WEDDING PALACE

This unashamedly over-the-top romantic comedy seems to parody every known Korean stereotype (and more) with its ridiculous story that is essentially all about making fun of wealthy American-Koreans clinging tight to traditions that have long been forgotten by their contemporaries back home. In Los Angeles 29 year old Jason is about to get married to Jinnie who his control-freak of a mother has set him up with.  There is a sense of urgency about the whole occasion as they still believe a centuries old curse that says that if men in the family do not marry by the time they are 30 years old, they will die.

As the extravagant wedding is just about to take place in the outrageously kitch Wedding Palace that Jason’s parents happen to own, all hell sets loose. Jinnie is ….. how can one put it nicely? ….. a slut! ….and all dressed up in her bridal gear she is caught making out with the caterer instead of walking down the aisle.  With the wedding cancelled a bereft Jason throws himself back into work which entails taking a business trip to Korea.

His highly-strung mother’s network gets busy trying to set Jason up with dates but most local girls have long disregarded all attempts at being party to arranged marriages so very little comes of all her efforts. After the one blind date his mother does fix up ends disastrously, Jason comes across Na Young sitting alone in a bar and he strikes up a conversation with her. They had met the day before when she had spoken up and supported his ideas at a Presentation he had made to her Boss which at that point had being going pretty badly and as her intervention saved the day, he felt very grateful to this attractive stranger.

However the moment he goes to pay the bill she leaves and is just about to be driven off in a taxi when he catches up with her.  They spend the whole night just driving around the city and the next morning when the cab drops him off at his hotel to leave for the airport this accidental and very innocent encounter has obviously stirred some emotions in them both.

Once back in L.A. Jason starts wooing Na Young via Facetime and this cyber relationship pretty soon ends up with him proposing marriage much to his family’s delight.  Everybody is very excited about her arrival in LA so that the wedding can be arranged, but when Jason picks Na Young up at the airport he discovers she is not exactly the girl he thought she was. 

This rather ridiculously unexpected twist to the plot is the cue for more cliched politically incorrect humor as the family voice their shock and displeasure sufficiently to make Jason call the wedding off. But we know that we shouldn’t be overly concerned about that. as in movies like this a happy ending is always guaranteed.

Despite the exaggerated acting (or maybe because of it) from a very talented cast that you know are far better than this material, and the absurd plot, and the offensive humor, I actually found myself chuckling out loud more than once.  It helps when you have people like Margaret Cho playing a Shamen who has a liking to guzzling mojitos, and Japanese actor Brian Tee (‘The Fast and Furious’) adding a great deal of credibility to the role of the lovelorn confused Jason.

It’s a very silly movie that I shouldn’t have liked ….. but I am more than happy to put my hands up, and confess I did. 

★★★★★★