There’s no denying it; the studio system currently dominates
the film industry and because of it, many argue that this is diminishing the
value of true artistic visions from directors because nowadays most of them
have to adhere to some occasionally very strict studio guidelines. Now while I’m
not a filmmaker myself and I do feel that there are still some directors out
there who are able to express their vision in the films that they make even
with the occasional studio interference, I still can definitely see where a lot
of these frustrated filmmakers are coming from and as proven by his new film ‘Chef’,
Jon Favreau is one of those directors. In the film, he plays a chef named Carl
Casper who’s the head chef at a successful restaurant in Los Angeles. But while
he eagerly looks to try and cook some new menu items, he’s told to ‘stick to
the classics’ by his boss Riva (Dustin Hoffman). This results in a famous food
critic (Oliver Platt) giving the restaurant an unfavorable review, which then
results in Carl berating him both online and in person, ultimately becoming a
sensation on social media. With nowhere else to go, Carl ends up getting a food
truck where he looks to both better express his culinary creativity and to also
reconnect with his ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara) and their son Percy (EmJay
Anthony).
It’s very much clear that this film represents Favreau’s own
frustration with the studio system after he spent the last few years doing
nothing but big-budget action films like the ‘Iron Man’ movies and ‘Cowboys and
Aliens’; this time he’s able to make the film that he wanted to make without
any sign of studio interference. Because of this, I really enjoyed this film’s
message that emphasizes freedom of expression. This results in a very
heartwarming and feel-good movie that is a nice change of pace from all of the
summer blockbusters. Really, this is just a very pleasant movie, especially
when Carl actually gets his new food truck and goes on a cross-country trip
with his son and his friend Martin (John Leguizamo). I think that section of
the film is its best part. Now, I don’t think that this is one of the ‘best’
films of the year, mainly because I didn’t really find the film to be as ‘funny’
as a lot of critics were saying it was. I mean sure, there were a few funny
bits of dialogue peppered in here and there (no pun intended) but not really
enough for me to say that it succeeds at being a ‘comedy’. Regardless of that,
I still really enjoyed the film because of its charm, its solid cast (I’d say
this is Favreau’s best performance to date as an actor, as his own frustrations
with Hollywood really translate well into his character’s dilemmas), and of
course its great message to be true to yourself. All of this makes ‘Chef’ a
very satisfying treat… and of course, to quote IGN’s Chris Tilly, make sure
that you “don’t go on an empty stomach”.
Rating: 4/5
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