Released on May 9, 2014 and still running in many theaters today, Chef is an R-rated comedy film directed by Jon Favreau. This 1 hour and 55 minute comedy is about the life of Chef Carl Casper who is played by no other than Favreau himself.
The movie revolves around Carl, originally from Miami, who works at a restaurant in Los Angeles under his manager Riva (Dustin Hoffman). He prepares meals with his assistant chefs, one of them who is is favorite friend Martin(John Leguizamo), and his hostess Molly (Scarlett Johansson).
Carl, who is a creative culinary chef, has his life turned down by a food critic and blogger Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt) when he comes in to dine at his restaurant.
The story begins with Ramsey posting a stinking Twitter review about Chef Carl's food which goes viral, affecting Carl's reputation. Carl's life enters a mid-life crisis, and he is unable to find a job. The whole movie revolves around the life of Carl who is a father of a young boy and a divorced husband to his ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara).
An opportunity seeks Carl when Inez invites him to Miami and tricks him into meeting her ex-husband Marvin (Robert Downey Jr.). During his visit to Miami Carl gets a good opportunity to better bond with his son, Percy. Marvin decides to give Carl a broken-down food truck and start fresh. Carl accepts the offer.
With the help of Percy and chef Martin, Carl and his team repair the broken truck and start a food business of their own that aims to serve the most delicious Cuban sandwiches in the country.
The movie story has a build up. Throughout the story, there are bursts of laughter and comedy which add to the soft and subtle drama. To add to the humor, there is random appearances from guest celebrities such as Russel Peters, who played the small role of a street police in the movie. The crew road-trip to the the most beautiful places in and around California such as New Orleans, the bay area and even Austin,Texas. Their food business gains popularity all thanks to Carl's son who takes advantage of social media such as Twitter and Facebook to promote their business and attract nearby customers.
And that is all you need to know about this movie without me going in depth to reveal any spoilers. Trust me, when I say this movie is good, you will die laughing in your seats.
Favreau does a beautiful job of producing, directing and playing the lead actor in the film. His sidekick partner, Leguizamo, did an outstanding performance by playing the role of a funny stereotypical Mexican chef who cracks the audience with laughter with his funny Spanish accent and his crude but goofy jokes. Their partnership in this film is important because they have a brotherly bond with a carefree attitude. Percy admires the role of his father and learns fascinating aspects of being a culinary artist. The target audience of this movie is of course and without any doubt, the foodies. Other audiences that would enjoy this film would be middle aged parents who have young children since this is the main age group portrayed in the film.
The food portrayed in this movie made me feel like a hungry hound salivating for my next meal. The dishes cooked by chef Casper is depicted with rich texture, and it almost made me feel like I am tasting the food through the cinema screen. I felt very dissatisfied with my popcorn and was hungry for some exotic Cuban sandwiches portrayed in the film. I knew I had to take advantage of some good dinner that night because the movie got me starving.I could feel the food-gasm just as every audience member did on watching this food porn masterpiece. Never once did I feel that the drama got in the way of the story. Yes, it did have small elements of drama in it, but it was very very easy to digest. The length of this movie was perfect and it did not feel very long for a nearly two hour movie. There was no instance where I felt the movie slowed down with any awkward feelings of emotional discomfort and that's just the way how comedy movies should be.
Overall, I would give this movie an 8.5 out of 10 since there is laughter throughout this film and the Spanish-themed music is cheerful, lively, appealing to the ears and is guaranteed to keep you in the "party mode" spirit. It is also beautifully scripted and has many famous celebrities appearing in small roles. I really enjoyed watching this movie in the cinemas and would strongly encourage this movie to people, especially young families who have kids. I also suggest watching this movie before your next meal because it is all about great tasting food which will warm your taste buds and prepare you to savor your next meal.
Warning: You may want to reconsider your expenditure because you are about to eat in a fancy place to fully satisfy you taste buds after watching this moive.
Image via Facebook from Chef The Film