THE WEDDING BANQUET  1993  106 minutes

Directed by Ang Lee, this film offers a bittersweet tale about, Wai-Tung Gao, a gay Taiwanese man living happily in New York while also trying to appease the traditional obligations of his family back home. Set in a time before same-sex unions were recognized in the U.S., Wai-Tung hatches a plan with his American partner to please his parents by having a lavender marriage with a Chinese neighbor in need of a green card. The Gao family arrives to provide a very elaborate traditional wedding, complicating the lives of everyone involved as the cultural and generational divides are laid bare.

BE ADVISED: This film is rated R, with drinking, profanity, sexuality, brief nudity and a superb performance by Nelson Chao as Wai-Tung Gao.