Chef

I see a lot of movies every year.

But sometimes life gets in the way and I don't have the time or funds to make it to every single film that reaches the theater. In fact, I probably miss more films than I see, but I try to catch most of the biggest and best ones.

Every year though, there is that one (or sometimes two) films that escapes my viewing pleasure and really bums me out. This was certainly the case in 2014 and the film even won a Rath Award for "Best Film I Didn't See".

Obviously, I'm talking about Chef. I'm not sure exactly of the circumstances that surrounded me missing it. I know that part of it is because I'm very anal about the chronological order of my "New Movie Review" portion of the site and by the time it came to a theater near me, I deemed it "too late". It had a decent amount of positive buzz, but what killed me most was that it seemed to be a film that stuck with people throughout the year as I saw it in numerous Top 10 lists from my friends and peers who also review movies.

In the immortal words of Gob Bluth I realized, "I've made a huge mistake" and I immediately made it my goal to put Chef at the top of my "catch-up" list. Luckily, Netflix must have heard my calling and uploaded it in early February so I caught it ASAP with a couple of my friends and my girlfriend (who was another driving factor as she had already seen it and loved it).

Glad I saw this one as fast as possible too because I absolutely loved it too. Would it have made my Top 10 last year? Probably not...that list was difficult enough to figure out the first time, but Chef would have certainly gotten several nominees and runner-up awards and I feel kind of bad for naïvely missing out on it upon its initial release. I'm sorry Chef!!

Giving an older man Twitter is like giving a toddler a gun: dangerous

Stop Chef! You're too delicious!

Chef is written and directed by Jon Favreau who also stars as the main character and it tells the story of a somewhat-famous chef who works in a restaurant where his creativity is limited. One bad review, a Twitter tirade, and a YouTube blowup later and he is out of a job and looking to get back on his feet, so he decides to open a food truck and tour part of the nation. It's a simple story with a simple premise that plays out much better than you would expect. Favreau's Chef Carl Casper is someone who is obsessed with his work and thus, doesn't spend enough time with his willing and eager young son. The tale eventually becomes as much about the food and his career as it does his mending of his relationship with his son. Favreau is able to combine all of these elements into a fun, surprisingly funny, and touching film with a good dash of food porn sprinkled throughout (that grilled cheese, oh my Dear Sweet Baby Jesus!). Chef plays out naturally and other than a few comical cameos, the characters feel natural too, which is a testament to Favreau's style. It may be rated R, but it's a feel good film that exudes its nature in nearly every scene, leaving the viewer with a near-constant smile and raging foner (food-boner).

"You need a permit to serve here, but first, put this in your mouth."

Cue the Soprano's cut-to-black ending.
Ok...it's not that abrupt.

My biggest complaint about Chef is a fairly significant one and it really does hinder the whole film: the ending. The ending isn't exactly "bad", it's just very, very abrupt and the pacing of it doesn't follow the style of the rest of the film. For example, Chef is paced rather slow, all things considered. He doesn't actually decide to get a food truck until halfway through (the 1 hour mark) but the ending seemingly comes out of nowhere and wraps up the film, with little explanation, in about 60 seconds. It truly feels like maybe Favreau and Co. ran out of budget or that the production company told him he couldn't exceed the runtime and it takes the viewer straight out of a film that they have become engrossed/drooling over.

Despite that CON however, I found little else wrong with Chef. It's got some great locations of filming, a really fun soundtrack, and overall is a fun experience that will probably make you really hungry. I still feel bad for missing out on in the first time around and hopefully my "Best Movie I Didn't See" in 2015 isn't as delightful or delicious as this one.

CONS:

• The ending is pretty rough. It's so abrupt that one wishes someone would have told Favreau to retool it
• A few of the comedic scenes overstay their welcome
• Inconsistent pacing at times

PROS:

• Favreau deserves a lot of credit for this one. His direction, writing, and performance are all phenomenal. It's really impressive that he pulled off all three so well and it shows that this was truly a project near and dear to his heart
• Food porn...but seriously, that grilled cheese
• Far funnier than I expected it to be
• Great, simple, and heartwarming story of a man's search to do what he loves and connect with his son
• Strong performances
• Great cameos
• Awesome and perfectly-chosen soundtrack

Retro Rath's Review Score: 9/10