Chef

Open Road Films | Release Date: May 9, 2014

7.7	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 341 Ratings

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csw12Nov 2, 2014

Chef uses the same tired out story lines I've seen a hundred times in movies. So you would think the comedy would make up for it, not a chance. Chef is overlong and extremely boring, with a main character that i wanted to fail. Not a goodChef uses the same tired out story lines I've seen a hundred times in movies. So you would think the comedy would make up for it, not a chance. Chef is overlong and extremely boring, with a main character that i wanted to fail. Not a good recipe for a film.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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KnowNothingMar 28, 2015

Pointless, boring waste of time. Never struck an emotional chord at all. I'd rather do dishes than watch this movie. As a matter of fact, at one point I did. I had to. The movie was killing me!

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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ScraperApr 20, 2015

This movie was not good. A long road back to your ex and reconcilement with your kid is a personally soulful and revealing journey. In Chef, it's used the same as typical Thursday night tv plot fodder. I don't care how many hugs you load theThis movie was not good. A long road back to your ex and reconcilement with your kid is a personally soulful and revealing journey. In Chef, it's used the same as typical Thursday night tv plot fodder. I don't care how many hugs you load the cannon with, I do not give a **** Also, hooray for food. We've all had slow-cooked meat before. Stop rolling your eyes with enjoyment. It doesn't take us there. Finally, I don't think whoever made this realized what a shameless Twitter commercial this movie was. People, there were animated tweeting Twitter birds when someone sent a tweet in this film. Hooray for popularity and two extra big cheers for social media. Dumb. I mean dumb.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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heloheJul 31, 2015

C'mon, why are people giving this movie good reviews? I was bored throughout.
There was only one good thing: The food in the movie looked excellent. Really tasty. I got hungry when I saw the dishes. But, that is it.
Everything else wasC'mon, why are people giving this movie good reviews? I was bored throughout.
There was only one good thing: The food in the movie looked excellent. Really tasty. I got hungry when I saw the dishes. But, that is it.
Everything else was boring. There were very lame jokes, that were not funny. The movie is supposed to be a comedy, but I never laughed.
The acting is terrible or worse. The "actress" playing the chef's ex-wife, did not even try acting. She was like she was reading down from the script. It looks like she never acted before and never practised her role. Same with the boy.
The whole movie was predictable. With a plot that could be told to someone in 1 minute.
I was waiting for the whole movie for anything interesting to happen, anything unexpected, but nothing. It is like a happy-family-good-life-everything-perfect-movie or something.
And even more bottering, lots of well known actors having some minor role just for the sake of getting their name in the credits.
Don't waste your time and money on this movie.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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YoBroOct 19, 2019

Neither charming nor funny enough to be as forgettable as it is. Beyond pointless.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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Bakugan364erNov 14, 2021

I love the concept of this movie, but there's just too much language, even a 10 year old saying the S word! I mean come one!

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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JackOfNoTradesAug 13, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a movie about Jon Favreau, written, directed, produced, and starring Jon Favreau. No characters are developed because why would we want to know anything about anyone other than Jon Favreau? The guy is mega-talented, but has lost his inspiration. He's hit rock bottom, except that he's sleeping with Scarlett Johansson, which is rock bottom for a stud like Jon Favreau. That's just one of dozens of plot holes we're supposed to ignore. The predictable ending includes Jon Favreau getting back together with Sofia Vergara, you know, because he's Jon Favreau and he's found his way again.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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DawdlingPoetNov 28, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of this film after a while, as I'd read that it was categorised as a comedy drama, yet it didn't seem very, well, uh, funny - certainly not at first anyway. There are some comedy elements further in to the film but they seemed fairly immature/childish to me and not particularly (oyu guessed it) funny. I did have a wry laugh at the fact that it seemed pretty obvious that the chefs pre-pubescent son was better behaved and more mature than him(!). For example, one scene between the chef and the restaurant boss Riva includes him defending his rude and immature tweet that he sent to a critic who gave him a bad write-up, by saying that 'he started it!'. Yes, it seems we really are back in the playground, whereas his young son was able to explain how to use twitter to promote his work (which obviously backfired). This is a family related drama with, as I've mentioned, some comedy elements. The main cast include Jon Favreau as the main character Carl, John Leguizamo as Martin, Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara. Other cast members include Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey Jnr. Speaking of Sofia Vergara, who most people would probably know as regularly appearing in the Sky1 US sitcom 'Modern Family', I thought that this film was a bit like a feature film length version of 'Modern Family', with the comedy being quite bickery (if thats a term?) and chaotic.

I suppose, theme wise, you could say its about anger management, workplace stress and even, perhaps, a mid-life breakdown - all prime comedy material, im sure you'll agree! yes it is quite dark but I can't say it especially impressed me really. I found it mildly entertaining and one or two of the plot elements amused me but thats just about it. It does have a good cast and it could be worse but it certainly didn't seem very memorable to me. Maybe its unfair but I did feel like the main character was quite hard to feel sorry for or otherwise to be emotionally attached or bothered about, for the most part. He comes across as quite egotistical, quite territorial and ultimately rather petty. I suppose some may find it more funny than I did, in as much as it being a slight case of 'car crash TV' - where the main character puts his foot in his mouth so much that you feel a sense of obligation to laugh when things go tumbling down around him. Thats not really me, though, if you know what I mean.

Content wise, this film carries a 15 certificate, which is due to the strong language present, plus some sex references and one or two scenes featuring animal meat being cut up, which could offend the very squeamish perhaps.

One aspect I quite enjoyed about this film is its musical score, or soundtrack. It features numerous latin American, Cuban sounding instrumental songs, a bit like The Gypsy Kings kind of music, which my parents are quite keen on and so am I. Obviously this is mainly due to the film being partly set in Miami, which has a strong link with Cuba. I enjoyed listening to the tunes perhaps moreso than watching specifically what was going on visually.

I also felt that the end of the film was a bit too Hollywood sickly sweet and sentimental. It just didn't seem that original and I'm still left wondering if this was a film hoping to appeal to a family audience (which isn't likely given the strong language etc.), or one for adults to laugh at the angry, down-and-out type.

Having said all that (and as confusing as it may sound), I realise that I did somehow enjoy the ending, even though I do feel it was a bit sentimental. I don't mind some sentimentality in films but it seemed a bit strange, in as much as the start of the film is more crude, with more swearing etc. and then by the end its all about the basics in life - the importance of those you hold dear (feel free to cringe, if this isn't your 'bag'). Due to this, I felt like there was an element of a lack of overall direction in the plot. I quite liked one or two camera shots of the Miami landscape too, so there is that in its favour. I think its fair to say this is a flawed film and not something worth going out of your way to see but it isn't entirely awful I guess.

Unsurprisingly, no, I wouldn't recommend this film. Its fairly watchable and there were one or two moments that made me smile or laugh a bit but nothing more than that. Its pretty unmemorable in general, despite the rather impressive cast. Its plot isn't entirely original and somehow I had hoped it'd be better than it was but at the same time, it wasn't so entirely dull that I gave up on it, though perhaps I should have? the soundtrack probably saves it from being the case (if you know what I mean).… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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