Chef (2014) User Reviews

Good food guide

[Lejink · 7/10 · 7 February 2015]

I'm no foodie but I really enjoyed this road-trip / father-son / buddy movie, written directed by and starring Jon Favreau, based on the recent life and times of a perfectionist chef who struggles to suppress his own innovation to the demands of his conservative paymaster boss. More than this, he gets involved in a spat with the town's number 1 food critic, sees his relationship with his son founder under pressure of work and still pines after his glamorous and super-rich ex-wife.

There's not much more to the story than that and I feared for all the anticipated parental-bonding scenes I would see the second I clapped eyes on his flop-haired 10 year old son but I was very pleasantly surprised to be engaged by this lighthearted, fast-moving, feel-good movie, right up to the predictable happy ending for all concerned.

With a busy but enjoyable soundtrack of soul and salsa in the background, nice realistic acting by all the leads right down to son Percy and of course lots of scrumptious shots of freshly made food, this movie certainly mixed its ingredients together well, delivering in the end a most palatable dish.

Perhaps the star-power cameos were a little unnecessary, maybe the father-son stuff did get a little hokey at times and the wraparound happy ending did seem somewhat forced but on the whole I found this a very watchable and occasionally funny movie which more than whetted my appetite for a decent Saturday night stay-in movie.

You won't want to miss this one

[Laakbaar · 8/10 · 14 July 2014]

I really enjoyed this funny and heart-warming movie about a chef and his relationship with food and his son. The film is worth about 8.5 in my books. The current IMDb score is roughly accurate, despite the inexplicably negative reviews and voting of a tiny minority.

Leguizamo and Vergara light up every scene they're in. Quite a few A-list Hollywood stars are in this movie, but it's not a Hollywood movie at all. The performances by all the main and supporting actors were excellent. When I try to single one or two out, I just start thinking about how good the others were too.

You feel like the movie had no script at all, that's how natural the writing was. Remarkably cliché-free.

I was subtly but deftly moved at the end. This is an optimistic guy movie but women will enjoy it as well.

Kudos to Favreau (of course) and to everyone else involved in this film. I have a new respect for Favreau and will watch out for his films in the future.

A familiar recipe, expertly prepared and served with extra zest!

[maha-albadrawi · 8/10 · 26 May 2014]

At an early point in Chef, the title character cooks a grilled cheese sandwich for his 10-year-old son, Percy. It's a familiar recipe —bread, butter, and cheese — but the way that the camera lingers on the melting cheese, and the care taken in how the food was served, made me want to reach into the screen and take a bite. If Chef were a meal, it would be comfort food. When comfort food is done right, boy oh boy does it hit the spot.

Favreau directs and stars as Carl Casper, a celebrated chef at a swanky Los Angeles restaurant, whose creativity and integrity is compromised by the restaurant's controlling owner. After a video of him losing his temper at a food critic goes viral he becomes not only unemployed, but unemployable. With his reputation in shreds, he decides to get back in touch with his roots by opening a food truck and taking it – along with line cook and son - on the road, rediscovering his passion along the way.

The pairing of sumptuous shots of food preparation with Latin beats is hard to resist for most audiences, and the food shots in Chef are so luscious and evocative that you can almost smell what's cooking. The music, sensual and spicy, is perfectly matched to the food. There's a beauty and a rhythm in the food preparation scenes and the amount of them included in the film is just right, so as not to feel over indulgent.

There is also a lot of enjoyment to be had from watching the performances of the supporting cast, and perhaps this is because each of them play to their strengths: Robert Downey Jr steals the scene as Casper's ex-wife's other ex-husband who is rich, generous, and always looks like he's on the verge of doing something really crazy; Sofia Vegara plays Casper's sweet, sexy, well- meaning ex-wife, who he is still great friends with; John Leguizamo, always an interesting actor to watch, has fantastic chemistry with Favreau and the young actor who plays his son, and some of the more meandering scenes in the film are made interesting by his infectious energy; and Dustin Hoffman adds an element of compassion to a role that could have easily been reduced to a caricature. The stars featuring in the film stay firmly within their safe zone, and I couldn't help but remember what Hoffman tells Favreau early in the movie: play your hits, because no one wants to go to a Rolling Stones concert and not hear 'Satisfaction'. While this can have the potential to be boring, it bodes well for the film: we know we're in safe hands, and we're going to come out of this feeling satisfied. Special mention must be made of Emjay Anthony, who plays Favreau's son Percy with the perfect blend of maturity and innocence, and is really the emotional centre of the film.

While the film is certainly a feast for the senses, at its core it's about restoration: restoring the father-son relationship, and restoring passion. It's hard to ignore the parallels to Favreau's own career: after breaking out in the 1996 indie hit Swingers, Favreau has in recent years become a director of the mega-blockbusters: the first two Iron Man movies, and the less well-received Cowboys & Aliens. Here, he cleanses his palate as a director and returns to more down-to-earth, feel-good fare (there's even a dead-on remark about Casper's/Favreau's "dramatic weight gain". Ouch). A familiar recipe made with great ingredients, Chef will leave you feeling satisfied.

Food-porn at its best

[basil1984 · 9 April 2014]

Jon Favreau's pet project, after a decade of big budget, heavy-on-special-effects, blockbusters and fantasy fair, is as charming as they come. The film follows a master chef (played by Favreau) whose career is derailed and, as a last resort, opens a food truck and drives across country with his young son and his sous-chef, played by John Leguizamo, selling Cubano sandwiches. Along the way, we're treated to food-porn at its best and introduced to a cast of characters that would make Woody Allen blush: Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansen, and a slew of other familiar faces.

This is still a far cry from 'Swingers' - the film that began the plague that is Vince Vaughn and managed to charm every straight man in America - but the man knows how to make a light comedy with clever dialogue that doesn't feel frivolous. This is far from indie/art-house but Favreau was candid in saying that he had no desire to make a cinematic contribution, he simply fell in love with the premise, ran with it, and the result brought the house down.

Jon Fraveau sure knows how to make an enjoyable flick

[templar77099 · 6/10 · 12 June 2015]

Coming from blockbusters like the praised "Iron Man" and the despised "Cowboys & Aliens",and despite being born to the cinema in an indie background, I never thought Jon Favreau could pull off a dramedy so jolly. "Chef" has such a good vibe to it that it's almost impossible not to smile when the movie starts. The opening shots lead us to believe that the plot of the film will only revolve around cooking and menus. However, ten/twenty minutes in and we can clearly understand the it has also other layers, such as, troubled father and son relations, lack of stimule to creativity affecting the main character (Chef Carl Casper), boss/employee relationship, etc. I would say the main purpose of the movie is to tell the story of a troubled middle aged man who wants to break out of the ordinary, have a proper relationship with his son and seeks a freely way of living, a more creative one. Besides the plot, the film also features an amazing cast, starting with Favreau and ending with Robert Downey Jr., amidst the gorgeous looking Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara. Dustin Hoffman also gives a good performance. The young Emjay Anthony is certainly a revelation. "Chef" was one of the best movies of 2014, a comedy for most of the time, with some drama bits which accentuate the light-hearted approach the director went for. The film is also a self-aware critic to all the gastronomic industry, with all it's critics and bloggers and the consequences one bad reckless sentence can have on a cook's life. Besides, social networking is also proeminent in the plot, whether through the usage of Twitter to promote the "El Jefes" food truck or even through the usage of Vine to publish short videos. The photography is competent, wherein the film shines on what concerns to soundtrack. The Spanish sounds grant it a very light-hearted vibe and make it very enjoyable to watch. "Chef" is, above all, a smooth flick and very, I repeat,very enjoyable to watch. Jon Favreau is a name to consider on the next years, starting with "The Jungle Book" slated to release on 2016.

Happy, Uplifting, Feel Good Movie

[jk-692-236394 · 9/10 · 8 August 2014]

I did not expect such a talented cast of actors mostly in small parts. Jon Favearu has a lot of friends. The actor who played his son is a find. He was great. Low key, sweet and very natural and believable. The story is good. It is about the chef and then the food truck, but it really is about him and his son. I liked that he was friends with his ex wife, Sofia Vergara, who did a great job. That struck home for me, because my ex and I get along well and it brought a lump to my throat to see how happy that made their son. It is special when divorced parents can get along and do things with their kids. The story moved quickly and I loved how the son used twitter and they incorporated social media into the story. Very realistic. I highly recommend this movie. Really a joy to watch.

very light menu with some food porn

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 29 December 2014]

Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) was once an edgy Miami chef. He's divorced from Inez (Sofía Vergara) and trying to connect with his son Percy. When important food reviewer Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt) comes, he acquiesces to restaurant owner Riva (Dustin Hoffman) and serves a safe uninspired menu. Molly (Scarlett Johansson) is the hostess. The reviewer pans it and it becomes a full on twitter war as Carl gets Ramsey to come taste his new menu. However Riva insists on the old menu and Carl gets let go. Tony (Bobby Cannavale) takes over the kitchen. Ramsey pans the food once again and Carl bust in going nuclear. The incident goes viral. Inez gets him to her ex-husband Marvin (Robert Downey Jr.) who sells him a rundown old food truck in Miami. Martin (John Leguizamo) quits his job to join him. Carl goes on a road trip in the food truck from Miami back to California with Martin and Percy.

Jon Favreau needs a little time to warm up. The movie starts off functionally. Then RDJ shows up and injects some much needed hilarity. Sometimes I like the kid but other times I'm not so sure. He's not the easy supercute type. That's also how I feel about Favreau. The plot is a bit too easy and doesn't really have any tension. It's a light story with some food porn and a bit of cross country charm. This is more like a light appetizer but there's nothing wrong with that.

Tasty!

[thirteenprime · 8/10 · 30 August 2014]

I can't help feeling that this movie is not only about a chef finding himself, but it's also about lead actor/director Jon Favreau trying to get back in touch with the kind of films he used to make -- small ones without guys wearing super-suits or cowboys drawing down on aliens. Here, Favreau's Carl Casper quits his big Iron Restaurant job and rediscovers himself, and his passion for food and family, by running a Chef-sized food truck. Results: excellent.

Films like this can be lost if the wrong kid is cast. Emjay Anthony is the right kid. He's great as Percy. I particularly enjoyed the way the film handled Percy's internet-savviness, and how he used it. John Leguizamo is a great fit as Carl's friend and sous-chef. Sofia Vergara as Carl's ex- wife is, as usual, capable and stunning.

See Chef, and bear witness as a good filmmaker continues his journey to becoming a great one.

Not as good as you might expect!

[maximuss_ir · 6/10 · 5 June 2014]

(I apologize for my English, I'm not a native speaker). Yesterday, I watched "Chef" in the theater. The trailer and cast seemed promising and I was expecting to watch an interpretive movie with plethora of character developments, and probably a very exciting plot. To my bewilderment, the movie was lacking most qualities that constitute a good movie. The casting seemed out of place, both with Robert Downey Jr. and especially with Sofia Vergara. The plot revolved around a happy- ending story about the so-called "American Dream". It was so predictable that I felt like I have watched the movie before.

In my opinion, and with all due respect to people who liked the movie, I believe it is completely overrated. It is a fun movie to watch and laugh at, and it has its moments, but it is just a feel-good comedy. Yeah, it talks about the interactions between humans (father-son, ex-husband/ex- wife, etc), their challenges, their hopes and despairs, but it does not do a worthy job at that. It mostly sticks to the superficial clichés without succeeding to go any deeper. Although the movie is categorized as comedy, it is not even that funny. So all in all, watch the movie if you have nothing else to watch, but do it with low expectations.

Very disappointing

[airfoyle · 6/10 · 28 May 2014]

My wife and I went to this movie because its IMDb rating (7.9 as of 2014-05-26) was higher than the ratings of the other two movies we were considering. I cannot tell a lie: my wife liked it. I was dismayed (by the flick, not her opinion of it).

First, the good things: Robert Downey Jr. does a terrific job of sketching a character of eccentric loathsomeness with the 5 minutes he has on screen. Scarlett Johansson is always fascinating, although she vanishes from the movie about a third of the way through. Oliver Platt has some nice moments. Emjay Anthony as the kid is quite solid. (Why do boys in movies always have long hair? Is it to make them look younger than they are? But not this time; I think Anthony is 11, playing a 10-year-old.) Sofia Vergara is charming, and pretty if you like busty women (which I don't).

The bad things: Dustin Hoffman is wasted playing a key character whose actions are so irrational he should wear a sign around his neck saying "Plot device."

Come to think of it, everybody in the movie is wasted. The plot is full of holes big enough to drive a food truck through. There are no plausible conflicts in the movie, and even most of the implausible ones are resolved by everybody deciding to be nice.

Early in the movie the chef, played by director Jon Favreau, is told by his ex-wife, played by Sofia Vergara, that he would be happier driving a food truck than being chef of a classy L.A. restaurant. I thought her suggestion was to establish that she was somewhat ditsy; what self-respecting chef would want to drive a food truck? She turns out not to be ditsy at all; she has some sort of career that makes her more prosperous than her ex, although I couldn't figure out what that career was. The food truck materializes, the music gets more Latin, and the movie becomes a father-son-bonding road trip. Then the fairy godmother appears, waves her magic wand, and all problems are solved.

It's somewhat strange that people love to watch other people cook, while cooking less and less themselves. My advice is to stay home and make yourself a cubano sandwich; it'll fill you up more than watching Jon Favreau make a few thousand of them.

An immensely satisfying treat

[brchthethird · 8/10 · 30 January 2015]

As I've been exposing myself to new types of movies and different filmmakers, I sometimes feel like I'm trying new food. CHEF, directed by and starring Jon Favreau, was a delightful little indie "dish" and an immensely satisfying treat. It's about a chef, Carl Casper (Favreau), who works for this French restaurant. One night a critic (Oliver Platt) comes in and later posts a scathing review on Twitter that goes viral. Carl, a little bit new to social media, inadvertently starts a flame war with the critic and challenges him to come back because he'll cook the menu he wanted to cook the first time around. Things don't end up going so well, and Carl leaves his job as chef and takes his ex-wife's (Sofia Vergara) advice about starting a food truck. Narratively, the film is somewhat divided. The first third or so is more of a traditional "food" movie with some relationship drama thrown in, but at a critical point the film shifts gears into a road trip movie. Structure aside, I thought that they did a great job balancing the food aspects (which looked amazing) and the character relationships. The key relationship is between Carl and his son, who comes along with him on his food truck journey. It was really great to see how the relationship changed and improved over the course of the film. Something should also be said for the cast. Although most of them have relatively small roles, Favreau was able to call in some favors and get Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, John Leguizamo and Sofia Vergara to appear here. Even though most of these people only appear in the first half when Carl works at the restaurant (and are therefore dropped once the narrative switches gear), it was still nice to see them. I thought they all gave excellent performances, even for such small roles. The only iffy member of the cast was the boy who plays Carl's son who, at times, seemed like a blank slate. Maybe that was intentional? I don't know, but he also is a child actor so I won't make too big a deal out of it. The only other aspect of the movie I find fault with is the way in which the film ends, which I won't spoil here. All I'll say about it is that it was a little TOO nice and clean. That being said, I thought that CHEF really worked on an emotional level. Overall, it might not be the best film I've ever seen, but it had a feelgood atmosphere, great dialogue and some great cooking. Bon appetit!

Satisfies your hunger, but leaves you thirsty for more

[secondtake · 7/10 · 14 August 2014]

Chef (2014)

A hoot. Well constructed, well acted feel-good comedy about a chef who wants to cook from the heart.

This is a formula film, for sure. You are made to fall in love with the main characters (mostly one of them, writer, director, and leading man Jon Favreau). Then things go wrong. Some are comic, some are sad, but all is told in a way you know will end just fine, more or less. And so it goes.

Because Favreau got his Hollywood creds as a producer ("Iron Man" series) he has lots of connections, and he cashed in some favors here. Small parts are given to several stellar players. Scarlett Johansson is a charming hostess at the restaurant, though she isn't given a lot to do. Dustin Hoffman plays the reasonable but hard headed owner at odds with the chef. And Robert Downey Jr. himself shows up as an ex-wife's ex-husband with his usual charm and screen presence. Briefly.

So the movie bustles along. The script is really funny—even in small moments the lines and the delivery work well. The boy, played by Emjay Anthony, is superb, holding up a key emotional part of the movie. Favreau, the actor, manages to seem like both the impassioned chef and the warm dad in believable ways.

Eventually the plot turns into a road trip, which is always fun, and we get touristy visits to Miami, New Orleans, and Austin. It's all so feel good you want actually for something more to happen. Yes, the problem with the movie is the formula thing, which it sticks to too well. And there are lots of little scenes, some of them musical inserts, that sound and look great but that drag down the momentum.

And the big ending is far too sugary for me. The movie doesn't quite lift its excesses into a fable, or into a style that justifies them. Instead it shamelessly uses pumped up music, great characters, and a triumphant plot to work you over. And make you feel good, which is pretty good.

Wish the story was as scrumptious as the food

[ahegde3149 · 5/10 · 14 February 2015]

I did not know what to expect from Chef considering Jon Favreau previous work being the blockbuster superhero Iron Man franchise. Here the glamorous talents of Scarlett Johanson and Robert Downey Jr. (from the same Iron Man series) are shockingly wasted with poor dialogues and unimaginative writing. Still Jon somehow carries the film on his own shoulders making me consider it as commendable effort.

Favreau stars as Carl Casper,a very talented chef who does not get to prepare his golden menu because of his restrictive restaurant manager who believes people wont buy his 'artsy' food. Things get worse when a food critic bashes the food Jon is forced to serve, which results in face-off where Carl loses his temper.That goes viral on the internet and the chef loses his reputation and his job. He then decides to get back to basics by opening a food truck so that he is able to serve good food for the people. Sofia Vergara has a considerably smaller role as Carl's ex-wife and their son Percy (Emjay Anthony) feels that his dad is too busy with his cooking to spend some quality time with him. As we the film progresses we get to the familiar father-son getting closer story line.

The ending was surprisingly bland apart from being predictable. At almost 2 hours Chef fills a bit too over stretched with its feel- good vibes and aromatic cooking scenes. While the dad-chemistry gets a good amount of focus and the duo is likable but the same cannot be said about any other character. The story follows a predictable arc and the dialogues are nothing great. The silver-lining here is without any doubt is the food-porn show where the scrumptious shots of variety of food preparations to beautiful background score are irresistible. Whenever those mouth-watering scenes turned up I was excited while rest of the time I didn't care much.

RATING: [2.5/5]

A 'feel-good' film for adults

[bowmanblue · 7/10 · 6 December 2014]

'Chef.' I only watched it because I used the film as a 'filler' on my online rental list. However, after viewing it, I'm glad I did. For a long film, it passes by pretty well. Not that it's anything that original. It's a pretty standard tale of loss and redemption. A cranky – yet strangely lovable – chef loses his job in a restaurant and has to go it alone in a 'mobile food wagon' (while naturally trying to win back his estranged family).

If you've ever seen ANY film before, you'll probably be able to guess the story from A to B. However, just because it's predictable doesn't mean it isn't worth watching. Yes, (the always on form) Robert Downey Jr is in it and obviously he's the biggest name attached to the project, but it's not really 'his' film. Jon Favreau is what holds it all together. Despite being a little loud and a little obnoxious, he always seems to have his heart on show, making quite a believable hero to root for.

There are plenty of other big and semi-big names in the film, but it's Favreau who makes it worth watching. It's not always funny and not always dramatic – just a gentle vibe which falls somewhere between the two. It's a nice movie to sit and relax with – as long as you don't mind the bad language!

very good

[JonFavreau · 10/10 · 26 December 2015]

Was a very great movie. Papa and iDubbbz really did a good job with this one. I was a good guy in this movie and movie was really good. It was good. Have you seen chef? Im not sure if there will be another movie like it in the near future due to the fact that Jon Favreau was in the movie. Don't forget papa Robert Downey Jr. He was pretty good in the movie too and it made the movie even better than you think it was. Have you seen it yet? No? Well instead of reading this review you should really start watching the movie of the century, "Chef". Anyways, thank you for reading the review. If it wasn't for papa or the dubbbster i would have never seen this movie in my lifetime. grade a 10/10 material.

-Jon Favreau

Undercooked

[Fluke_Skywalker · 6/10 · 10 October 2014]

Ironically, writer/director/star Jon Favreau's return to smaller, "Independent" filmmaking is every bit as shallow and formulaic as the big-budget popcorn movies he's been making for the better part of the last decade.

Possessing an almost pathological need to please, 'Chef' jauntily lumbers along for most of its bloated 2 hour running time, checking off nearly every cliché box along the way while never even pretending to create any doubt about its happy outcome.

You'd have to be very cynical to hate the earnest and well intended 'Chef', but likewise you'd have to be awfully naïve to buy into its hokum.

Look Who's Cooking

[mistercsays1 · 8/10 · 17 May 2014]

Stepping away from the blockbusters that have occupied his time and talents of late, Jon Favreau scales back the spectacle to deliver Chef, a thoroughly enjoyable story of redemption set amid the chaos and camaraderie of the kitchen in which Favreau delivers what may be his best performance yet. In addition to taking on the lead role of disgruntled chef Carl Casper, Favreau also wrote the screenplay and served as producer and director, putting himself firmly in the firing line if the film misfired. Fortunately, he has got most of it right and Chef overcomes any shortcomings through its refreshing take on relationships - particularly between Carl and his 10-year-old son Percy (Emjay Anthony) - and the power of technology and social media as both a destructive force and an instrument of considerable social currency. Confined to bit parts of late in the likes of The Wolf of Wall Street and the three Iron Man films, Favreau seems to relish the opportunity to take on this role of a man forced to re-evaluate everything that is important to him.

We first meet Carl as he begins preparations for the evening ahead at the restaurant at which he is the head chef. Once hailed as the next big thing in culinary circles, Carl's career and reputation has stagnated somewhat as he finds himself frustrated by the limitations placed on him by restaurant owner Riva (Dustin Hoffman). You see, Riva is more interested in maximising profit, while Carl is desperate to shake things up and broaden the menu, particularly with high profile critic Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt) dropping in to sample the fare. It is not giving too much away to say that things don't go well and, when Carl unleashes at Michel in a tirade that goes viral, his tenure at the restaurant is over. At the urging of his ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara), Carl heads to Miami and establishes a food truck that enables him to reconnect with his love of cooking and the son he has neglected. Much merriment ensues as Carl hits the road to redemption with Percy and best friend Martin (John Leguizamo) along for the ride.

The film very much celebrates the art of cooking and gastronomes will go nuts at the myriad montages of Carl at work in the kitchen, whether it be in the restaurant, the food truck or at home where even a toasted sandwich is prepared with passion and precision. The relationship between Carl and Percy, which is the crux of the narrative with the food truck as the conduit that brings them together, is refreshingly realistic and devoid of mawkish sentimentality. Young Graham is remarkably composed and naturalistic as Percy and the underrated Leguizamo makes the most of his best role in ages. The music is fabulously funky, creating the up-tempo mood that permeates the second half of the film. There really is a lot to like here, which makes it easy enough to overlook those aspects that go unexplained. For example, Inez lives in a luxurious house with an armada of domestic staff and is always making reference to her work, yet we never get any sense of what this work entails and ultimately Vergara seems to be simply rehashing her Modern Family persona, albeit not quite so shrill.

The sudden disappearance of Scarlett Johansson from the narrative is another mystery that remains unsolved. In the opening portion of the film, Johansson's Molly works as a hostess at the restaurant and there is clearly a mutual attraction between her and Carl. In fact, a scene in which Molly lounges seductively while Carl prepares a meal is sexier than most love scenes, yet once Carl leaves for Miami, Molly is neither seen nor heard from again. A cynic might suggest that Johansson's inclusion, along with a somewhat strange cameo from Robert Downey Jnr as another of Inez's ex-husbands, is simply Favreau calling upon his Iron Man co-stars in an attempt to secure maximum leverage for his film with multiplex audiences.

The film demonstrates the power of ubiquitous presence and power of social media; initially bringing Carl to his knees before ultimately playing a very significant role in his resurrection as a chef and a father. Despite a few unanswered questions along the way, Chef is a charming, refreshing surprise.

Food looks amazing...otherwise, meh...

[matthewssilverhammer · 6/10 · 20 June 2014]

Chef is a passionate two-hour long love letter to cooking, returning Favreau to his roots of fun dialogue and solid characters. The food is mouthwatering, and when the film focuses on the main story of father and son building a food-truck, it hits. Unfortunately the first and last 20 minutes drag, bogging down in story building instead of just letting the world create itself. Nonetheless, enough joy seeps through to make this a decent small-scale dramedy. Chef's a movie for Millennials, exploring the effect technology and social networking has on family and work. It parallels Favreau's own real-life career: highest highs, lowest lows, and bouncing back. He clearly did his homework on the culinary side, handling the fare with effortlessness. However, Chef is as much about fatherhood as it is food, questioning how to be a parent when you don't feel grown up yourself. This father-son trope is nothing new, but it's a bit more down-to-earth here than most melodramatic family dramas; sweet and true. It's just a bummer that any depth explored is brought bluntly to the surface, rarely allowing us to naturally intuit them. The film's style works, both smooth and jarring like the main characters own cuisine… If only the final edit was more constricted. When they are focused on the kitchen and interplay, full of natural dialogue and chemistry, it works in spades. A tighter setup, some scenes cut (Downey Jr. is wasted and pointless), and a quicker end would make for a much better film. As is, Chef is merely passable, bolstered slightly by deliciously shot gourmet food.

A Great Father and Son Movie

[Morpheus911 · 8/10 · 7 September 2014]

I guess some people thought this movie was long and boring. Even some said acting was kind of bad. Well I think the total opposite of this. And I cannot see why anyone would think otherwise. This movie as basic as the plots and story lines were, totally kept my interest. I think it's Jon Favreau's best movie ever. It's a masterpiece. This could be a cult classic for Father's Day, like It's A Wonderful Life is for Christmas. Of course the general sway of Hollywood shun's on a great family life. However Jon Fav didn't give a crap and he decided to celebrate how to celebrate living again. Yeah not much going on but if you don't feel good after watching this then you have a crusty heart and your problems have deep rooted issues.

I thought this was probably one of the better movies I have seen all year. Personally. I believe we really - really need more movies like this to remind us about how precious life really is and how to enjoy special moments just eating a real beignet from New Orlean's French Quarter, and in search of the perfect Cuban sandwich recipe, and perfecting the ultimate beef brisket slider. I totally was impressed by this movie for it's full hour and fifty minutes. I loved a great - feel good - movie - - I recommend for any dad and most everyone to see it This will surely restore a sense of how important a support group of family and good friends can be. Great job Jon Favreau! I kind of thought you were like Hollywood stuck up before seeing this movie. Now I know you are a real guy and cool ass family man.

Enjoyable, definite go see.

[bharold · 7/10 · 13 May 2014]

I like jon favreau's work, and this is a real about turn from his previous films. I like it, it was entertaining, well acted although it did have a few slightly cringe worthy moments.... These may have been purposeful... All the actors are amazing, I have no doubt a stunt double was used for the dicing scenes as id be shocked if favreau had the years of experience with a knife to pull that off... none the less, he evidently put great time and planning into this film as his labour of love. The Actors of course are without question brilliant. As always, Downey JR was sheer wonder to watch, i cant help but wonder if he is simply being himself!!!! Scarlett, well..... All her writhing around prior to being served pasta was acting genius... completely convincing and perfectly executed.... she also is a master of her craft.... whomever is with her in real life is a lucky man! Vegara was without doubt perfect for the role, hysterical, and entertaining. I loved the scenery and camera work as only a Director of this calibre can achieve. Im not sure if this is an indie film, but it certainly isn't a traditional Hollywood one I know that.

We walked out being happy to have seen it, my girlfriend even said she wanted to go straight home and cook something.... that might be cheesy, but its the sign of a story that had an influence.... cant say that about a lot of films these days.... PS. Emjay Anthony was brilliant to watch, he has a big future ahead of him.

The best film of 2014 so far

[caloner2002 · 10/10 · 30 July 2014]

I've been disappointed frequently with what I've seen so far: Godzilla, X-Men, Spiderman 2, Maleficent, and The Other Woman (which was so bad I walked out after 15 minutes). So I didn't have high expectations for this movie. However, it turned out to be so good that I've seen it twice. The story, the acting, the cooking, and the music combined to create a wonderful recipe for a beautiful movie. You don't need special effects, explosions, and $100+ millions to make a good movie. All you need is a good script, decent acting, and perhaps some Cubanos :-) I left the theater feeling really good and happy. I honestly can't remember that last time I felt like that after watching a movie in the cinema. Go see the movie.

Food Porn, At Its Finest

[brettws · 7/10 · 1 June 2014]

I walked into my local AMC with the intention of seeing Chef, per a friend's recommendation, and expected to see a decent midlife-crisis comedy with some good food sprinkled in between. And that's more or less what I got-- which I'd say is a good thing.

Without giving away too much, Chef is a film about a chef (surprising, I know) trying to find a healthy balance between his work, his passion for cooking, and caring for his family. The story is admittedly not the most thought-provoking or insightful script in the world, but expecting so from this film would ruin the heartwarming experience that Chef attempts to convey and succeeds at. Following Carl Casper's changing life and relating to his struggles as a common working American man is the experience that Chef is, and the simplicity of the film's story only helps to convey it better.

Pure Umami

[soraderyu · 9/10 · 8 June 2022]

The more I watch this movie the better it gets. It hits all the notes for me with a good story, a great cast, and mouth watering culinary scenes. Anyone know where I can get a good Cuban sandwich in Texas?

Not a good idea to watch this when you're on a diet

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 18 April 2016]

Since we get overwhelmed by cooking shows now on television I guess the logic step is to make movies about it. The first "cook" movie I saw was Burnt with Bradley Cooper and I hated that one so much I had my thoughts when I saw there was going to be another one on the same subject. Certainly when I saw that Burnt didn't get really bad ratings while the movie was very bad in my eyes. But I saw that Chef got even better ratings so I gave it a shot. And what a difference this one was. It's a thousand times better then Burnt. Maybe it was not a good idea to watch Chef now for me because I'm on a strict diet since a couple of weeks and so during the whole movie I dreamed about the food I could not get. But for the movie itself the story is okay, it's not really a comedy, just a drama about a chef that doesn't like critics and tries to be a good cook. Unlike Bradley Cooper in Burnt Jon Favreau delivers in this movie. I was never irritated (even though I am seriously hungry all the time now), while with Burnt I could not stand to watch another minute of that crap. In Chef you have a way better story, with a way better cast. Enjoyable movie.

I loved this movie. It was funny, sweet and totally entertaining. A feel good movie.

[TheMovieVlog · 8/10 · 9 May 2014]

Writer/Director/Star Jon Favreau made an auspicious writing/acting debut back in 1996 with the cultural touchstone, SWINGERS. Since then, he has moved smack dab into the middle of mainstream studio filmmaking with such megahits as ELF and IRON MAN. Perhaps as a way to reconnect with his indie roots, Favreau brings us CHEF, the story of a man tired of working for "the man" who strikes out on his own with a food truck and strives to forge a better relationship with his young son. If this sounds like conventional stuff, it is. It's also charming and lazy in equal measure.

Saw one of the advance screenings last night at cia. Entire audience was clapping at the end. We laughed so much. Kudos to favreau for not going the obvious direction we have grown to expect from movies. chef is a well told and comic story of a once up and coming star chef. Dustin Hoffman plays his role as chef caspers boss brilliantly. When pushed to far some very inspired and comic results transpire. You will want to eat after seeing this , even with popcorn in you. I already plan to buy this when it is out on DVD/blu ray.