The film pretty much died a horrid death at my cinema chain so I thought I'd take this opportunity to write a little review about it and hopefully convince more people to see it before it disappears.
What first attracted me to the film was the phenomenal cast: directed by and starring Jon Favreau, best known for the Iron Man franchise, is a pretty good starting point but then add Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jnr, Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara and John Leguizamo into the mix with a dash of some incredible food porn and you've got the recipe for a film that dreams are made of.
Fair enough, the main A-Listers aren't a huge part of the movie and only feature in the first half but it's just enough to lure you in and keep you there for the rest of the ride.
The film centres around chef Carl Casper and his struggle to be as creative as he wants to be in the restaurant he currently works in - as well as his struggle to be a good father to the son he has with his ex-wife. His wife Inez, played by Sofia Vergara, has repeatedly attempted to convince Carl to leave his repressive work place and take to the roads in a food truck but he only shuns the idea. However, after a bad review from food critic Ramsey Michel, played by Oliver Platt, hits the internet Carl's life and career rapidly begins to deteriorate. His son Percy introduces him to the world of social networking via Twitter and upon becoming aware of the review, he takes to Twitter to hit back at the critic in what he believes in a private message. Percy wakes up in the morning to discover 1000s on notifications on his Twitter app and realises his dad's reply to Ramsey Michel has gone viral. Carl has arranged to cook his own menu for the critic at the restaurant but a confrontation with back-seat driver (and owner of the restaurant) Riva - Dustin Hoffman's character - leads to him quitting. A hilarious rant to the critic about chocolate lava cake - IT'S FUCKING MOLTEN!!! - takes place somewhere after all of this which only adds to Carl's viral online persona. After a trip away with his son and ex-wife, Carl is eventually convinced to take the food truck offered to him by Inez's other ex-husband - Robert Downey Jnr - and so cue a road trip with Percy and Martin, Carl's friend and colleague from the restaurant played by John Leguizamo. The trip is full of discoveries and enlightenment in both emotional and culinary fields and makes for a film full of just plain feel-goodness.
What I like about this film is that it doesn't deviate away from the main plot line - it knows what it's about and it sticks to it without any unnecessary subplots. Any romantic affiliations within the plot are glossed over but the audience still understands what is going on between characters. The inclusion - and dependence - of social media in the film is an interesting element, it highlights the power of social media and what people are able to achieve if used correctly. It also keeps the youthful, modern air that surrounds the film already through the concept of food trucks and street food, an ever-growing trend in the food industry.
If you're sitting around with nothing to do or want something new to see but not sure what, I'd definitely recommend going to see Chef, but make sure you take plenty of food with you as it'll definitely leave you feeling hungry!
No comments:
Post a Comment