5/22/14

Chef

My taste buds have been tingling every since I watched that first scene in the restaurant kitchen; this one is a "foodie's" paradise! Mouth-watering food, dazzlingly expert preparation and irresistible presentation make it almost pornographic: I wanted the address of that restaurant! Of course when a witty food critic trashes the place, everything comes to a head (I won't tell you how it happens): our chef is fired by his father, who owns the place, so reluctantly he hits the road for Miami, where he ventures into his own business with a food truck.

Producer/writer/director Jon Favreau ("Iron Man") brings us:
  • Jon Favreau ("Identity Thief") as Carl, the poor fellow we are rooting for. We want him to bond with his son, mend his fences with his ex, and find his way to success.
  • Emjay Anthony ("It's Complicated") is Percy, a son who really misses his dad. He's a good kid, a hard worker and a willing apprentice chef. And does he ever know how to use Twitter!
  • Robert Downey Jr. ("The Avengers") plays Marvin, who used to be married to our hero's ex wife. (Ya got that straight?) He's a little odd, but then again, he has a used food truck for sale, so...
  • John Leguizamo ("Ride Along") is Martin, a guy who loves to work with Carl. He knows how to make Cubanos, and they are the perfect sandwich for a food truck! (They sure LOOK yummy!)
  • Scarlett Johansson ("Don Jon") brings us Molly; she has her hands full as hostess at the restaurant when they have a full house and no chef!
  • Oliver Platt ("Lucky Them") plays Ramsey Michel, the restaurant critic, a fellow who enjoys entertaining his readers with his acerbic wit, with absolutely no thought to the careers he ruins. I LOVE Carl's rant about how hard people work in restaurants.
This is a road movie, with father and son traveling from Miami to Los Angeles in the food truck. Dad has a lot to learn about social networking and the son has to learn how to use the grill.

The R-rating must be for some of the language, but I can assure you there is very little profanity, absolutely no vehicular mayhem, no sexual situations, no gunshots and no blowie uppie stuff...although there IS that little bit with the corn starch... These people are decent law-abiding folks who even get permits when they sell their sandwiches. This is just FUN!
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Here's a little nibble:
http://www.imdb.com/video/epk/vi2927930649/
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