Chef
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Jon Favreau, Robert Downey, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, Emjay Anthony, Bobby Cannavale, Oliver Platt
Rating: (M) ]
5 stars (out of 5)
There is no shortage of great films about food. Babette's Feast, Big Night, Like Water for Chocolate, Chocolat, Ratatouille, Fried Green Tomatoes, Tampopo, Eat Drink Man Woman, the menu goes on.
(We'll leave The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover off the role call for now as cannibalism really is not cool.)
But we can add to the list another Michelin star gem for those who like to eat and drink with their eyes.
Chef was written by, directed by and stars Jon Favreau, best known as the director of the first two Iron Man films.
He plays chef Carl Casper, a one-time gastronomic prodigy who has gone a little stale under the yoke of a suffocating restaurant owner, played in scene-stealing fashion by Dustin Hoffman.
At the same time as his blade has gone blunt, his familial relationships have also dulled.
It is not giving away too much to say a food truck figures prominently in efforts to turn his life around.
While the drama plays out, we are treated to a celebration of food in all its authentic forms. Favreau is convincing in the kitchen, and indeed spends his first moments on screen demonstrating his knife craft.
He plays the part he has written for himself, as the self-absorbed epicurean, with just enough restraint to keep the viewer on side.
Meanwhile his A-list mates, Johansson and Downey, do him proud, and his onscreen family (wife Vergara and son Anthony), and assorted supporting cast, keep it grounded.
Best thing: It is funny.
Worst thing: A little too much twittering.
See it with: Your dinner date (book somewhere nice).
