Chef

I can't help feeling that this movie is not only about a chef finding himself, but it's also about lead actor/director Jon Favreau trying to get back in touch with the kind of films he used to make -- small ones without guys wearing super-suits or cowboys drawing down on aliens. Here, Favreau's Carl Casper quits his big Iron Restaurant job and rediscovers himself, and his passion for food and family, by running a Chef-sized food truck. Results: excellent.

Films like this can be lost if the wrong kid is cast. Emjay Anthony is the right kid. He's great as Percy. I particularly enjoyed the way the film handled Percy's internet-savviness, and how he used it. John Leguizamo is a great fit as Carl's friend and sous-chef. Sofia Vergara as Carl's ex- wife is, as usual, capable and stunning.

See Chef, and bear witness as a good filmmaker continues his journey to becoming a great one.

I'm no foodie but I really enjoyed this road-trip / father-son / buddy movie, written directed by and starring Jon Favreau, based on the recent life and times of a perfectionist chef who struggles to suppress his own innovation to the demands of his conservative paymaster boss. More than this, he gets involved in a spat with the town's number 1 food critic, sees his relationship with his son founder under pressure of work and still pines after his glamorous and super-rich ex-wife.

There's not much more to the story than that and I feared for all the anticipated parental-bonding scenes I would see the second I clapped eyes on his flop-haired 10 year old son but I was very pleasantly surprised to be engaged by this lighthearted, fast-moving, feel-good movie, right up to the predictable happy ending for all concerned.

With a busy but enjoyable soundtrack of soul and salsa in the background, nice realistic acting by all the leads right down to son Percy and of course lots of scrumptious shots of freshly made food, this movie certainly mixed its ingredients together well, delivering in the end a most palatable dish.

Perhaps the star-power cameos were a little unnecessary, maybe the father-son stuff did get a little hokey at times and the wraparound happy ending did seem somewhat forced but on the whole I found this a very watchable and occasionally funny movie which more than whetted my appetite for a decent Saturday night stay-in movie.

Jon Favreau's pet project, after a decade of big budget, heavy-on-special-effects, blockbusters and fantasy fair, is as charming as they come. The film follows a master chef (played by Favreau) whose career is derailed and, as a last resort, opens a food truck and drives across country with his young son and his sous-chef, played by John Leguizamo, selling Cubano sandwiches. Along the way, we're treated to food-porn at its best and introduced to a cast of characters that would make Woody Allen blush: Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansen, and a slew of other familiar faces.

This is still a far cry from 'Swingers' - the film that began the plague that is Vince Vaughn and managed to charm every straight man in America - but the man knows how to make a light comedy with clever dialogue that doesn't feel frivolous. This is far from indie/art-house but Favreau was candid in saying that he had no desire to make a cinematic contribution, he simply fell in love with the premise, ran with it, and the result brought the house down.

A very enjoyable film, fun storyline, great acting, and an amazing soundtrack. Loved the journey and genuinely felt invested in the characters and story.

As I've been exposing myself to new types of movies and different filmmakers, I sometimes feel like I'm trying new food. CHEF, directed by and starring Jon Favreau, was a delightful little indie "dish" and an immensely satisfying treat. It's about a chef, Carl Casper (Favreau), who works for this French restaurant. One night a critic (Oliver Platt) comes in and later posts a scathing review on Twitter that goes viral. Carl, a little bit new to social media, inadvertently starts a flame war with the critic and challenges him to come back because he'll cook the menu he wanted to cook the first time around. Things don't end up going so well, and Carl leaves his job as chef and takes his ex-wife's (Sofia Vergara) advice about starting a food truck. Narratively, the film is somewhat divided. The first third or so is more of a traditional "food" movie with some relationship drama thrown in, but at a critical point the film shifts gears into a road trip movie. Structure aside, I thought that they did a great job balancing the food aspects (which looked amazing) and the character relationships. The key relationship is between Carl and his son, who comes along with him on his food truck journey. It was really great to see how the relationship changed and improved over the course of the film. Something should also be said for the cast. Although most of them have relatively small roles, Favreau was able to call in some favors and get Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, John Leguizamo and Sofia Vergara to appear here. Even though most of these people only appear in the first half when Carl works at the restaurant (and are therefore dropped once the narrative switches gear), it was still nice to see them. I thought they all gave excellent performances, even for such small roles. The only iffy member of the cast was the boy who plays Carl's son who, at times, seemed like a blank slate. Maybe that was intentional? I don't know, but he also is a child actor so I won't make too big a deal out of it. The only other aspect of the movie I find fault with is the way in which the film ends, which I won't spoil here. All I'll say about it is that it was a little TOO nice and clean. That being said, I thought that CHEF really worked on an emotional level. Overall, it might not be the best film I've ever seen, but it had a feelgood atmosphere, great dialogue and some great cooking. Bon appetit!