“You’re not gettin’ (small scared little girl voice) to me!!!” screamed by a big fellow like Favreau with desperation in his eyes over a molten chocolate lava cake to a impetuous Oliver Platt watching him over his glasses.
The Chef, Carl Casper (John Favreau) is trying to keep himself on to be the edgiest chef in LA, in restaurant owned by Dustin Hoffman. He is divorced from Sofia Vergara (impossible i know) with a son of some 10 years old and with a passing relationship to the restaurant hostess Scarlet Johansson. He gets himself fired and somehow goes to Miami and comes back with a food truck in LA making a name for himself on the road.
As a matter of fact, I am working for 6 years now in a catering dept., so i can relate and see a little bit between the lines. John Favreau is great at role playing. The best thing about this is that he manages to send that passion for cooking over the screen into the audience. Doesn’t matter that is not his hands all the time that is filmed but hey, that’s acting. Getting over the screen the essential and the subtitles of the character, especially this one is Favreau’s best. He is getting out of his comfort zone and pushing a little bit harder. The bandana, the tattooed fingers, the movements in the kitchen, all is adding up.
Favreau has also great friends, Hoffman, Downey, Scarlett who lives up to the task. John Leguizamo is almost the same Hispanic as before in his movies. I expected at a point to betray his friend, Favreau’s character, but what do you know, it doens’t happen like that.
Bobby Cannavale will get more screen time and other good roles if he continuesc like that. If he picks his roles good he can step out of the shadows and into the light. Better than Leguizamo.
Downey Jr. fits perfect. In his earlier years he played a teen or youngster (what a word) that could land girls or be a playboy type. Now, here he is the same playboy evolved. Middle age, creepy, in style playboy that has the same aura as before.
The pace of the filming and how the movie slides is good. The soundtrack is amazing. A cubano or a Midnight Austin or Yuca frites never looked better. I like that the chef behind all on which the movie is inspired was really there. BBQ king Mr. Franklin is real. Great cameo. Peter Roberts is nice. Sofia… Vergara, is the same. We like the same. Especially the long dropping dresses that… anyway.
I know that there are many truck food out there. I also worked with a lot of cooks, galley boys, chefs. Believe me. That passion that you get from Favreau which i know is real you will not find it everywhere. In fact i think that there are very few cooks in this world that have this passion. I found only one in 50 cooks. Good cooks. In none or maybe 1% in all the food trucks out there the cleanness and that equipment are possible just like that.
Oh, and let’s not forget. So, i curst one food critic, buy myself a food truck, i make great sandwiches and than i tweet about it. Problem solved.
To point out that a food truck in that condition you will not get it ready in 2 days. Mechanically speaking. That paint over one night. I know, they are Hispanics, they tune cars nice and quickly, but that is impossible. To much Hollywod i guess if i had to point out something. Happy ending of course, but this is why we watch, eventually. To see how to get to the happy ending. I know Sofia Vergara is in there and Scarlet…
Very watchable if you are in the business, other than that is just a nice family movie.
“Carl Casper: I’m like a cat playing a piano.” – true story.
My movie world 