There are some movies which manage to enchant you during their running time, which pull you into a world you like to stay in a bit longer. Chef, which is directed and stars Jon Favreau, this is done by the swiftly moving story, the atmosphere, the awesome soundtrack and of course the food. It also stars many great actors and actresses like Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr, John Leguizamo, Dustin Hoffman and Bobby Cannavale in both big and small roles.
As the title already implies it is all about the world of cooking, with Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) at the center of it all. He has been a top chef for years, but after an argument with his boss and a very negative review of his cooking because of it he starts wondering what he really wants to do. He decides to head to Miami together with his son and ex-wife to contemplate and decides to head into another direction. It will not only mean a direction in life which will make him feel better, but it could also improve the relationship with the ones he cares for.
Chef was an extremely pleasant surprise and managed to create a big smile on my face while watching it. This is a simple feel good movie which will also make you hungry. The food shown is almost as beautifully shot as the sushi in Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Just make sure you have eaten before watching it, because it will create a craving for food. Sometimes less is more and Chef is the proof of this. It is just a simple story without extremes and in this case that is not a bad thing at all. A movie which will surely deserve a place in my end of year list.
Ahh, another good review of Chef! Disappointed I missed this in theaters, so I’m looking forward to catching it on DVD when it comes out in a few days!
Can’t wait to see it again myself!
I’m right with you on this one! The conflicts are pretty light, but it was just the right movie for me when I saw it this summer.
Exactly, really want to watch this one again with the rest of the family
Nice review, but I’d have to disagree. While I liked the cooking scenes and the first twenty minutes or so of Chef, I thought the second half of the picture was kind of a mess. There’s very little conflict in the picture and I felt that the ending came out of nowhere. The chemistry between Favreau and Leguizamo is good, but unfortunately I didn’t really enjoy the picture.
Ending was a bit quick, but I didn’t mind there not being any conflict…it just fit the movie. Shame you didn’t enjoy it, but we can’t all love the same things!
So happy when I read reviews of Chef that read like this. People are just enjoying it for what it is and that is GREAT!
Yeah, Chef made me hungry. Really hungry, man the food looks so awesome in this film!
Great movie and I get hungry thinking about it 😉
Yeah, I made the mistake of watching this movie on an empty stomach! Absolute torture, but such a nice film. Mellow, very little drama, and a very personal project from Jon Favreau. It’s certainly a contender for my top 10 for 2014!
Hahahaha, you’ll know better on the rewatch. It will probably end up in my top 10 as well.
I thought this was pleasant but utterly forgettable.
I can understand that 🙂
I loved this one too. It inspired me to do that grilled cheese for breakfast 😀 Jiro Dreams of Sushi sounds awesome, I love sushi too.
You should watch Jiro, it looks amazing.