Thanks to the relentlessly bleak news cycle, laughs are a little hard to come by these days. But it’s important to seek them out, for mental health. As luck would have it, we’ve got a cluster of smart and funny indie comedies coming to local theaters in April. Like Mother Nature, popular culture provides—you’ve just got to get out there. (Besides, comedies always play better in theaters!)
First up: The Wedding Banquet, a rowdy romantic comedy that premiered at this year’s Sundance film festival, features two queer couples who scheme out a mutual solution to their domestic issues. The plan involves marriage fraud, a reliable comic device that dates all the way back to Shakespeare.
It seems that Seattle lesbian couple Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) and Lee (Lily Gladstone) desperately need money for IVF treatment. Meanwhile, their housemates Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min (Han Gi-Chan) need a fake bride to pose as Min’s new wife. Min’s in line for a giant inheritance, but if the family finds out he’s gay, the deal is off.
You can see where this is heading. If Min marries Angela, the money flows and problems are solved. The complications arise when Min’s grandmother pops in and insists on a big traditional Korean wedding.
The film is a loose remake of director Ang Lee’s 1993 film of the same name, a surprise hit that broke new ground for queer representation at the multiplex. This new iteration expands the plot line to accommodate 21st-century societal improvements, while retaining the scenario’s rich comic potential. As a bonus, the supporting cast includes Oscar winner and perennial scene-stealer Youn Yuh-jung, the grandma from Minari.
Elsewhere in local theaters, our friends in the U.K. have thoughtfully shipped over The Ballad of Wallis Island, another Sundance favorite starring Carey Mulligan, Tim Key, and Tom Basden. The setup: An eccentric lottery winner invites his favorite folk duo to play a small concert on a remote Welsh island. The trouble is that this particular folk duo split up, creatively and romantically, years ago—and neither knows the other is coming.
Expanded from a short film by British comedy pros Basden and Key, the film is clearly going for that low-budget indie-film combination of humor and heart—oddball character portraits with deep feelings, beautiful scenery, situation comedy, and great music.
For a third comedy option this month, look for the buzzy indie Bob Trevino Likes It, which won both the Grand Jury Award and Audience Award at last year’s South by Southwest festival. In another comic setup that’s all heart underneath, newcomer Barbie Ferreira plays Lily Trevino, a young woman looking to track down her estranged father online. Instead, she finds a different Bob Trevino—same name, different guy—when he begins liking her Facebook posts.
The new Bob (John Leguizamo) becomes a father figure for Lily and, amid the awkward laughs, a genuine connection is made. The movie provides a rare example of the internet bringing people together—that thing it was supposed to do, originally. Veterans of the 1990s might recall this. The interesting kicker to it all: the story is partially autobiographical, based on the experiences of director Tracie Laymon.
Quick Picks
The 27th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival takes place April 3-6 in downtown Durham. Check out the festival website at fullframefest.org for ticketing information and read our expanded coverage at indyweek.com.
Director Alex Garland, who brought us the unnerving Civil War this time last year, is back in theaters with Warfare, an ultra-verité true combat story from the Iraq War, written and co-directed by former U.S. Navy Seal Ray Mendoza.
The animated comedy Sneaks follows the adventures of a pair of anthropomorphized designer sneakers cut loose on the mean streets of New York City. (It makes sense in context.) Voice actors include Anthony Mackie, Martin Lawrence, and Macy Gray.
The Canadian indie comedy Suze stars the very funny Michaela Watkins as an empty-nest mom who becomes a reluctant caretaker to her daughter’s ex-boyfriend. Parents of high school– and college-aged kids should dig this one.
Also incoming from Canada on April 25, director David Cronenberg’s body horror drama The Shrouds has some things to say about death, grief, and technology. Word is that this is Cronenberg’s most personal film.