Eat With Me (Au, 2014)

Last updated on: April 29, 2015 at 3:13 pm by Kenneth R. Morefield

Eat With Me (Au, 2014) 2015-04-29T15:13:46-05:00 Kenneth R. Morefield

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Photo Courtesy of Wolfe Video

I probably should have liked Eat With Me more than I did.

What with its earnest, uncloseted gay (and ethnic) protagonist, its traditional mother who is not too set in her ways to learn (and ethnic), and its (ethnic) foodie sensibilities, Eat With Me practically falls over itself in its eagerness to please.

The film starts with Emma (Sharon Omi) in bed, disgusted by her snoring husband. He wakes up just long enough to scream and cut off his wedding band with a pair of pliers. She walks out on him.

Her temporary landing spot is with her son Elliot (Teddy Chen Culver). He takes her in, but there is wariness on both sides. His restaurant is behind on the mortgage, and he doesn’t like sharing his problems with anyone. The set up is pure sitcom, but give the film some points for treading lightly. Each has to learn to be a little more open with the other.

One interesting aspect of the film is that mother and son are more willing to learn indirectly, from others. Maureen (Nicloe Sullivan) talks with Emma about being a friend to a male whom one is not involved with. Emma also meets George (George Takei) in the park. His easy openness about his sexuality allows him to be more blunt with her than Elliot ever could be, pushing her past some of the cultural barriers to open communication.

For Elliot’s part, he is more at ease talking with a new boyfriend he’s just had sex with than with friends, family, and coworkers who are already enmeshed in his life.

Implicit in the mother-son detente is, I suppose, an implied comparison between Elliot’s relationships and Emma’s. Is Emma’s relationship with her husband better simply by virtue of being traditional? Does Elliot really not believe (or see) that his casual sexuality (gay or straight) is related to his trust issues?

Photo Courtesy of Wolfe VIdeo

As is the case with some better movies, food becomes both a metaphor for intimacy and sex. But the film is never really sensual in the same way as, say, Eat Drink Man Woman or even Big Night. (I might even argue there is some latent sensuality in Babette’s Feast.) I don’t know if this is because I wasn’t in tune with the film’s message or whether director David Au doesn’t have the same technical ability to shoot the cooking scenes. One possible answer: the film tries so hard to be matter of fact about Elliot’s gayness that it ends up being matter of fact about sex. Another possible answer: eroticism is about where familiarity, safety, and intimacy are in tension with passion, danger,and uncertainty. The film spends so much time positioning David and Emma to take baby steps towards domestic acceptance that it fails to make either character interesting apart from the tensions over Elliot’s sexuality.

Eat With Me (★★) is a fairly conventional film that perhaps has the virtue of a cast of characters that underserved audience demographics might relate to more easily than they would were this same story told with…I don’t know, Diane Keaton and Andrew Garfield.

The film will be available through VOD on May 2 and on DVD in June.

Check out the trailer below:

Previous Post

April 27, 2015

Above and Beyond: Exclusive Deleted Scene and Interview with Nancy Spielberg

Next Post

April 29, 2015 Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005) -- Ten Years Later

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Years Later 1999 Top 5 2007 Top 10 2008 Favorite Discoveries 2008 Top 10 2009 Favorite Discoveries 2009 Top 10 2010 Favorite Discoveries 2010 Top 10 2011 Top 10 2012 Top Ten 2013 Top Ten 2014 Top Ten Best Picture Winners Christian Spotlight on Entertainment Christianity Today Coming Soon Disclosure Disclosure--AS Disclosure--Book Disclosure--DVDS Disclosure--SEOL Disclosure--Travel Dissenting Opinion Elsewhere Emergenetics Essays Featured Film Fest DC--2014 Film Festivals Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2014 Headline Interviews Laura on the Oscar Winners Podcasts Quick Impressions Reviews RiverRun Film Festival 2014 Television The Criterion Collection The Thin Place To Stream or Not to Stream? Top 10s and Other Lists Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2012 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Uncategorized Video Virginia Film Festival 2011 Virginia Film Festival 2013 Women's Film Festival 2012

Select a Month February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Apocalypse" mean in Greek?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Revelation or unveiling End of world Wrath Redemption