SVS: “Chef”

Last updated on: August 28, 2015 at 1:14 pm by Joseph Susanka

SVS: “Chef” 2015-08-28T13:14:26-06:00 Joseph Susanka

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Today’s recommendation is currently streaming on NETFLIX INSTANT, AMAZON INSTANT($), YOUTUBE($), and OTHERS($), and is a small-scale, off-beat charmer from a major Hollywood director probably best known for his string of Marvel Mega-Hits. No, I’m not talking about Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing (though that’s certainly worth watching and on NETFLIX INSTANT). I’m talking about Jon Favreau and Chef.

A chef who loses his restaurant job starts up a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family.

Let’s just get something out of the way right off the bat: This is not a complex film. And it’s not without flaws. The story’s astonishingly straightforward — almost drama-less, really, after the first few minutes. The acting’s uneven — Favreau’ superb and Leguizamo and Cannavale match him stride for stride, but the boy’s a bit odd, Hoffman’s just playing himself, and both Johansson and Vegara felt off to me. And the finale is abrupt and a trifle under-cooked– gratifying, yes; yet on’e can’t help but feel it’s a bit too tidy/unearned.

There. Got all the criticisms out of the way up front. Because I don’t every want to talk about them again. They don’t matter. Not really. Because Chef’s fantastic in spite of them. (If someone saw this and told me they didn’t like it because there wasn’t enough There there, I wouldn’t argue with them. I’d just be sad that it didn’t capture them. Because it’s very, very charming. And sweet-hearted. And insightful, in it’s fairly predictable, low-stakes way. Particularly about the social media stuff. And the struggles of being a parent, even when — or maybe especially when you’ve made huge mistakes.)

Chef3 I’m not sure I can quite pin down the reason why I found this film so lovable, though I suspect it is mostly Favreau’s fault. Lots of wonderful little moments — charming little morsels, one might say — in both his performance and in his direction. And while my friend Steven Greydanus is right in saying that the film is (perhaps) a little too eager to please, he’s even more right in saying that “I watched pretty much the whole second half of this movie with a smile on my face.” That was me, to an absolute “T.” Because despite its predictable, mostly-drama-free story, it’s a charming, joyful little film.

Also, it’s a film that really loves food. Really, really loves food. And so do I; so do I. So that’s probably part of why it was such a good fit for me. Mostly, though, I think it’s the stuff with Carl Casper and his son. (As someone who thinks about superheros and superhero films a bit more than I probably should, I was struck by the fact that Casper’s name conforms to the classic superhero rule of Alliterative Naming that Stan Lee loves so much. Coincidence, coming from a guy who’s been steeped in superhero-dom? Probably. But I hope not.)

It’s a little salty (at times). And a little crass (in spots). But that just made it feel real to me (perhaps because my image of big-time chef-work is so heavily influenced by the Gordon Ramsays of the world). Most real of all, though, were Favreau’s awkward (and wonderful) efforts to finally get to know his son. Very, very real stuff there. (Speaking of Favreau, it was impossible to ignore the ways in which the film felt like a reflection on his own artistic arc. Wunderkind who moves from visionary stuff to paying the bills, only to realize that he needs to get back to his smaller, more human ways in order to find his spark once again. …and also, of course, to eventually get back to the blockbusters. Just with a renewed artistic vision.)

One Final Note: If you don’t love the soundtrack, I’m not sure we can be friends.

Attribution(s): All posters, publicity images, and stills are the property of Sony Pictures and other respective production studios and distributors.

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