That stuff, the idea that any true chef would not realize how hot the food truck movement is - and was give years ago - and several abrupt, illogical leaps in the plot are the only sour ingredients in this delightful, savory comedy. The “wish fulfillment fantasy” here is the whole overlong rosy road to redemption part of the movie, which tries to sell us on Carl’s utter ignorance of social media and his ten year-old hooking him up and making him a star. The food is mouth watering - calamari to die for, squab, even a work-of-art grilled cheese sandwich which he stoops way over the grill to make, as we’ve seen Emeril, Mario and Gordon Ramsey do on TV - every one of his senses committed to getting it perfect.Ĭarl shudders at the idea that he’s now suitable for a role in a Gordon Ramsey reality show (“Hell’s Kitchen” is pitched, they must have meant “Kitchen Nightmares”).Īnd knowing what it means when a chef gives a young cook his first knife is touching. He seems at home in this world and relishes explaining what makes it special. It has a wonderful supporting cast, with fellow cooks played by John Leguizamo and Bobby Cannavale, the restaurant manager/hostess played by Scarlett Johannson, Sofia Vergara as Carl’s party planner ex-wife and Robert Downey Jr., leaning into the sort of eccentric word play that only Favreau brings out in him (He’s another ex-husband of the party planner).Īll of it comes off thanks to wonderful early scenes that establish Favreau’s comfort in the kitchen, his steady hand with a knife. “Chef” has adorable, PG-13 worthy father-son bonding, with Favreau really clicking with the kid. It’s time to go to Miami and maybe crank up a food truck. It’s time to find what made him passionate about food, to remind himself that he can “touch people’s lives” with his cooking. He’s out of a job and he’s infamous, thanks to the viral video of his hissy fit. That leads to a flame war and that, in turn, leads to Carl’s shout-down/meltdown in the middle of the restaurant. Carl’s kid (Emjay Anthony) introduces him to Twitter. That’s how Carl gets the bad review from the cranky online food critic (Oliver Platt). “Be an artist on your own time,” Riva (Dustin Hoffman) whines. “Chef” is Favreau’s most personal film since “Swingers,” an overlong comedy full of his food, his taste in music, his favorite places and a boatload of his favorite actors.Īnd the actor Favreau brings his A-game patter to this romp about an embattled Los Angeles chef, once celebrated, now in a rut, who has to take a road trip in a food truck to find his soul, and his food, again.Ĭarl Casper’s big night at the swank Galouise eatery is ruined by the passive aggressive owner of the joint. Take this script, which he wrote, directed and stars in, as a metaphor for his film career. What’s he doing getting his cooking chops down and stepping in front of the camera, and behind it, for “Chef,” a mouth-watering culinary wish fulfillment fantasy? Jon Favreau makes “Iron Man” movies and crummy blockbuster comedies.
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