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May 08, 2014 By Austin Trunick Web Exclusive

Does watching The Cooking Channel sometimes make you sweat? If you’re the type who gets their culinary rocks off just by watching food being prepared, then you’ll get a lot more out of Jon Favreau’s Chef than the average viewer.

The filmmaker plays Carl Casper, a celebrity chef at a popular Los Angeles restaurant who’s stuck not only in a creative rut—he’s been preparing the same dishes night after night for years—but in a personal one. He’s estranged from his wife (Sofia Vergera) and preteen son, and his fling with his smoking hot coworker (Scarlett Johannson) is grinding to a halt. He’s forced into re-evaluating his stunted career when a massive social networking faux pas soon costs him his job. (The movie’s so heavily inundated with Twitter references that it’ll feel as dated as You’ve Got Mail in five years’ time. Haven’t they heard that Twitter died?)

From that point on, the movie’s pure schmaltz. We watch Carl get his life in order and reconnect with his son over a shared love of food. Still, it’s nice to see Favreau heading back to his smaller, Swingers-esque comedic roots, and Chef’s cast—which includes Bobby Cannavale, John Leguizamo, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert Downey Jr. in addition to the aforementioned Johansson and Vergera—is stacked to the brim. It’s nothing remotely groundbreaking, but the film is as broad and agreeable as they come. Though, consider this your fair warning about the egregious foodie pandering. A bit of advice: have the highest-rated Cuban restaurant in your ‘hood already cued up on Seamless before you sit down in the theater. (You’ll thank us later.)

www.chefthefilm.com

Author rating: 5.5/10