When the movie Chef was originally released, I had no interest in seeing it. However, over the past couple of years I have watched it multiple times, and I think it is an excellent film. Jon Favreau is such a wonderfully talented director and actor, and Chef is a prime example of his talent.
Chef is the story of a chef who quits his restaurant job and buys a food truck. In the process, he rekindles his passion for cooking and puts the pieces of his family back together. Right from the opening montage, we are shown what kind of character Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is. This is a man who is loves cooking good food and the various shots in this montage, and every montage in the film for that matter, show plate after plate of scrumptious delights. We also see what kind of man Carl is in the kitchen. Carl is a genuine leader who expects the best from his crew, and his crew give him nothing less. The kitchen is Carls' domain and he likes to keep it that way, which is why he often butts heads with the restaurant manager, Riva (Dustin Hoffman). Carl wants to cook food he believes in, and hates conforming to the traditional menu of the restaurant even though tradition is why people keep coming back, and is also why he is able to keep his job. One of the great ironies of this film is that Twitter plays a part in Carl quitting his restaurant job, while at the same time being hugely important in the success of his food truck. This film shows that even a person of Carls' age can learn how important social media interaction can be. All in all, this film is a fantastic story of a man who sets out on the comeback trail, learns a few lessons and enjoys huge success along the way.
Jon Favreau plays Carl Casper. Casper is a man who puts his career before everything else, including his family, and we see that right from the beginning of the film. Even when he is in the car spending time with his son Percy (Emjay Anthony), all he can ever talk about is cooking. This is also why he lives separately from Inez (Sofia Vergara) and Percy. I love the way Favreau plays this character because he plays Casper in such a way that you can tell he is struggling to balance his career with his family, and this makes you feel sympathy for the character. I also like what Favreau does in dramatic scenes with Percy and Inez because he gets emotional without actually crying, which is extremely hard to do. He also displays his comedy chops in the scene where Casper goes off on Ramsey Michel. All around, this is one of Favreaus' best performances.
Sofia Vergara plays Inez. Inez is a woman who, despite the fact that she and Carl are estranged, she deeply cares for him, and what happens with his career. Vergara almost steals the whole show from Favreau because she plays Inez as someone who has a deep, emotional core. Her scenes with Favreau are well done, and they feel like a real family. Vergara is nothing short of great in the film, and it is because of this film that I became a fan of her.
Jon Favreau is also the director of Chef. First off, as I mentioned before, I love the montages where we see see Carl cooking. They show off his passion and talent spectacularly. I also love the part in the movie where Carl, Percy and Martin take a road trip in the food truck because you get beautiful glimpses of every citys' culture. The dramatic scenes between Carl and Percy also do a nice job of balancing the pace of the film. Much like Carl himself, this film has a quick pace to it, and the dramatic scenes slow the film down so that you can invest in the characters. Chef may just be Favreaus' best work as a director to date.
Chef is a wonderful movie that will make you smile until the end. I love when a high-profile director tackles a passion project because it makes you see them in an entirely different light. If you just love good movies in general, and especially if you love good food, this is definitely the movie for you.
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