Chef (***½)
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Jon Favreau, Emjay Anthony, Sofia
Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale,
Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr., Amy Sedaris, Russell Peters
Seen: Month DDth YYYY
***½ Out of ****
After directing the first two Ironman
movies and Cowboys & Aliens, and also fulfilling producer duties on Ironman
3 and The Avengers, Jon Favreau decided to take things down a notch and do an independent
movie with a semi-autobiographical take. Chef is the delightful result, in
which Favreau added flavours of his own life into the film, like being a father
with a busy life and also coming from a broken home. Additionally, Favreau paralleled
coming from the big budget blockbusters he was involved with before doing this
independent movie by having his main character, played by himself, leave a big
restaurant and opt to work on a food truck. This is a passion project Favreau
had long been planning, and you can see his passion in the result – this movie
is charming and fun, while easily holding its ground next to all the
blockbusters.
Chef is the story of Carl Casper
(Favreau), a famous chef who seems to be slipping if some food critics are to
be believed. He works in a restaurant where the owner Riva (Hoffman) requires
him to cook the restaurant’s menu as it has been for 5 years, without
exception. He has a passion for food, and when famous food critic Ramsey Michel
(Platt) gives his food a terrible review, he challenges him to come taste a new
menu on Twitter. Riva however tells him that he can cook the old menu or leave,
which he does, and his friends and colleagues Martin (Leguizamo) and Tony
(cannavale) stay behind and cook the same meal. Carl, visibly upset by Ramsey’s
writing, shows up at the restaurant and verbally attacks Ramsey, and it ends up
all over the internet, and Carl is instantly out of a job.
Carl also has a somewhat strained
relationship with his 11 year old son, Percey (Anthony), who he desperately
loves, but can’t really connect with. The Twitter showdown between Carl and
Ramsey proves to be a starting point for them, and after losing his job, Percy’s
mother (and Carl’s ex-wife) Inez (Vergara) suggests that Carl join her on a
trip to Miami, where Carl started out years before. Inez’s previous ex-husband
Marvin (Downey Jr.) helps Carl with a dilapidated food truck, which he can
restore and operate a food business out of, his way. Martin arrives and helps
Carl and Percy to finish the truck, and the trio embark on a cross-country trip
back home with Carl rediscovering his passion, Martin becoming his sous chef,
and Percy as the marketing guru via his phone and Twitter. Wherever they stop
the Twitter engine has run ahead with all the marketing they could need, and as
they near home, another meeting with Ramsey Michel awaits them…
Chef is great fun and the movie exudes
the kind of joy and passion the characters feel. Jon Favreau is brilliant as the
lead character, writer, and director, with John Leguizamo, Sophia Vergara, and
Emjay Anthony delivering great supporting characters. While the movie is of a
much lower budget than Favreau’s previous blockbusters, it never ever looks
cheap or flimsily put together. The cameo appearances (some are a little bigger,
but nowhere near main character status) are fun, with Robert Downey Jr., Dustin
Hoffman, Scarlett Johansson, and Russell Peters all chipping in and effectively
selling the story, the friendships, and the enjoyment of the food. Chef is by
far the smallest movie, at least in terms of scale and budget that could just end
up in my top ten movies for 2014, but it more than makes up for its size in
heart.
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