Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is the head chef of a trendy
bistro in Venice Beach and things are looking up for him. He's about unveil a
brand new menu to herald the arrival of renowned food critic Ramsey Michel
(Oliver Platt, whose brother, Adam, is a food critic for New York magazine), the blogger who raved about Casper's work a
decade ago. Alas, the restaurant's owner Riva (Dustin Hoffman) demands Casper
stick to the regular menu, which includes caviar-topped egg and a chocolate
lava cake. It backfires as Michel lambasts the stale food and manages to insult
Casper's weight, "…he must be eating
all the food sent back to the kitchen."
Casper storms into the restaurant when Michel returns and
launches into a heated tirade that is captured by numerous cell phones and
uploaded to YouTube. He becomes persona non grata in the LA food scene just as
he becomes an internet sensation. Looking for a fresh start, Casper reluctantly
accompanies his ex-wife, Inez (Sofia Vergara), and son, Percy (EmJay Anthony),
on a trip to Miami. Once there, he purchases a decrepit food truck and turns it
into the snazzy El Jefe, serving up cubanos and arroz con pollo. This new
venture reinvigorates Chef Casper's passion for cooking as well as repairing
his strained relationship with Percy as they make the cross-country trip back
to the west coast.
The plot of Chef
draws immediate parallels to Jon Favreau's own career as a filmmaker. He made a
splash as the writer and producer of Swingers
before following it up with his directorial debut Made. Since then, his profile in commercial films has grown with Elf and the runaway success of Iron Man, which set the foundation for
Marvel's cinematic universe. However, it was clear Favreau was not the primary
decision maker anymore for Iron Man 2
and Cowboys & Aliens met with
tepid reactions from audiences and critics alike. With Chef, Favreau has returned to his indie roots and created a
comedy/drama driven by rich characters rather than expensive CGI.
At the heart of Chef
is the relationship between father and son, the latter of whom is played
without a hint of precociousness by EmJay Anthony. To Favreau's credit, he
doesn't go the easy route by painting Casper as an insensitive prick. He's just
a workaholic and a little oblivious from time to time. Watching the two
together is just one of the joys of Chef,
along with Casper's interactions with other characters, such as Bobby Cannavale
and John Leguizamo as two of his kitchen comrades or Scarlett Johansson in a
small role as a comely hostess. Sofia Vergera gives a more natural performance
as compared to the over-the-top antics we usually see from her on Modern Family. Favreau also made sure to
call in Iron Man for assistance as Robert Downey Jr. pops in for a cameo as
Inez's eccentric ex-husband. He makes everyone who visits his office wear
surgical booties over their shoes, including his leggy assistant's six-inch stilettos.
Amy Sedaris should not be overlooked for her cameo as an overly tanned
publicist trying to get Casper to sign on to a cheesy reality show ala Gordon
Ramsay.
Of course, what would any self-respecting chef movie be
without mouth-watering cuisine? Chef
is food porn cinema right up there with Eat
Drink Man Woman, Tampopo, and Big Night. Chef Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ
fame not only served as a consultant, but tutored Favreau in gastronomical
ways. The director lovingly preps, cooks, and plates numerous delicacies and
these sequences are intricately shot and cut, even for something as simple as a
grilled cheese sandwich. You'll want to toss those stale movie theater
concessions to the sticky floor when you watch Favreau slice into a juicy, rare
steak or curl pasta around his fork. Chef
brings the local flavor by shooting on location in Miami, New Orleans, and
Austin with El Jefe tailoring their menu to each city. You'll get fresh
beignets in the French Quarter and beef brisket for you fanatics of Texas
barbecue.
Dustin Hoffman makes an excellent point when he tells Casper
that people would riot at a Rolling Stones concert if Mick Jagger didn't sing
"Satisfaction." While Favreau clearly enjoyed the freedom of independent
film, he never lambastes the idea of playing it safe or sticking to the hits. Chef is comfort food, a pleasant,
lightweight comedy. There are no high stakes and very little conflict, which
isn't a bad thing though the ending is too pat and hews too closely to Ratatouille.
Rating: *** (*****)
No comments:
Post a Comment