Pleasing to your olfactory sense

Film Review: Chef

MANILA, Philippines - The film Chef has got me wondering. Do you think there will come a time when the movies will not only provide images with the illusion of depth as in 3D and clear, lifelike sounds like Sensurround, but also with the smell of whatever we happen to be watching? 

Smell as in scent. Think of Nicole Kidman floating into the screen with the scent of Dior. Beautiful. Or as in odor. Think Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, all beefy and sweaty. Maybe this kind can be optional. Or smell as in aroma, kitchen scents, the smell of food, food glorious food. That would be simply delicious.

With its varied, possible palette of cooking aromas, Chef would make a great sampler piece should somebody come up with that sense of smell feature for films. Food from the uppity restaurants of L.A. to a food truck in Miami with some side trips along the way is the framework against which actor, director and writer Jon Favreau sets his delectable everyman story. 

It is food that made Carl Casper, played by Favreau, a rising star chef. It is also food that brought him down. And then after he had learned his lessons about what really matters in life, it is food that brought him back. Not really on top again but up where he can be happy.

The rotound, life-loving Carl is a popular chef at Gauloises in Los Angeles. The eatery owner Riva, played by Dustin Hoffman in a cameo, cares nothing about the food. All that he wants Carl to serve are the old boring dishes considered bestsellers. This results in a burning review by top food critic Ramsey Michael played by Oliver Platt. Carl and Ramsey go at it on Twitter and in person with explosive results. Soon Carl is without a job in a town where nobody would hire him.

Now Carl has an ex-wife, Inez, played by the va-va-voom Sofia Vergara of the TV show Modern Family. She convinces him to accompany her and their son, Percy, the utterly charming Emjay Anthony, on a trip to far-off Miami where hopefully, he can live down his social media notoriety and start anew. There, Inez’s other ex-husband Marvin, played by Robert Downey Jr. in another cameo, gives Carl an old food truck that sets him off to recovering not only his career but also his life.

In case, you, too, are now wondering, maybe we should get the reasons for the cameo stuff out of the way. Farveau is literally and figuratively a big guy in the movie business. Aside from acting, he is the director and co-producer of Iron-Man and Cowboys and Aliens. He wrote, directed and partnered with Vince Vaughan in Swingers. He did and still does lots of big movie and TV things. 

So, l guess, all it takes is a phone call from Favreau and he can have, Downey, Hoffman, plus Scarlett Johansson, Gary Shandling and other big names appear in his films. And they do in Chef. Admittedly, their presence can be distracting at times because the audience tends to focus on them instead of on what is happening. But no director in his right mind would refuse to have these stars appear in their films. And so they stay.

And now back to Chef, Favreau’s simple tale that is all heart. It is actually three different types of movies strung together. This is usually a no-no in the business but Farveau is so sweet and guileless about it that you can easily forgive him for mixing up his types just like his dishes.  

Chef is the story of Carl, a good guy whom fate dealt a cruel hand, was allowed to suffer a bit and then restored to happiness with the help of nice people. Chef is also a road movie where a family travels cross country seeing the sights and sampling the cuisine, bonding and learning to love each other. 

Next, it is a heartwarming father and son tale. Because they were forced by the exigencies of his situation to be together Carl learns about how social media works from Percy who also helps him fix up his food cart. In exchange, he imparts to his son his skill and love for cooking. And the end result is they develop a closeness they will cherish all their lives.

There is actually a fourth type of film in the mix and this is more of a documentary. This one is about food and all of it is so lovingly and mouth-wateringly photographed. It is about the virtues of street food or common folk food that can be more filling and comforting compared against the expensive and trendy haute cuisine. 

Think of those times you came home feeling hungry after a rich feast and had rice and tuyo with tomatoes. What about jumping up to buy when you hear the bell of the “dirty” ice cream man or lining up to sample street food when you go to Hong Kong or never leaving New York without a hot dog lunch at Central Park. Lowly food but heavenly.

Carl was courting the approval of both his boss and the food critic with his cooking. He cannot please both. Thank heavens, he found something that can please a lot more people instead.  Cubano sandwiches from his cart. I do not know how good Favreau’s sandwiches are but I have tried Cubano-style sandwiches, and they are really good.

Cubano sandwiches and Vergara are not the only Latin goodies in Chef. There is also the ever-fantastic supporting actor John Leguizamo as Carl’s assistant. And something that greatly contributed to the easy, feel-good effect of the story, lots of excellent Latin tunes in the soundtrack. Good food, great sights and sounds like Oye Como Va in the background make for a truly satisfying treat.

So watch, relax and enjoy. And might as well add, then dream of all that gorgeous food you will surely want to eat.