Chef

Film (2014)

With Jon Favreau (Carl Casper), John Leguizamo (Martin), Bobby Cannavale (Tony), Emjay Anthony (Percy), Scarlett Johansson (Molly), Dustin Hoffman (Riva), Sofía Vergara (Inez), Oliver Platt (Ramsey Michel), Amy Sedaris (Jen), Robert Downey Jr. (Marvin)

Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is a chef at an upscale restaurant owned by Riva (Dustin Hoffman). Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt), the fearsome noted food blogger is to appear and there is grave dispute about what to serve him – the old favorites or something new. Owner and chef stand on opposite sides of the question which leads to a departure and the unfolding of the rest of the buddy road-trip story. Carl, along with his trusty sous-chef Martin (John Leguizamo) and Percy (Emjay Anthony) his young son, takes to the highway and to an entirely new and different food destiny. Carl’s amazingly friendly and compliant ex, Inez (Sofia Vergara), is there at every turn to offer support.

This is a perfectly pleasant little amuse buche, completely unlikely in many respects, but endearing in its own way.

The story is not particularly new – a somewhat irascible chef runs up against the powers that be, and art and commerce come to blows. We have seen something like this before in the charming Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhardt vehicle No Reservations (2007), with a similar narrative trajectory.

This is an earnest, do it on your own story, and the combination of characters supporting the I gotta be me theme works quite well.

Favreau’s schlumpy Chef Carl makes for an offbeat romantic lead of the sort the late, great James Gandolfini brought forth in his parting performance with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said (2013).

Favreau, who has a determined but also slightly lumbering demeanor, has wisely chosen a bunch of snappy sidekicks to keep things moving along.

Emjay Anthony as Percy, his son, is watchful, earnest and appealingly enthusiastic as the filial sidekick, and the unexpected media specialist, in the new venture. John Leguizamo as Martin, the trusty sidekick, is energetic and gutsy. Sofia Vergara as Inez, the gone away but not really spouse, is wonderfully over the top in almost every way. In a sweet cameo, Scarlett Johannson as Molly, the restaurant’s hostess, adds her special brand of warmth and sultry charm.

Favreau’s style is generally loose. Much of the film seems to have improvised dialogue and so has a casual, not very watertight, feel to it. For example, at one point, Casper explodes at the food blogger, Michel, saying how much his critical words hurt. Though dramatic, it is not very believable, and the outburst seems more like an improvised rant rather than something worked over beforehand.

The big question is how Carl gets on so brilliantly with his lovely ex, Inez (Sofia Vergara)? We don’t get any real back story except that, after divorcing him, she married and then divorced Marvin, played typically spicily, but in very short order, by Robert Downey Jr. Casper’s and Inez’s son is not that old, so she has really been on the move. What makes for their unbelievably supportive relationship? That is the real mystery in the film, as is how they make it all work out in the end.

Food lovers should definitely go to see this film. There are enough scenes of sizzling this and that to keep one’s palate entertained, and the combination of haute cuisine and down home sandwich making is great. It’s right out of the Anthony Bourdain prayer book and implicitly conveys the sense that culinary quality can manifest itself at any level.

Poor Dustin Hoffman does his best to present the heavy, Riva the restaurant owner, as a reasonable person, but there isn’t enough subtlety in the script to really allow that. The level of the narrative seems much more attuned to the beautifully ditzy charm of Sofia Vergara, who, in extremis of slinky allure, mushy affection, and maternal and ex-spousal warmth, fits right in. Oliver Platt, as the despised critic, appears a couple of times, and weighs in smartly in both instances, adding, with some of Favreau’s more delicate directorial seasonings, a nice touch.

This is light fare, tasty enough, with nothing particularly indigestible, nor anything exceedingly nutritious.

– BADMan