moments that feel lived-in and heartbreakingly honest.

Another aspect that makes this film such a brilliant watch is Andrew Ahn’s direction. This is a filmmaker who deeply understands the intersections of queerness, immigration, and Asian familial expectations. There’s no preaching—just immersive, emotionally intelligent storytelling that trusts its audience to connect the dots. The script, filled with sharp humor and heartbreaking truths, flows effortlessly, allowing each character space to grow, mess up, and find their own resolution. Importantly, the film is a celebration of queer love—not a tragedy. It’s about making space for unconventional joy and family beyond the binaries and traditions that have boxed people in for generations. The queer lens isn’t a filter here—it’s the narrative engine, the emotional compass, the beating heart.

Ahn also weaves in moments of cultural specificity with loving detail: Min hand-sewing a hanbok for his grandmother, the hilarity of Korean people gossiping at a fake wedding, the generational misunderstandings between an Asian immigrant mother and her queer American daughter. These scenes never feel tokenistic—they pulse with truth.

The Wedding Banquet features one of the best ensembles

Bowen Yang and Han Gi-Chan in ‘The Wedding Banquet’ (Image Courtesy: Luka Cyprian/Bleecker Street)

When it comes to performances, Bowen Yang proves once again why he’s one of the most vital queer performers of this era. As Chris, he’s quick-witted and irresistibly sarcastic, but his vulnerability gives the film its emotional core. His arc—from a sardonic best friend to someone confronting the prospect of fatherhood and love—feels so earned and tender. His chemistry with Han Gi-Chan is strikingly real, equal parts sweet and combustible, and their final scene together, where they break up only to reunite in a courthouse proposal with Ja-Young’s reluctant blessing, is movie magic.  Lily Gladstone’s performance as Lee is quiet, grounded, and devastatingly precise. Coming off her stellar work in Killers of the Flower Moon, Gladstone shows a completely different range here—one that’s filled with longing, frustration, and grace. Lee is a woman ready to be a mother but unsure if the universe will let her, and her journey through failed IVF and a partner’s betrayal is treated with the care it deserves.

Kelly Marie Tran delivers her best performance yet. Angela’s character could’ve easily been reduced to a mediator in everyone else’s drama, but Tran finds incredible depth in her. Watching her navigate estrangement with her mother, May (a wonderfully layered Joan Chen), her partnership with Lee, and her odd marriage arrangement with Min is a balancing act few actors could pull off. Tran is consistently funny, but never at the expense of emotional truth. And then there’s Youn Yuh-jung—legendary, formidable, and hilarious as the matriarch Ja-Young. Her scenes feel like a masterclass in timing, restraint, and revelation. She starts off as an almost villainous force of tradition, but by the end, she becomes something far more complex: a woman who once sacrificed for appearance and status, but now recognizes a different kind of courage in her grandson.

A Bold, Beautiful Queer Masterpiece

While the plot’s final twists could easily feel contrived in lesser hands, here they sing. The courthouse interruption, where Min and Chris finally declare their love and intentions, is both absurd and exhilarating. It’s followed by a quiet, wordless reconciliation between Angela and Lee that speaks volumes about forgiveness, resilience, and shared dreams. The Wedding Banquet is a triumph—funny, poignant, daring, and entirely original. For audiences yearning for stories that reflect queer Asian identities with both nuance and joy, this film is a gift. Andrew Ahn has created something rare: a movie that’s deeply personal yet universally resonant, culturally specific yet emotionally boundless.

All in all, THE WEDDING BANQUET is a delight and one of the rare rom-com films where neither the romance nor the humor is sacrificed, making it one of the most riveting watches in recent years.