Chef

'Chef' is one of those movies... A totally unexpected gem that I now clutch right up there with 'It's A Wonderful Life', 'both versions of 'Miracle On 34th Street', 'Mr Smith Goes to Washington' and 'The Hundred-Foot Journey'. You cannot help watch this film and not feel good about yourself, your friends and the world when you come out the other side. Jon Favreau, John Leguizamo and young Emjay Anthony are a brilliant mix. Buy this movie - you will not be disappointed.

Where do you start with a movie this good? I already like Jon Favreau's direction (Iron Man 1 & 2) and knew he had a comic touch. This is his comic masterpiece. Favreau plays Chef Carl Casper, a talented chef, whose life is in a mess. Bullied into bland commercial cooking by Dustin Hoffman's money-mad restaurant owner, divorced from the woman he loves. Even worse, he on the outs with his young son because his frenetic lifestyle does not give him the time to be with him. Favreau has always had a gift for the smart funny retort and here they come thick and fast. But what raises this movie above the ordinary is that Favreau plays Casper as a man passionate about food. In those scenes where Casper is talking food, or preparing food, he becomes heroic and you really do feel his passion. And it is not a one-man show. John Leguizamo, as Casper's loyal assistant chef, almost steals the movie. He has a couple of lines that made me roar with laughter. Sofia Vergara is very good here as the ex-wife, her scenes are pivotal and move the action forward. Emjay Anthony plays his young son (9/10 years old?) with just the right amount of grit, to stop the movie getting sappy. Throw in a Robert Downey Jnr cameo with RDJ doing weird dude, as only RDJ can and you have a whole lot of good players acting their heads off. Colourful, fast-moving and with pin-sharp direction and acting, Chef is funny, touching and lively. It runs at just under two hours. I would have watched it if was over 4. Utterly superb.

This is a real charmer - good all round entertainment which sometimes (as did this film) attracts only grudging approval from professional critics but ordinary viewers can relax and thoroughly enjoy. I enjoyed it so much in the cinema that I went back for a guilty second helping before the end of the run. When the DVD came out I didn't hesitate, and it doesn't disappoint on renewed viewing. The story, by the Director Jon Favreau, is essentially about how a chef blows his career in an upmarket restaurant only to regain his vocation by taking on a food truck, bonding with his young son on the way. Though Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr. and Bobby Cannavale are given significant billing, their parts are not much more than cameos which help to set the story in motion, and they are over by midway through. After that it is really sustained by the quartet of Jon Favreau himself, Sofia Vergara as his estranged wife, Emjay Anthony as their son and the irrepressible John Leguizamo who joins the truck from the restaurant to return to his Latino roots, another theme of the story. There are lots of shots of food preparation but it also conveys the sheer hard graft of working in catering, whether in a restaurant or fast food. Excellent value. I think I even almost understand twitter (in which son has to tutor father). Enjoy, but watch those calories!

don't watch this if its past midnight and you are hungry! It is a sensational movie about friendship, family, the desire to create beauty in a mouthful of food and the love of food and how it heals. so inspirational and heartwarming

Great film

A really great feel good movie. Great cast and story. Definitely makes you consider your priorities in life

Love love love this film, its a good all rounder, anger, love, betrayal, fun and to top it off great music. John Favreau doesn't spend enough time in front of the camera these day but he is a natural actor, always believable. He is obviously a well loved contemporary because so many well-knowns have small but significant roles. The scene with Favreau and Robert Downey Jr is hilarious, especially the foot covering, really laugh out loud. Scarlett Johansson, is very understated but necessary as is Dustin Hoffman, John Leguizamo, Sofia Vergara, and Oliver Platt although for me the star of the film is Emjay Anthony as Percy, Carl Casper's (Favreau) son. A fine young actor that will hopefully go places.

I always look out for a film that seems to have passed under the radar, but that has a few actors that I recognise in. Sometimes it doesn't work - this time it did. Chef is the story of exactly that, a brilliant chef, divorced from his lovely wife, and therefore seeing his son every two weeks for a day of quick-fire entertainment (amusement park, cimema visit, fast food) because that's what he thinks he should do. His son has other ideas, and the time spent watching his dad cook for him in his tiny apartment is for him, just the best. He'd love to cook outside the box (or the set menu in the restaurant he works in), but the boss - a gem of a performance by Dustin Hoffman, blink and you'll miss it - insists on the menu that he likes, and that has been the same for too many years. All is OK until a food critic just has the worst things to say about the menu. It's not long before a couple of tweets go viral, and life will never be the same. A beautifully observed love story here; of food, of family, of friends. The cover says "wonderfully feel-good" - and it is. So good in fact that several friends are going to get it this year as a present instead of the usual "have you seen a film about........"

As expected

Chef is a movie I have watched on the Movie Network a few years back and I really liked it. It's simple and yet quite good at what it's going for. It's a great drama/family movie and each actors played their roles really well. The included Deleted Scenes even made me appreciate the movie more because as ironic as it might seem, I'm really like that they removed those part as I didn't liked quite a few of them. (Yeah, the editing was good.) If you're looking for a family oriented movie about food and life orientation, this is a pretty good movie that might be just enough to fill you plate!

Aún cuando hay latinos trabajando en la película, no existe el audio latino en la película...🤨

Aprovado!

The very definition of kino. Written, directed, produced, and starring Jon Favreau, this culinary masterpiece of cinema will leave your mouth watering for more. A must watch for any m*vie fan.