Culinary Stylings

Chef

Way back in 1996, actor/writer/ (and later) director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) seemingly wrote a screenplay that would drastically change the course of not only his career, but the careers of the director of the film (Doug Liman Edge of Tomorrow) and his co-star (Vince Vaughn The Break-Up). The screenplay was for one of the most influential independent films of the mid-90s, called Swingers. How did this film change his career you ask? Well since then Favreau has gone to on to write and direct another critically successful indie, direct one of the most beloved modern Christmas classics (Elf), and direct (and have great influence on) the first in an every growing library of Marvel films. Things have been good for Favreau over the last 20 years. Though, and I may be speaking for myself here, true fans of Favreau’s have always longed for him to find himself back in the indie scene. Last year I got my wish as Favreau writes, directs, and stars in the indie comedy Chef.

Favreau stars as Carl Casper, a highly successful chef in a prestigious Los Angeles restaurant. Casper, however, is mentally troubled by the lack of originality that the owner, Riva (Dustin Hoffman The Graduate), allows him to explore. So when the chance arises to showcase some of his creativity to a snooty food critic, Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt Love & Other Drugs), Riva shuts him down and orders Casper to prepare the same meals that have made the restaurant money. Needless to say, the review did not go well and Casper’s spirit takes a major hit. Casper soon finds out that Michel’s review has been blasted all over Twitter, so Casper joins the social network and starts a war of words with Michel. Casper finally challenges Michel to come back to the restaurant to try what Casper really wanted to cook, but instead Casper is fired by Riva and publicly humiliates himself as a video of him yelling at Michel goes viral. Left with no job and a little bit of dignity, Casper swallows his pride and takes the advice of his ex-wife, Inez (Sofía Vergara Hot Pursuit), and buys a food truck. With a touch of grace and a little bit of humility, Casper must now find why he ultimately became a chef in the first place.

Thank the movie gods, Jon Favreau is back on the indie scene, albeit for one movie, but still pretty awesome. Swingers will always be on my top 10, so as you know his return is awesome for me. Chef has a sense of maturity to it that Swingers and Made do not have. Like Casper in this film, Favreau spent a number of years making a name for himself, and deservedly so, as a premier Hollywood director and has now come back down to his roots. Chef is a wonderful, heartfelt comedy that guides you through a culinary delight.

There are no real stand-outs when it comes to the cast and this is not a bad thing. This entire cast gels so well together which makes the film such a joy to watch. Even though Favreau is the lead, the film just wouldn’t work without the passion that each cast member puts into this movie. Vergara is toned down from her character from Modern Family, Emjay Anthony (who plays Casper’s son) is a cute kid, and even Robert Downey, Jr. (Avengers: Age of Ultron) has small comical part. The fun that this cast had filming this movie pours out on the screen.

What more can I say about Favreau? This film just feels like he took everything he has learned on those large scale/big budget films and applied tidbits to this film, but still keeping the feel of an indie intact. The studio films are going to pay the bills, but I hope that Favreau finds his way back to the indie scene again. He was such a pivotal part of bringing notice to all those diamonds in the rough of the 1990s. Yes, I have a man-crush on Favreau.

This is a film for everyone. Chef is a sweet and funny film that makes you feel so good afterwards. A perfect date movie or for anyone that just wants to relax while enjoying a good movie.

The Verdict: Worth Your Time (On Netflix now).