Aldamisa Entertainment, Kilburn Media,
Jon Favreau, Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr
Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is a chef. He’s always been a chef, but now he’s starting feel cramped. He works for Riva (Dustin Hoffman) who insists that he server his menu and Carl has no room to be creative anymore. But when he has a run in with food blogger, Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt) he ends up getting fired. His ex-wife Inez (Sophia Vergara) thinks he ought to get a food truck, but he’s not even considering that, until things get really desperate and he has to find his heart again.
This is a very good little film, funny in parts and very touching in other parts. The key to this film is the cast, as every single one of them is really good, and it’s quite an ensemble. The humor is right on target, and the situation is rather unique and quite fitting in these days of dozens of cooking shows on TV. If you think the food critic’s name is Ramsey Michel by accident, I’m certain it wasn’t! The cast really dives into this script and everyone delivers at top notch. I found the time flying by, and I thought after it was over how much I enjoyed the time I spent watching this. Everyone in the large ensemble cast is really good, and every one of them is very well cast. Each one adds to the enjoyment. This is a small part for Dustin Hoffman, but he really adds a great deal to the enjoyment of the film. This is perhaps the best fun I’ve had watching him since “Hook”. The relationship between Carl and Inez is hysterical too, with much of that due to Sophia’s characterization. It’s spot on. Every now and then you find one of these little films that didn’t gather much momentum and it’s a real pleasure to get to find one of those. The screenplay was superb, very well written and directed, and the settings in the south from Miami to New Orleans to Texas and so on were really fun. All in all it was a pleasure to watch this film. I’m not really sure why it pulled the R rating. That seems a bit harsh, but perhaps there was some language in there that didn’t catch my attention, but this is more grown up humor anyway and probably not as much fun for the younger folk. If you are in the mood for an intelligent comedy with a great cast, I can recommend this one for you!
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
