Review: Chef

-
Food Porn: The Movie

Chef Carl Casper (John Favreau, and a body double for the cutting food scenes that is obviously heavier than him) is unhappy with his position as head chef in a restaurant run by an asshole named Riva. (Dustin Hoffman) Riva doesn't encourage his creativity in the kitchen, even though his staff like Martin (John Leguizamo) and Tony (Bobby Canavale) do. One day, a prestigious food critic (Oliver Platt) rips Casper for conforming and not cooking the way he used to. What begins as Casper calling him out on Twitter escalates to something more, and soon Casper is without a job, but turns that around by starting a food truck to cook the food he really wants to serve.

This movie is ideal for "dinner and a movie" only you should see this first THEN go eat somewhere because you will be starving afterwards. This movie is food porn central. The cast is great, even though I was yearning for a bit more Canavale and Robert Downey Jr. Favreau did a wonderful job in the lead role. 

The soundtrack is awesome and even if the movie got a little repetitive towards the end, it was always a good time. Now I just need to try one of these Cuban sandwiches they were making...

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "He got a fucking taco truck?!" - Tony (Bobby Canavale)

Comments

  1. rhysgdrurySeptember 2, 2014 at 10:10 PM

    I was really pleasantly surprised by this one - I went in expecting something middle of the road and actually had a great time! It's always low-key little films like this that come out of nowhere to be a lotta fun.

    One complaint: not enough ScarJo. She should've been it, and everything, more ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 3, 2014 at 6:46 AM

      I had the same expectations. I'm surprised Scarlett and Canavale didn't turn up at the end of the film again. You'd think they would've.

      Delete
  2. Big Screen Small WordsSeptember 2, 2014 at 10:47 PM

    This movie did make me hungry. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 3, 2014 at 1:09 AM

    This is one I really wanted to catch in the theater but wound up unable. Looking forward to catching it on DVD soon! Great write up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 3, 2014 at 6:43 AM

      I'm kind of surprised it randomly came back to theaters here. My art house had it for awhile months ago, then our chain theater just got it. I was glad for that.

      Delete
  4. UnknownSeptember 3, 2014 at 4:58 AM

    I loved this film. I watched it on a flight to god knows where and I've been meaning to review it ever since (time is forever getting away from me!)

    I honestly never through Favreau would make a good lead but there he goes and proves me wrong and I love John Leguizamo in pretty much anything.

    Great review as always Brittani

    Jenna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 3, 2014 at 6:42 AM

      Leguizama was especially good in this. He's kind of hit and miss for me, but I loved him here. Thank you!

      Delete
  5. UnknownSeptember 3, 2014 at 4:59 AM

    'I honestly never thought...' Doh!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. s.September 3, 2014 at 2:42 PM

    This sounds like a really fun movie, I'm definitely gonna see it on DVD while i can eat when watching it :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Zach MurphySeptember 3, 2014 at 4:46 PM

    I actually loved this movie. Sure, it was breezy and there was hardly any conflict, but sometimes a solid feel-good movie is exactly what one needs.

    And you're right, it's a good idea to eat before this one.

    - Zach

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 4, 2014 at 6:56 AM

      I definitely agree with the feel-good movie part. Those are nice to have.

      Delete
  8. UnknownSeptember 3, 2014 at 6:37 PM

    This was such a fun little watch and the food killed me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 4, 2014 at 6:56 AM

      I know! The popcorn I was eating started tasting less and less good as time went on.

      Delete
  9. ElinaSeptember 4, 2014 at 12:51 PM

    I'm getting hungry only by reading your review. Really want to see this!

    ReplyDelete
  10. JoshDecember 2, 2014 at 2:55 PM

    It was fun food movie, for sure. Everything looked delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 3, 2014 at 6:42 AM

      I shouldn't have eaten popcorn during it. It felt so inadequate.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more