Producer, writer, director, actor. Jon Favreau does it all
in “Chef” and he does it well. Although a bit long, this movie is a nuanced
film that’s one of the most heartwarming of the year. Favreau plays Carl
Casper, a talented but burned-out chef in a trendy Los Angeles eatery owned by
Riva (Dustin Hoffman), who recognizes his chef’s talents and frustrations, but
is not interested in a cutting-edge menu, especially when a well-known critic,
Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt), comes to dine. Carl’s clash with the critic, in
which he upbraids the speechless Michel for ruining careers for the sake of
cleverness and not realizing that words hurt, goes viral. And when the
technologically illiterate Carl engages in a public war of words, he becomes a Twitter
sensation and is immediately fired. This is a lengthy set-up for what will
become a cross-country road trip as Carl decides to refurbish a food truck that
he will drive from Miami to Los Angeles with 10-year-old son Percy (a wonderful
Emjay Anthony).
Favreau is good as Carl, but he also has a wonderful
supporting cast. John Leguizamo is his right-hand man and sous-chef along with
Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara (as his ex-wife), Robert Downey Jr. (as Vergara’s
ex-husband), Amy Sedaris is a hysterical bit involving Hell’s Kitchen, and
Scarlett Johansson as Carl’s potential girlfriend. You need not be a foodie to
appreciate the film’s reverence for a good meal. One meticulous scene in
particular, of Carl making a grilled cheese sandwich for his son at home,
underscores the art of cooking. And everyone in the audience audibly oooohed
when he set it in front of Percy. Besides the great culinary scenes are the
sweet moments between father and son and there’s palpable chemistry between
Favreau and young Anthony. There are no surprises or bumps along the way, but
that’s part of what’s so enjoyable about “Chef.” 5/11/14
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