Chef Review

‘Chef’, the 2014 feel good film, literally allows audiences’ to sit and watch around two hours of non-stop food porn, thus obviously making it a worthy watch. Directed and written by Jon Favreau, ‘Chef’ focuses on the character of Carl Casper (also Jon Favreau (seriously, how many talents does he need?!)), who, after losing his job in a restaurant, reclaims his culinary creativity by starting up his own food truck.

The main aspect of this film which I enjoyed (with the exception of the food) was its overall concept. Although the storyline isn’t the usual ‘mass-action’ style which appeals to mass audiences, it does convey the clear concept of family values, as well as pursuing passions and dreams. The story is simplistic and enjoyable, and is only made better by the likeable characters and fantastic performances (especially the Sons performance which was outstanding).

Another aspect which I enjoyed was the editing style (excuse me as I now sound nerdy). Usually, I can’t stand any form of internet or social media related editing (such as in Holyoaks and Non-Stop), but within Chef, the editing is actually quite fun and attractive, as well as fitting. I must admit though, there are some occasions when text, particularly tweets, are difficult to read. Similarly, when Carl’s son decides to make a second-a-day video, some of the footage appears to be from the same days, thus being a slight continuity error.

Whilst mentioning the more negative aspects of the film, I feel as though the critique should continue and escalate to the main issue I found whilst watching, which was the ending. Although throughout there are tiny issues, such as the disappearance of random characters, this does not overly effect the films enjoyment; however, the ending was completely disappointing.

Although I do not wish to ruin the ending, it is both abrupt and out of the blue. The film does end on a more romantic note; however, throughout the film, there is no clear indication of romantic interest. I feel as though the poor ending did let the rest of the film down, especially due to the fact that prior to the ‘six months later’ aspect, there is an appropriate place to end.

With the ending aside, the film as a whole was enjoyable, and probably one which I will watch again when I’m feeling down or the need to be inspired. The script is largely enjoyable, as are the previously mentioned aspects such as characters, performances and predominant themes. It’s visually pleasing as well as heavily carrying the feel-good factor, thus making it a worthy watch, particularly on a rainy day.