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
