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How entertaining? ★★★★☆
Thought provoking? ★★☆☆☆ 21 April 2014
This article is a review of CHEF. |
“You’ve been ignoring a lot of things in your life,” Molly (Scarlett Johansson) to Carl Casper (Jon Favreau)
Mainstream male movie wish fulfilment comes in a narrow variety, usually blowing stuff up and scoring the winning goal. A more tedious strand has emerged: The shlub-talentless-unambitious guy getting the beautiful, unobtainable lady. From KNOCKED UP to RUN FATBOY RUN to CUBAN FURY, it is hard to fathom what the leading women find appealing. At initial glance, CHEF looks to not only be falling into that category, but also be an ego vehicle for writer-director-star Favreau; but wait, give it time, and you will see emerge an endearing, funny movie about personal crises.
Of course CHEF is about food. There are enough shots of delectable dishes to be labelled culinary porn; so make sure you eat before. Think analogously to the mouth-watering delights of DINNER RUSH, JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI and BIG NIGHT, to name a few. However, Favreau also uses the act of cooking for multiple metaphors: The art of making movies specifically, and the nature of creativity, and the individual integrity in our daily lives, generally. CHEF is a live-action RATATOUILLE, there are that many ideas bubbling under the surface – not all brought to the boil satisfyingly, though we are given enough of a taste to appreciate where the filmmaker is coming from.
Mainstream male movie wish fulfilment comes in a narrow variety, usually blowing stuff up and scoring the winning goal. A more tedious strand has emerged: The shlub-talentless-unambitious guy getting the beautiful, unobtainable lady. From KNOCKED UP to RUN FATBOY RUN to CUBAN FURY, it is hard to fathom what the leading women find appealing. At initial glance, CHEF looks to not only be falling into that category, but also be an ego vehicle for writer-director-star Favreau; but wait, give it time, and you will see emerge an endearing, funny movie about personal crises.
Of course CHEF is about food. There are enough shots of delectable dishes to be labelled culinary porn; so make sure you eat before. Think analogously to the mouth-watering delights of DINNER RUSH, JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI and BIG NIGHT, to name a few. However, Favreau also uses the act of cooking for multiple metaphors: The art of making movies specifically, and the nature of creativity, and the individual integrity in our daily lives, generally. CHEF is a live-action RATATOUILLE, there are that many ideas bubbling under the surface – not all brought to the boil satisfyingly, though we are given enough of a taste to appreciate where the filmmaker is coming from.
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Amazon USA
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Mainstays of the creative industries are skewered first:
1. The cultural guardians – “Wake up, we’ve got a critic coming,” Carl to Tony (Bobby Cannavale).
2. The pay masters – “You know what I think? You should play your hits,” boss Riva (Dustin Hoffman) to Carl.
And actually by implication, the audience/consumer is given a mild ticking off; too quick to pigeonhole, and be conservative in their appetites.
Opening on superhero alliteration monikered Carl Casper (don’t forget Favreau helmed the first two Iron Man flicks) in the kitchen, a whirling dervish of focused activity in preparing for the arrival of influential food blogger, Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt), whose prose can cut down and elevate equally. Leading up to the evening judgement, that day is cut up to deftly introduce the mainstays in Carl’s life:
- Ten-year old son Percy (Emjay Anthony), who is desperate to connect to his father, who in turn remains preoccupied with professional perfectionism.
- A dream of an ex-wife, Inez (Sofía Vergara), still remaining supportive and affectionate.
- Pal and lover Molly – see what I mean about the shlub getting the girl (Johansson and Vergara!!), except here Favreau is a wizard in the kitchen; at one point rustling up a feast, out of frustration, so eye-catching as to make you want to dive into the screen.
- Best bud and fellow cook Marvin (a scene-stealing John Leguizamo who shouts hilarious foody insults such as “Amuse-douche”).
Chopping up time and alluding to Proust, begets a confidence absent from Favreau’s previous efforts.
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A dire write-up and the continual clash with restaurant owner Riva, over creative control, causes Carl to resign and to reassess his whole life. CHEF becomes about peeling away the extraneous and negative pulls in one’s life. A joyous atmosphere, tied to plenty of gags, amazing-looking dishes and cameos (Robert Downey Jr., Russell Peters), holds the attention. A syrupy finale, and a cringeworthy take on social media, is forgiven thanks to the winsome crystallisation of important values (loyalty, integrity, family, graft).
Food as film industry. CHEF made me think Favreau's COWBOYS & ALIENS and IRON MAN 2 rides weren't fun.
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