Tag: cooking

YOU, ME & TUSCANY – Review

With Spring in full bloom, are you hoping that love (at least on the big screen) is also blossoming? For those fans of romantic flicks with a healthy dose of comedy (maybe more swoony passion than yuks), 2026 hasn’t been much of a harvest. REMINDERS OF HIM really leans into melodramatic tragedy. And then there’s last week’s big release, THE DRAMA, which starts with the old reliable “meet cute” with lots of chemistry between the two leads, then takes a very sharp “turn” into the dark, almost “pitch black”, squirmy, sardonic. Where are the exotic locales, and the smouldering looks of desire between two likable, extremely photogenic actors? Well, right now. You can tag along, via the multiplex, to a far-off fantasy destination as the “seat mate” to YOU, ME & TUSCANY. Just be prepared for a “pasta-palooza”.


Ah, but the opening scene locale is right here in the States, the “Big Apple”. Lovely twenty-something Anna (Hallie Bailey) seems to “have it all” as she sashays through NYC. But we soon find out that all is not what it seems. She’s adrift, making a meager living as a housesitter. Her plans to be a chef were squelched when her mother passed, and she couldn’t graduate from a swank culinary college. Luckily, her BFF Claire (Aziza Scott) can score her a room at the high-end hotel where she works. At their bar, Anna strikes up a conversation with a charming Italian visitor named Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor). Over many drinks, he tells her that he travels the globe, while leaving his family’s opulent Tuscan villa empty. Anna mentions that she and Mom had planned an Italian trip and still has the unused airline ticket. Matteo tells her that she must make the trip soon. When jet lag gets the better of him, Anna does a “phone drop’ and gets the pics of his “crib”. Of course, she heads to Tuscany without a plan. And it’s the time of the big Summer festival, so every room is booked. Aha, since Matteo’s place is empty, why not “crash’ for a couple days. Anna finds the house keys and, after a night’s slumber, does some “exploring”. She finds a gorgeous ring…and it’s stuck on her finger. As she tries to remove it, she’s “caught” by Matteo’s Mama (Isabella Ferrari) and Nonna (Stefania Casini), who have dropped by to clean the place. As Anna sputters an explanation, they spot the ring. She must be his fiancée! Anna goes along with the “fib” in the hope she can sneak out of town soon and fly back home. But things get complicated when the family warmly embraces her (this means Matteo will finally return to them). And then things get “super-complicated” when Anna meets Matteo’s dashing, gorgeous wine-making brother/cousin Michael (Rege’-Jean Page). Should she risk sticking around and hope that she’s not exposed as a fraud? Oh, but there’s a real spark with that “grape-grower.”


I think I alluded to the charm and “pleasant presence” of the two leads earlier. Getting most of the screen time (well, it’s really her story) is the bubbly Bailey, who easily gets the audience on her side despite some questionable decisions as Anna. She’s adept as the “straight” to many of the often silly supporting players, while showing her budding attraction to the splendid Page, whose engaging smile often masks the hurt of loss and loneliness. Of course, he’s initially brash and caustic to Anna when they meet, but the “icy wall” slowly melts away. Much of the cast is there to “punch up” the comedy, and though often they “land” a few. The best “boxer” might be Scott, who’s the “sounding board” for Anna’s ideas while trying to “ground her” while playfully tossing the “B word” (y’know, the lady canine). Matteo is an engaging “cad” thanks to the character choices from de Boor. The first ‘local” in Anna’s “corner” is a most helpful taxi driver played with an endearing sense of fun by Marco Calvani. And then there’s the “familia”. Ferrari warmly embraces Anna, almost from the start, while Casini elicits laughs with her suspicious glances and feisty spirit. Stella Pecollo really “goes for it” as the bubbly free-spirited Francesca, quick with a slapstick leer. Grounding them all is the stern, stoic patriarch played by the intimidating Paolo Sassanelli.


Guiding this group is director Kat Corio, a TV vet who last scored in features with the J. Lo vehicle MARRY ME. This is a bit of a step up from the ludicrous premise of that one, but she often hits the comedy beats too hard with this, leaning in hard with mugging clos-ups and clumsy physical schtick. She does better in the quieter scenes of Anna falling for Michael, although Corio uses the tired cliche of the leads bonding during a long montage, their dialogue replaced by a forgettable pop tune. Ah, well, the target audience for this isn’t looking for realism, but fantasy fluff. And it’s got that to spare, along with the dazzling location and drool-inspiring cuisine (Matteo’s family runs the big restaurant). So, we’ve got both travel and food “porn” here. And lots of cute, colorful sitcom tropes. especially middle-aged lady tourists leering at a shirtless Page (as Slappy Squirrel used to say< “Now, that’s comedy”). Really, this is a pasta-fueled big -budget expansion of so many basic cable TV flicks (minus the holiday themes) that coast on the locales and the charm of the leads. Fans of this kind of “comfort food” will certainly feel full afterward, while anyone looking for anything more substantial will be famished by the “lighter than air” frivolity of YOU, ME & TUSCANY.

1.5 Out of 4

YOU, ME & TUSCANY is now playing in theatres everywhere

THE TASTE OF THINGS – Review

Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel in THE TASTE OF THINGS. Courtesy of IFC

Warning: Don’t see this film hungry! Delicious shots of delicious food in a luscious landscape fill the French romantic drama THE TASTE OF THINGS but it is the perfect Valentine’s Day movie, particularly if you are a foodie, or a romantic. A visually luscious film starring Juliette Binoche, the story centers on two people who express their love for each other and for fine food, by cooking together. Set in 1889 in an old rural manor house, THE TASTE OF THINGS creates a beautiful dreamworld in the French countryside where the abundance of the land provides all they need. THE TASTE OF THINGS is a feast for both the eyes and the hungry heart, with the bonus of the Oscar-winning Juliette Binoche. It was the official Oscar entry for France.

It all begins in the garden, of course, where cook Eugenie (Juliette Binoche) is harvesting vegetables for the day’s meals. Back in the kitchen, she is joined by Dodin (Benoit Magimel), the gourmand owner of the manor house, and the two immediately set to cooking, side-by-side and nearly wordlessly, as equals, with the ease of long familiarity.

The large country kitchen looks like something out of period still-life paintings, with gleaming copper pots, big cast iron stoves, well-worn wooden tables, and the garden’s produce arranged in pleasing vignettes around the kitchen. Eugenie has worked for Dodin for decades, and they work together seamlessly, like long-time dance partners moving through familiar but beloved routines. Dodin has been in love with Eugenie for years, and although the two are lovers as well as partners in the kitchen, she has steadfastly refused his offers of marriage. Why she refuses is not entirely clear, but maintaining her sense of independence maybe part of it.

Eugenie’s assistant Violette (Galatéa Bellugi) has brought her young niece Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire) into the kitchen, a girl interested in learning to cook, and as Dodin and Eugenie work, Dodin explains to science behind the art of cooking – gastronomy. The newcomer gives us the chance to learn about cooking techniques, but Dodin’s regular dinners with his four gourmand friends allow us to listen in on their conversations as well, which often touch on the history of gastronomy. In these lively discussions, we hear about the evolution of French cuisine and the traditions of fine dining, and a great deal about the famous chefs Antonin Carême, who helped create French cuisine, and Auguste Escoffier, who followed a generation later, and whose book on French cooking is the chef’s bible to this day.

Dodin’s and Eugenie’s life of delicious meals in lovely rustic settings, surrounded by friends, is interrupted by a health scare, as Eugenie experiences alarming fainting spells, which prompts worried Dodin to redouble his pleas to her to marry him. Eugenie waves off both the proposal and concerns about her health, saying she feels fine. Dodin, determined to make her rest and hoping to woo her, does something he has not done before. He cooks for her, and even serves her, bringing her dish after delicious dish.

The story is deeply romantic but with its bittersweet side, and the film further charms us with its lushly green landscapes, stately old stone house, and wonderful exploration of the art and science of haute cuisine against a backdrop of friends gathered around the dining table. The romantic story and its idyllic historical setting soothes us, and immersion in their world of the kitchen, with the tidbits of French culinary history, completes the magical spell the film casts. Juliette Binoche is wonderful as the middle-aged cook, a down-to-earth woman who is still a true artist in the kitchen. Her scenes with Benoit Magimel are delightful, and the two actors have wonderful chemistry (and the pair do have an romantic history). Handsome Benoit Magimel is charming as Dodin, a man who loves everything about food and the culinary arts, almost as much as he loves his cook with whom he shares the joy of cooking.

This lovely film is so immersed in everything French that it is a bit surprising that the director, Tran Anh Hung, was not born in France. The director was born in Vietnam but has lived in France since 1975, and studied filmmaking in Paris at l’École Nationale Louis Lumière. His most recent film, before this one, was the French-language ETERNITY (2016), starring Audrey Tautou, Berenice Bejo and Melanie Laurent.

In addition to director Tran, the film also has a gastronomic director, Pierre Gagnaire, which is pretty much essential in a film so much about the love of fine cooking. The film has no music, except at the very end, but the soundtrack is filled with the sounds of cooking – the sizzle of meat in the pan, the chopping of vegetables, the crack of eggs, and the bang of spoons and whisks in those gorgeous copper metal pots.

THE TASTE OF THINGS is a perfect relaxing escape for foodies, romantics, and Francophiles, with the great Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel whipping up romance and gourmet dishes in a classic French country manor setting. Although there is some heartbreak

, it is hard to imagine a more perfect Valentine’s Day date movie drama.

THE TASTE OF THINGS, in French with English subtitles, opens Friday, Feb. 9, in theaters.

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars

JULIA – Review

Julia Child in Cheese & Wine Party. Photograph by Paul Child. © Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Julia Child is a name nearly everyone recognizes, if for nothing else than she has been so often affectionately parodied as the smiling middle-age woman with the high-pitched voice fearlessly wielding a cleaver on a TV cooking show, and carrying on no matter what happens in her live-TV show. But the late Julia Child was much more, a transformative figure in how American women regarded cooking, the woman who launched a thousand cooking shows (at least!), a bestselling author, a ground-breaker against ageism and sexism, and someone who led a remarkable life by any measure.

JULIA is co-directors Julia Cohen’s and Betsy West’s affectionate, food-filled documentary about this towering figure (literally and figuratively) in American cooking, a documentary that makes a convincing case that Julia Child changed how cooking was perceived in America, changing it from a chore to a creative joy.

This is not West and Cohen’s first documentary about an iconic, ground-breaking woman, as the pair also directed RBG, the excellent 2018 documentary about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

Julia Child had a fascinating life on so many levels, and ground-breaking on many levels as well. The first woman accepted into Paris’ Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, a bestselling author with her cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” and a TV star at age 50 with her long-running PBS cooking show, there much to enjoy and amaze in JULIA. While Julia Child was the subject of an earlier narrative film JULIE AND JULIA, in which Meryl Streep played Child and Stanley Tucci played her diplomatic-service husband Paul Child, this documentary more fully (and accurately) explores some of the intriguing aspects of her personal life that film revealed, and adds in some much more lesser-known sides of her life and career, in a fine, informative and well-crafted documentary.

JULIA mixes interviews with family, friends, and experts and archival stills and footage, and alternates that with lush, mouth-watering cooking segments, making the documentary a feast for the eyes as well as affectionate, in-depth tour of its subject’s life and career.

Julia Child did not grow up with cooking. She grew up in a wealthy, Republican, conservative California family, as one of three tall children, all over 6 feet. Julia was expected to follow the traditional path of affluent women of her era, to marry and settle down to a country-club life, but Julia longed for adventure. When World War II broken out, she signed up for military service, where her typing skills landed her in the OSS, precursor to the CIA, which sent her to the Far East. There she met her husband Paul, who was doing diplomatic work while serving overseas. Paul Child, a decade older, introduced her to a wider view of the world and a love of food.

If you love cooking shows, you owe a debt to Julia Child, who created the first one after she gave a quick cooking demonstration on a PBS show for authors while promoting her cookbook “The Art of French Cooking.” The documentary delves into how Julia Child’s bubbly personality and enthusiasm for cooking transformed American attitudes on what had been regarded as a chore to be dispensed with as quickly as possible with frozen dinners and canned vegetables, changing it into a form of creative expression and entertainment. Key to that was her insistence that during that author’s interview on public television show she would cook an omelet on TV as she talked. It was something never done before, and audiences clamored for more.

Julia launched her PBS cooking show as live TV, which meant anything could happen – and they did. Part of her appeal to audiences was her unflappable, good-natured humor in dealing with kitchen mishaps, turning them into teachable moments for how to cope when thing go a bit wrong in the kitchen. What’s more, Child launched this show when she was 50, at a time when you never saw an ordinary-looking, middle-aged woman on TV, making her an unintentional ground-breaker against sexism and ageism simultaneously.

Much of what Julia Child accomplished is impressive, and her unlikely personal life and life-long love affair with husband Paul makes for a warm romantic touch. The documentary also covers some less familiar facts, giving a warts-and-all look at her life and career, although always with a sympathetic eye. One of the lesser known details is her transformation in attitude on gays, from traditional conservative views to a staunch supporter in the fight against AIDS, one of the many admirable if less known parts of her life that this fine documentary spotlights.

JULIA serves up a well-rounded exploration of Julia Child’s long career and life, and does so in a charming, affectionate way, The documentary JULIA is sure to charm and impress audiences as much as its subject Julia Child did.

JULIA opens in theaters on Nov. 19

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

CHEF (2014) – The Blu Review

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The Movie on its own merit…

There are some experiences that, while not life changing, are life reaffirming and leave an impression not easily forgotten. Arguably, the best kinds of these experiences are the ones that are fully unexpected. Being caught off guard, leaving the unmistakable mark of joy stretched across one’s face. Moments that make us smile, spontaneously. I am reminded of the very first time I had an authentic Cuban sandwich, which happened to be off a food truck in Austin, Texas. Watching Jon Favreau’s newest film, CHEF, is the cinematic equivalent.

From the filmmaker who MADE (2001) an independent first impression, immortalized Will Ferrell as a holiday staple in ELF (2003) and realized the IRON MAN trilogy on the big screen, its refreshing to see writer and director Jon Favreau returning to his smaller, indie roots with CHEF. Favreau also stars as the film’s central character, Carl Casper, a Los Angeles based chef of notoriety struggling with finding his culinary identity under the oppressive control of restauranteur Riva, playfully illustrated by Dustin Hoffman. Affectionately referred to by those dear to him as “El Jefe,” Carl has a falling out with Riva after a devastating review by acclaimed food blogger Ramsey Michel, played with restrained confidence by Oliver Platt. Carl now reflects on his life and career, while stumbling through attempts to reconnect with his son Percy, played by Emjay Anthony.

At a loss for direction or opportunity after his very public celebrity outburst, captured and made viral by social media, Carl takes the advice of his ex-wife Inez (played by Sofia Vergara) and builds a business from the ground up. Carl reluctantly accepts the help of Inez’s other ex-husband Marvin (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) who sets him up with a fixer-upper food truck, which he quickly converts into an authentic taste of Little Havana on wheels. With the help of his former protege Martin (played by John Leguizamo), and his son Percy, Carl dubs the food truck El Jefe and the three out on a cross country road trip from Miami to Los Angeles, stopping in city after city making simple, quality Cuban food as Percy secretly used the very social media outlets that burned his father to raise him up from the ashes and become the underdog phoenix of the food world once again.

Favreau allows himself to break out of his mold a bit in this role, clearly showing a touch of personal sentimentality. Between his performance and his uncharacteristically full quaff, viewers may not recognize him at first, but will be pleasantly surprised. Favreau evokes a level and range of emotion that is believable and down to earth. His chemistry with his supporting cast is equally compelling as the cast lineup itself. From the scenes in the kitchen of Riva’s restaurant along side sous-chef Tony (played by Bobby Cannavale) to his casual friend with benefits relationship with hostess Molly (played by Scarlett Johansson) the interaction of characters is witty and fresh. The cameo roles in the film, which also includes Amy Sedaris and Russell Peters, are all played with a bit more of their tongues in cheek, adding a welcome and easily palatable flavor of fun to the film.

CHEF presents a topic of growing interest with food trucks, through the perspective of a culture often absent or misrepresented in film, adding humor and tastefully developed family drama without getting cheesy or overwrought. Favreau has made a film that honors the working class, promotes a realistic interpretation of modern family dynamics with a strong moral underpinning without getting preachy, while also commenting quite cleverly on the state of interpersonal communication through social media. Its as if Favreau himself decided to take a step back from all the big budget, high technology stress of Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking to decompress and reconnect with life by way of making a small, independent film with a solid story of human connection absent of gadgets and the Internet.

In addition to the well-written script and the array of familiar faces, CHEF also showcases some pretty spectacular snippets of music that add even more to that cultural flair that lives within the underlying theme of reconnecting to one’s family and roots. From the expected ode to Cuban music, both overlaid and on screen, to familiar favorites and live indie performances including Gary Clark, Jr. in Austin, CHEF is as much a music lover’s film as it is a film for foodies.

Technicalities & Extra Stuff

With all good things comes a catch, or so they say, and the one singular complaint about this home media release of CHEF is that the audio appeared to be poorly mastered. I found myself repeatedly adjusting the volume between dialogue scenes and the louder, more vibrant musically endowed scenes. This is rare, for someone like myself who watches as many films as I do and puts my surround sound through such rigorous routines, I ruled out the issue being my home theater technology. With that said, getting past this technological fault is easy to do given the pleasure of watching the film.

CHEF is presented in a Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD with Ultraviolet combo on a single disc with a slip cover. Bonus features are limited, including the always candid feature commentary of writer/director Jon Favreau along side chef/co-producer Roy Choi, and the ever present and simply stated “deleted scenes” that serves a mostly questionable purpose and interest — most of the time — in my personal opinion.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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