Starring: Jon Favreau, Jon Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Sofia Vergara, MJ Anthony, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, Robert Downey Jr
Distributor: StudioCanal
Runtime: 115 mins. Reviewed in May 2014
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Chef is very much the feel-good (feel-goodest!) film, a story about a chef, naturally, about his particular expertise in cooking and presentation of food, both high-class and popular, but it is also a story about family, especially the relationship between a son and his previously neglectful father.
By the end of writing, directing and starring in this film, Jon Favreau must become something of an expert in the kitchen, studying up how to work with implements, how to blend various ingredients, how to cook them exactly, how to present them. He is seen at the end of the film, during the final credits, having a lesson from a professional cook on how to prepare some dishes – which means that the audience staying for the credits would not be reading any of them because they will be focusing on the chef and his teacher.
Karl Kaspar is a big man, friends with his former wife (Sofia Vergara) but unable to live at home, rather neglectful of his son, Percy (played with quite some aplomb by young actor Emjay Anthony). He has a loyal staff, led by Martin (Jon Leguizamo), Molly (Scarlet Johansson) and Tony (Bobby Cannavale). He is up early, early to work, especially on the day that the food critic (Oliver Platt) is to visit the restaurant. Karl wants a special menu but his intransigent boss, played by Dustin Hoffman, insists on the tried and true menu, with the result that the critic posts an negative review.
Besides being a film about kitchens and chefs, this is a film about modern communications technology, especially Twitter (it might almost look that Twitter had investment in the film).While his son is expert on communications, and texts instantly to his mother, getting permission for things before Karl has had time to think twice about them, Karl decides to put a tweet against the reviewer, neglecting to realise that if he uses abusive language, it is out in the Twittersphere forever. Of course, this leads to his being fired and a continued feud of tweets. But it also means that all those following him on Twitter know where he is, what he is cooking, especially as his son continues to supply this as they travel to Miami where they buy a Food Truck and their journey back home through New Orleans and Austin, Texas. When they get to the cities, there is a crowd already lining up.
In Miami, they go to meet Karl’s wife’s former husband, a curiously comic cameo from Robert Downey Jr (who worked with Favreau on the Iron Man films) talking at cross purposes about three different subjects all in the one sentence! But he supplies the truck, Martin comes over to work with him, they decide to make Cuban and Hispanic food – and all goes well, even with the reviewer becoming less than recalcitrant and investing in a restaurant. Karl becomes a loving father and spends quality time with his son. The son appreciates working, working hard, with his father. And his mother is delighted with what is happening for the family. Happiness all round – except for Dustin Hoffman whom we never, just as well, see again!
This is very genial film which most audiences could enjoy full of exuberant Cuban music – though, a pity about the repetitious coarse language. Advice: keep looking at the food and ignoring the language.
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