Movie Review: Chef

Whoa. Just whoa. A good movie that was worth watching that didn't have violence or sex.

Hollywood? Are you paying attention?

I had been meaning to watch this title for some time. The thing is, I live out in the middle of no where. To get to any of the good movies, I have to hike. That's okay, but remember, hiking takes money and time. So, sadly, I gotta see the popular stuff.

And I missed out on Chef.

A simple and direct picture.  And, like the best of them, can be interpreted several ways-as all good movies really can be. Is the Matrix an actioner or another Jesus story?  Get it? On the surface, we have the artist, or, in this case, a chef, played wonderfully smooth by Jon Favreau.  Yes, that one. The dude who made all of those big super hero movies referred to as Iron Man. After the Avengers, the creative genius Joss Whedon made a small art house Shakespeare piece, Much Ado About Nothing, a calm, direct film with terrific nuance and temperment. And now you have Favreau doing the same.

Here, the chef wishing to change and try new things. He gets his opportunity to do so when a famed critci comes to his restaurant, but the owner insists on keeping things tried and true. And the critic, played by someone who needs to make more movies, Oliver Platt, pans the place and kills his artistic spirit.

Or sparks it.

So? And this is where the film really moves away from the mold. The chef is still friends with his ex wife and totally cool terms with her. It does leave a bit of a loophole-as in, why did they separate, but, okay, whatever, she arranges for him to have a food truck. And she's also played by media's current it-girl Sofia Vergara.  With movies being so white bread these days, I am totally happy with seeing her. She's at great risk of being overexposed these days, but I don't care. This woman is hilarious, looks great onscreen, and has a personality that is magnetic. She's kinda overtly shilling for rental companies, but hopefully that will pass.

Okay, okay, back to the story.

She buys him a food truck. He travels, changes the menu with each location and--well, watch the movie. I don't think you'll need much of a stretch of the imagination to see what's going to happen. But that's okay. It's all in the display of foodie inspired passions.

Seriously, eat before you watch this movie. I'm telling you. In fact, that might be what's biasing my opinion of the piece, I mean, really. My family is ethnic. We're all about the foods. And cooking is how we show love.  So to watch two hours of a man relearning how to express love through cuisine hits me right in the heart.

I can't recommend the movie enough. It really worked for me.

Here's the part that upsets me, too. If I had seen it in the theaters, the money counters would have seen it and we'd have less reboots and more original titles. Dangnabit Roo. In that way, I'm mad.

Please people, support good movies. If you want to see somethign that no one is talking about, get to that theater.

And here's the thing. The movie makes a strong argument (one of those myriad of messages tucked away) about the need to pay attention to social media.  There's also messages and themes about being lovable when you're in your milieu. And about we're better people when we have passions. And that food is, truly, love. And we are the families we make.

See? That's a lot of ground to cover.

Or? It's a simple movie about cooking.

Your call. But watch it. And tell me what you think!

Peace,
Roo