Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Jon Favreau, Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo, Sofia Vergara, Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson
Running Time: 115 min
Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is in a bit of a rut.
The head chef of a popular L.A. restaurant is seemingly satisfied with serving dainty plates of predictable fusion when he’s slammed with a nightmarish review from a respected online food critic Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt).
After his son (Emjay Anthony) sets up an account for him, he declares war with the blogger on Twitter and inevitably becomes a viral sensation. But when Chef Casper attempts to take the exchange online — by inviting the blogger to sample a one-night-only tasting menu featuring his food — controlling owner Riva (Dustin Hoffman) gives him an ultimatum: serve the restaurant’s classics or give up his apron.
Of course the man walks out — how else does he finally take the chance with a beaten down food truck, as suggested by his ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara)?
What follows is part food porn, part travel narrative and absolutely full of heart.
As he takes the El Jefe food truck — finally, his own — across the United States with his son and former-colleague-turned-unpaid-subordinate Martin (John Leguizamo), Chef Casper indulges in moments of bromance, fatherly tough love and grit that can only come from passion for the kitchen.
And in the midst of it all is a brazen showcase of American alpha-male nosh like huge, meaty cubanos and blackened and glossed Texas brisket. The famed Louisiana beignets do make an appearance, but that’s as twee as it gets.
The star-studded lineup overwhelms the story a little (you can't get away with casting ScarJo in a bit role — she's too damn distracting!) but thankfully, everyone's in on the plan. Another of Inez's ex-husbands and Casper's initial benefactor is played by Robert Downey Jr. and his flaky, but good nature is impeccable, as is Platt as the misunderstood keyboard warrior.
Writer Charlotte Allen writes in The L.A. Times, "Chef is a sexist movie… (It’s) a movie about masculinity. It’s about a man becoming a man by acting like a man.”
I’d like to add that it’s also about two things: that a person can change for the better and that a woman effecting that change is no myth.
In a Word: Meaty
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Jon Favreau, Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo, Sofia Vergara, Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson
Running Time: 115 min
Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is in a bit of a rut.
The head chef of a popular L.A. restaurant is seemingly satisfied with serving dainty plates of predictable fusion when he’s slammed with a nightmarish review from a respected online food critic Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt).
After his son (Emjay Anthony) sets up an account for him, he declares war with the blogger on Twitter and inevitably becomes a viral sensation. But when Chef Casper attempts to take the exchange online — by inviting the blogger to sample a one-night-only tasting menu featuring his food — controlling owner Riva (Dustin Hoffman) gives him an ultimatum: serve the restaurant’s classics or give up his apron.
Of course the man walks out — how else does he finally take the chance with a beaten down food truck, as suggested by his ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara)?
What follows is part food porn, part travel narrative and absolutely full of heart.
As he takes the El Jefe food truck — finally, his own — across the United States with his son and former-colleague-turned-unpaid-subordinate Martin (John Leguizamo), Chef Casper indulges in moments of bromance, fatherly tough love and grit that can only come from passion for the kitchen.
And in the midst of it all is a brazen showcase of American alpha-male nosh like huge, meaty cubanos and blackened and glossed Texas brisket. The famed Louisiana beignets do make an appearance, but that’s as twee as it gets.
The star-studded lineup overwhelms the story a little (you can't get away with casting ScarJo in a bit role — she's too damn distracting!) but thankfully, everyone's in on the plan. Another of Inez's ex-husbands and Casper's initial benefactor is played by Robert Downey Jr. and his flaky, but good nature is impeccable, as is Platt as the misunderstood keyboard warrior.
Writer Charlotte Allen writes in The L.A. Times, "Chef is a sexist movie… (It’s) a movie about masculinity. It’s about a man becoming a man by acting like a man.”
I’d like to add that it’s also about two things: that a person can change for the better and that a woman effecting that change is no myth.
In a Word: Meaty