“Wedding Palace” styles itself as the very first Asian-American family romantic comedy. However, like rom-com films from two decades back, it is overflowing with the well known and loved tropes of the genre, just like the thousands of forgettable movies starring Julia Roberts or Kate Hudson or Jennifer Aniston or Renee Zellweger.
Christine Yoo’s first feature film begins with the bride running away from a wedding and culminates with a frenzied sprint to the airport to catch a flight before declaring some last-minute I-love-yous. It also features all the essential bad first dates, fantasy montages, clueless but caring parents, and a witty best friend. A true caricature of clichés. At no point does it seem like even half of any of this is meant as a joke, or done in mockery.
There is an amazing great twist about two-thirds in, which showcases smart thought out hub of transactions resulting in a remarkable twist. Not to forget “Wedding Palace’s” dive into Korean customs, it is always a joy to witness something unknown. It indeed breaks the norm for Yoo, an outlying Asian-American female filmmaker, to boldly take the risks of financing and creating everything. Scrappy, low-budget films that take pride in their astonishing efforts would be a welcome sight.
When Jason (Brian Tee) got married at the start of the movie, it was borderline tacky. His mother (Jean Yoon) and his father (Stephen Park, Frances McDormand’s pair from “Fargo”) are unreasonably excited about their son’s wedding, pushing him to rush down the aisle before 30 to fulfill their drenched in family folklore curse. Cho plays a stiff Shaman who pops in and out of scenes. Additionally, Jason’s mom runs an over-hyped wedding hall in Korea Town Los Angeles, giving her additional power.
However, there’s not much his mother can do when the bride runs off with the cake maker, going off-script in a scene that is supposed to be overly amusing, but more cringe than funny, resulting in Jason being left at the altar.
His best friend, “wacky” and “crass” (Bobby Lee), complains his best pal is not settling down with Korean women who, come with the bonus of ordering a beer and saying, it’s the way with the Koreans, it’s easy, comrade. This can only be a self-mocking view of submissive Asian clichés.
Things start looking brighter for Jason however, during his work trip to Seoul. His company makes feminine hygiene products, a scandalous detail that is irrelevant. While there, he encounters the lovely and clever Na Young (Kang Hye-Jung). They first meet at a business event, and then again at a karaoke lounge where they both conveniently have just come from a horrible first date. (Yoo makes us endure multiple more renditions of high-pitched K-pop before the evening is over.)
Jason and Na Young have great chemistry and continue their romance after he goes back to the US. Yoo captures the process with split screens of long video calls and texting, boldly portraying a high-tech Korean version of Rock Hudson and Doris Day. But their romantic dinner over Skype, with a face-to-face wine toast through their laptop screens, is an adorable concept until you start thinking of the time difference.
They set the wedding date and she accepts his proposal. Now they just need to figure out how to get her to ditch her job for LA. His overly curious and loud relatives embrace what seems to be a perfect match for them, a good looking, well-educated woman who comes from a good family who is, and incredibly, Korean.
But now that she shows up, it’s apparent no one had the slightest clue about who she is, not even Jason. For you to understand why that is unusual, it was indeed an odd decision to make the big reveal on Yoo’s side, but you have to give her credit where it’s due for being so bold.
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