Chef - Movie Review

To say I'm a skinny shrimp, I love my food. My earliest memories are of me devouring my Grandma's jam sandwiches like the Tasmanian Devil after a weeks starvation period. I consume more KFC's, Subways and McDonalds meals than one of those rather obese people as seen on a Channel 5 documentary. But strangely, I still have the appearance of a lifeless twig, who on first look only seems to eat when close to dying. So as I walked into the cinema Monday afternoon, with good knowledge that the film Chef was going to be 2 hours of food heaven, I prepared myself with plenty of food to munch on whilst attempting to digest (comedy genius) the film's story.

Jon Favreau stars and directs this feel good comedy as Carl Casper, a chef who due to unfortunate circumstances gets slaughtered by a food critic and attempts to rebuild his reputation selling his own street food from a food truck. By going on this food journey, Casper rediscovers his passion for food and rebuilds his relationship with his young son. Jon Favreau, both as the director and as the lead star was terrific. He apparently went to train in a top restaurant chef, just so he could look more convincing as a well renown chef, which he pulls off brilliantly. That extra effort he put in showed on screen and it paid off. The way Favreau directed the film, made you feel like you were in his culinary world and the adventure of going on a food truck, experiencing different food cultures in America. There's a massive amount of heart in this film and the feel good factor is pumping throughout, that even the grumpiest possible humans would raise a smile at the majority of these scenes. The way the film uses social media throughout the film was refreshing to see, even if at times the first act of the film feels like a constant product placement for Twitter. Because the direction is precise and screenplay of the film is sharp and witty, the characters feel like real people. The scenes don't feel set up, they effortlessly flow together and at times the film has the tone of a documentary, which is massive credit to Favreau. Casper's son, played by EmJay Antony, was one of the best child acting performances I've seen for a long time. The way the two play off each other was very touching and didn't feel cheesy once. John Leguizamo's sous chef character brought plenty of comedy to the film. His dynamic with Favreau was brilliantly natural. Casper's wife Sofia Vergara was very sympathetic and sweet in her role as was Scarlett Johansson. Even Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey Jr make an appearance and their cameos were top notch.

Chef is the perfect film for anyone who wants a break from the big action summer blockbusters. The passion and heart are the key ingredients to a feel good comedy and this delivers. The food looks amazing, the acting is great and the improvisational feel to the script makes Chef a class act and it's charm makes it impossible to not bring a smile to your face. Jon Favreau's best performance as a actor and director and hopefully every now and then when he takes a break from directing big movies, he does more of these low key films. I'd highly recommend the film because I don't believe the film will get enough credit as it should do. Definitely check this one out. 

Rating : 9/10