The Movie "Chef"

If you haven't seen it yet, go see it! Immediately! It's completely charming and not an embarrassment to professional cooks. The soundtrack alone is reason enough to see it, not to mention the food and well-written story line.

[Robin Garr]

If you haven't seen it yet, go see it! Immediately! It's completely charming and not an embarrassment to professional cooks. The soundtrack alone is reason enough to see it, not to mention the food and well-written story line.

I saw the trailer the other day, and Mary and I are planning to go see it this week!

My only caveat (beyond the fact that if you believe Queens native Favreau was born in Miami and moved to LA, I have a bridge to sell you), is that there's quite a focus on smartphones. If you're opposed to them, I would skip it. Otherwise, it's a great cast, they clearly brought in some good consultants for the knife skils, etc., and it's a fun movie.

For those who have seen it, I was amused to find that after I had rushed to put a dish of sweetbreads and mushroom sauce on the table, sweetbreads came up briefly in the movie.

[Jenise]

Read a great review On eater.com--can't wait to see it. Apparently they got both the food and the father-son emotions just right.

Wow - Okay!

[Robin Garr]

Well, Mary and I finally found a time in our respectively busy schedules that we could both go, so we're headed over for the early bird after lunch! Can't wait!

By the way, I was surprised to realize that no one (including me) had posted a link to the trailer. Let's correct that:

http://youtu.be/L3OkPRRptgQ

[Robin Garr]

Can't wait!

Loved it! Highly recommended.

Saw it last night. My recommendation and thought about the movie is tepid. You lose nothing by waiting for the DVD. It's right up there with Ratatouille for me! The story line is a bit worn and predictable. Robert Downey as the ex-husband is a totally throw-away character and scene that added nothing to the film. Yes, he provided the title character with the food truck, but it was something he could have gotten out of a junk yard. And anyone could have played the role of the restaurant owner (Dustin Hoffman) or the hostess/girlfriend (Scarlett Johansen). There was no rhyme or reason that the character played by John Leguizamo shows up and starts roving around the country with Chef in a food truck. And the wife who seems to have a career of her own (though you never discover what that is), just shows up out of nowhere to help out in the food truck. The movie is all over the place with the only constant thread being the relationship of the father and son. And, in my estimation, there are other vehicles they could have used to tell that story. My suggestion: hold onto your $12 and wait for it on Netflix!

[Robin Garr]

I still loved it. Maybe I'm just a sap.

[Jenise]

Finally saw Chef.

Parts I liked: the real knife skills without the use of body doubles, the chef vs. critic meltdown though it pissed me off that Chef never actually told the critic that the boring food was the owner's demand which he totally disagreed with (who would not defend themselves thus?), Amy Sedaris' clueless publicist, and the acting by the kid. The kid was GOOD. I also thought Lequizamo's personality worked perfectly.

Things I liked least: Robert Downey Jr's unnecessarily weird character, even though it was supposed to set us up to believe why Sofia might have regretted ever divorcing Favreau; and Sofia's movie-star makeup all magazine cover girl close-up worthy with full lipstick and liner in every scene, including when Chef just drops in one morning while she's lazing around in a caftan. Other than the fact that people who like her on whatever TV show it is she's famous for (haven't seen it) may have brought some people to see the film, I thought she was one-dimensionally lousy casting.

I truly enjoyed it, but at the same time it didn't live up to my expectations: it started out with some edgy independent film ambitions but caved in to populus expectations like a studio film trying to earn "the feel-good movie of the year!" kudos.

It is so rare to see real knife work on the big or small screen, isn't it, Denise? One of my favorite parts of the movie.