They say if you cook a good steak correctly, you don't need any extra sauce to make it taste good. And that is exactly the case with Chef, Jon Favreau's latest concoction (sorry). Taking the role of writer, director, producer and lead actor, Favreau put a lot on his plate (sorry) for this film, but the end result leaves a good taste on your tongue (you know what, just let it happen).
Favreau plays Chef Carl Casper, a divorced father whose passion for cooking has landed him in a rut of a job at a restaurant, cooking the same menu for the past five years. He also struggles to spend time with his son, Percy (Emjay Anthony) -- real time, not just entertain-the-kid time. But Carl's world shifts gears on the day that a well-known food critic, Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt), visits the restaurant; Carl wants to change up the menu to please the critic, but the restaurant's owner, Riva (Dustin Hoffman), refuses. Riva forces him to cook his old, safe menu, and it backfires big time... Ramsey Michel destroys Carl on Twitter. Carl, with the aid of tech-savvy Percy, tries to defend himself, but his hot temper and (more importantly) lack of understanding of modern technology lead to a defaming internet disaster, leaving Carl jobless and with no job prospects. It's a little bit of a jump that Carl is so protective of the food that he didn't want to cook in the first place, but the issue is more about his talent as a chef, and Carl can't get past that.
Carl's ex-wife, Inez (Sofia Vergara), comes to the rescue and asks him to come to Miami with her and Percy as they visit family -- it will be a visit to Carl's roots, where he started his family and his career as a chef. Carl agrees to go, and becomes re-enamored by the Cubano lifestyle -- exactly Inez's plan all along. Carl decides to use Inez's connections with her other ex-husband (cue the Robert Downey Jr. cameo) to get a food truck and give a little of this culture back to the rest of the world. He and his sous-chef/best friend from Riva's restaurant, Martin (John Leguizamo), begin making some amazing Cuban sandwiches, teaching Percy the ins and outs along the way. So begins a fun- and food-filled road trip back to California, with the three of them selling Cuban sandwiches along the way and having a grand old time. From here on out, the film becomes a delightful mix of a Food Channel travelogue, visiting the cultural hotspots of New Orleans and Austin, Texas, and an opportunity for some greatly needed father/son bonding time.
The story is simple, yet heartwarming, as we see a man reaching for his dream and holding onto his family at the same time. The film also boasts some great actors (not mentioned already are Scarlet Johansson and Amy Sedaris) and many laughs along the way. And it is refreshing to see Jon Favreau return to his indie roots after some mainstream projects, an idea that is greatly reflected in Chef's plot. Let us hope that he sticks with passion projects in the future.
Like I said, you don't need extra sauce for a good steak. Which is why I found the last five minutes of this film to be completely unnecessary... like the icing on a cake that doesn't really need icing. Favreau might have been reaching a little too far as he wrapped up this film, but it's safe to say he did a fine job with the rest of it. Come check it out at the Midtown Cinema!
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