Youn Yuh-jung on How LGBTQ+ Comedy ‘The Wedding ceremony Banquet’ Mirrors Her Actual Life

The phrases “queer” and “comedy” do not instantly come to thoughts when audiences consider Youn Yuh-jung’s movies.

The Oscar winner’s newest mission, The Wedding ceremony Banquet (a reimagining of the 1993 Ang Lee movie of the identical title) is each of these issues.

The Andrew Ahn-directed movie facilities round two homosexual {couples} — Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min (Han Gi-Chan) and Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) and Lee (Lily Gladstone) — who’re confronted with challenges which will uproot their relationships.

Angela and Lee have been unfortunate with their IVF therapies and can’t afford to pay for one more spherical. Min is closeted and his pupil visa is expiring quickly. When his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris rejects his proposal, Min makes the supply to Angela as an alternative: a inexperienced card marriage in alternate for funding Lee’s IVF.

To entry his household’s wealth, Min and Angela have to persuade his grandmother Ja-Younger (Youn) that they are in love. The astute matriarch sees via the charade, however insists on holding a standard marriage ceremony banquet so the Korean media — and Min’s abroad grandfather — will consider their marriage is actual.

“I believed I used to be very severe through the scenes,” Youn instructed PEOPLE with a smile and chuckle. “I used to be taking part in my function very critically.”

Considered one of The Wedding ceremony Banquet’s strongest scenes is when Ja-Younger and Min have an trustworthy, one-on-one dialog about his sexuality. It is an expertise Youn says she had along with her personal son.

“My private life story may be very concerned with this film,” she defined. “Korea is a really conservative nation. Individuals by no means come out as homosexual, publicly or in entrance of their dad and mom. However my first son occurred to be [a] homosexual particular person, so I shared my expertise between him and me and within the film with my grandchild and me.”

“So we share this, my private story with Andrew,” she mentioned of Ahn, who additionally cowrote the screenplay. “It’s actual, as a result of [the conversation] between my son and [I is] truly in that film.”

Regardless of her star energy, Youn is not positive of how — or even when — The Wedding ceremony Banquet will likely be acquired in her dwelling nation.

“I hope that Korea will open their minds or get up,” she mentioned.

“I hope that this movie will be capable of present,” chimed in Joan Chen, who performs Angela’s mom Might.

“I do not know,” Youn replied. “Nonetheless do not know.”

Ahn instructed PEOPLE how the present socio political local weather within the U.S. and overseas affected the course of the movie.

“I feel for me, it feels solely type of accountable to point out a path in the direction of hope,” mentioned Ahn, who identifies as LGBTQ+. “I needed there to be this optimism, as a result of I feel that the world is so darkish and it is a actually troublesome place, and I did not really feel like beating somebody whereas they’re down.”

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“And so for me, that is my philosophy within the filmmaking, and that is one thing that I actually adopted from the unique movie, which has this message of hope and chance,” he continued. “I needed to point out our resilience and hopefully encourage individuals to undergo a few of these troublesome instances,” 

The Wedding ceremony Banquet opens in theaters Friday, April 18, with tickets out there right here.