Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Jon Favreau, EmJay Anthony. Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey, Jr.
Distributed by: Open Road Films
Running time: 114 minutes
Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars
This summer, we have huge films like “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and “Godzilla” and then we this little indie film called “Chef”. What is funny is that this film is directed, co-produced, written by and also starring Jon Favreau aka the director of “Iron Man 1 & 2”. He decided to head back to his root ala films like “Made” and “Swingers” and I am so glad he did for a few reasons. The first being that I just love seeing him in front of the camera. When he would appear in his films like “Elf” and the “Iron Man” series, it was a highlight. Second, is that after being so busy with these large Hollywood films, like the character in the film itself, he took a break and went back to doing what he loved originally. I find that very inspiring personally. I absolutely loved this film and I have a feeling it it will be the sleeper hit of the summer.
“Chef” follows Carl Casper (Favreau), who is a head chef at a restaurant owned by guy who doesn’t know how to run a kitchen (Hoffman). After getting into a way on Twitter with one of the biggest food critics (Platt). Carl hits the role with his son (Anthony) and his ex-wife (Vergara) in order to let things cool down and find his love for food again. When he meets up with his ex-wife’s ex-husband (Downey, Jr.) in Miami, he decides to get a food truck from him and hit the roads in order to capture that original feeling that sparked him to be a chef in the first place. He gets to cook whatever he wants, gets to be his own boss and all without having to deal with food critics. As his son and his sous chef (Leguizamo) hit the road from Miami back to California, they may just find exactly what they have been looking for.
I remember rushing out to a little hole in the wall theater in NYC to catch a screening of “Made” and I just remember thinking how much I really loved Favreau and his writing in that film was just amazing. Not that I don’t appreciate his work on blockbusters like “Iron Man”. I just loved this heart warming story and characters that he has created here. They are sweet, funny and at the same time a little edgy. Favreau’s son in the film is played by EmJay Anthony and he is really fantastic. I forsee a star being born here…watch out! Sofía Vergara is very toned down in the film and also her character is very likable. I really enjoyed her role in this film. John Leguizamo is not good but absolutely amazing in this. Funny and yet has a big heart. Topping off this cast are appearances from Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey, Jr (in a small but very key role). I loved every character in this film and every actor did such a stunning job of hitting a home run!
We were lucky privileged to get a chance to actually chat with Jon Favreau and EmJay Anthony at the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, click here to check it out. So, I had a feeling that this was going to be something special. For Favreau’s first indie film in thirteen years, I literally left the theater so happy and quite freaking hungry. I should have started this review with a warning actually. Do not see this film without eating before or during because it is jam packed with amazing food that will literally make your mouth water and your stomach growl. Like I said, I easily see “Chef” being the sleeper hit of the summer, so if you get tired of superheros and giant monsters this month, I highly recommend kicking back and enjoying this really funny and sweet film. Great! Now I am hungry again…can I get Favreau to make me that grilled cheese?!
Hey Mike, Your review made me really wanna see this film!!!