In one of the most competitive markets in the world, Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau), has taken the world by storm for nearly a decade. He is original in his approach to food and has often found ways to make something wonderful out of nothing. However, after working under dictator, restaurant owner Riva (Dustin Hoffman) and being unable to be as creative as he’d like, Carl has decided that it’s time to call it quits and further his culinary career in other ways. Running parallel to his career is the crumbling relationship with his ex-wife, Inez (Sofía Vergara), and son, Percy (Emjay Anthony). Even though Carl struggles to get his life in order, he is determined to be successful in both his personal and professional endeavors.
Food is a universal language. Everyone around the world has a food that they love and it speaks to them, makes them feel alive, and can make even the darkest of days seem brighter. Writer-director Favreau aims to drive Chef entirely using food. Again, this universal language of food resonates with viewers of all ages, sexes, creeds, religions, etc. and allows them to appreciate nearly every aspect of the film. The food, in many ways, is the main character of Chef. The food present throughout the film exudes love, hope, passion, and pain (along with a number of other emotions) that almost better exemplifies the tone of the film than Carl, Percy, or Carl’s sous chef, Martin (John Leguizamo), are able to. The food creates humor, stress, and romance, tying everything in the film together, having viewers wanting more.
Not enough can be said for the talent of casting director Sarah Finn. She is the mastermind behind the casting of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while that is an incredible feat, creating this intimate dynamic seems equally difficult and noteworthy. Chef, while made up of many components, is successful in large part to the hard work of Finn.
Floating in a sea of dry humor, Chef is laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end. The combination of Favreau and Leguizamo makes for a duo that delivers endless laughs and connects with audiences as well as any comedic team I’ve seen before. Their ability to understand and feed off of the emotion of one another invites viewers into the story, titillates them with consistently relatable humor, and has them preparing for what’s next. Inexplicably, on paper, the pair don’t seem like they would be a great match, however, their calm demeanors and apparent passion for food draw them to one another.
Nearly every second of the film sees viewers salivating at both the food and the storyline. Perfection feels like a bold statement when discussing just about anything, especially film. There is so much that goes into the production of a film that can cause it to fall short of perfection, but Chef feels almost perfect. From the opening moments connections are made between viewers and the characters involved; this is a testament to Favreau in each of his roles with the film (writer/director/producer/actor). While romantic and personal relationships can sometimes get in the way of the main story line, everything ultimately plays out smoothly and never feels too cumbersome. With everything that this film has going for it, Chef is nothing short of appetizing.
Written & Directed by Jon Favreau. Starring Jon Favreau, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Emjay Anthony, Scarlett Johansson, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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