Jon Favreau trades in the Iron Man armor for a food truck, in the understated Chef

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Chef, written and directed by Jon Favreau, who also stars in the lead role, is a big shift from Favreau’s most recent directorial work on the first two Iron Man movies. Chef doesn’t rely on fight sequences; instead it follows the relationship between Chef Carl Casper and his young son, Percy, as they begin to cultivate their relationship. Instead of special effects, the film has many cuts of food preparation, and instead of a superhero journey, Carl and his son take a road trip adventure together in their food truck. While the plot is slow moving in places, and the film is too long for the material, Chef has some funny and sweet moments, and explores inter-generational communication.

At the beginning of Chef, Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is preparing his menu for the visit of the well-recognized food critic, Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt). Carl prepares a bold and creative menu for the occasion. While his staff is on board, the restaurant owner, Riva (Dustin Hoffman), instructs Carl that he should prepare the same food he normally serves. Carl initially resists, but ultimately concedes. The review Ramsey posts on his blog is scathing and it ends up going viral on the internet. Meanwhile, Carl is not only occupied with the restaurant, but he is also trying to spend time with his son. Carl is divorced from his wife, Inez (Sofia Vergara), and it becomes evident that Carl is not always present or attentive to their son, Percy (Emjay Anthony).

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After being made aware of the poor review, Carl, with the help of Percy, decides to set up his own Twitter account. After Percy goes to bed, Carl decides to message Ramsey about his review. Thinking he privately messaged Ramsey, in which Casper states that Ramsey doesn’t understand good food, Carl goes to bed. The next morning, Percy notices that the Twitter account has gained many followers and they realize it’s because Carl accidentally sent the message publicly. Carl decides to send another tweet to Ramsey inviting him back to the restaurant, against Tony (Bobby Cannavale) and Martin’s (John Leguizamo) advice. However, when Riva presents Carl with an ultimatum to stick to the menu or be fired, Carl leaves. When Ramsey arrives to review the food, and is served the same menu as before, he tweets that Carl was nowhere to be seen at the restaurant. This prompts Carl to return and confront Ramsey publicly. His meltdown is posted on the internet and this makes it difficult for Carl to find another job. Without any prospects, Inez asks Carl to accompany her and Percy to Miami while she works.  While there, Carl becomes inspired by the food and takes up Inez’s idea to create a food truck. The film then focuses on the way Carl, Percy, and Martin bond over working in the truck during their road trip.

Chef is a character-driven film primarily focused on Carl and Percy’s relationship. This film highlights the way we communicate or miscommunicate. Carl uses his food to communicate his identity and to express himself, and, when that is stifled, he requires another outlet. During the time Carl works at the restaurant, he has difficulty engaging with his son; but when he is out on his own in the food truck, he discovers a way to connect with him. Percy’s way of communicating is through texting and social media; this is foreign to Carl. However, what follows in the film is that both Carl and Percy find value in the other person’s way of communicating, and they eventually bond through their shared experience.

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The performances from Jon Favreau and Emjay Anthony are excellent and they have an easy chemistry with each other. Sofia Vergara surprised me as I’m most familiar with her work on the television comedy Modern Family. Her performance here is much more toned down. Vergara and Scarlett Johansson’s roles in the film, however, are mostly as supporting figures to Carl. Both of these characters are only defined through their relationship to him. Although we know that Inez has her own career, and she seems to be successful, we don’t know that much about her. Johansson is completely undefined as a character and her small role in the film seems almost unnecessary. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey Jr.’s roles are also small, but they are more interesting characters to watch. Hoffman as the angry boss and Downey Jr. as Inez’s high-strung ex-husband, have more defined characteristics, and enhance the sometimes offbeat and quirky tone of the film. Finally, John Leguizamo and Bobby Cannavale have great chemistry with Favreau, and their relationship as colleagues and friends is believable and entertaining.

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The film has great shots of food.  If you consider yourself a “foodie” of any kind, you will love this film. I felt like I could taste the food at one point. However, at 115 minutes, the film runs a little bit too long and, following the confrontation between Carl and Ramsey, there really isn’t a whole lot of conflict to sustain the rest of the film. Everything seems to fit perfectly and there aren’t any other obstacles to overcome. While it is fun to watch the characters bond and travel together, the film could’ve been shortened significantly without losing any of the character development. I found the writing to be smart and witty, and delivered well by the actors, which helped at times when the plot felt stagnant. Chef is really about relationships and bonding, and the many different ways people manage to accomplish that.

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