What's Cooking? (2000)

In LA's Fairfax district, where ethnic groups abound, four households celebrate Thanksgiving amidst family tensions. In the Nguyen family, the children's acculturation and immigrant parents... See full summary »

Director:

Gurinder Chadha

Writers:

Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges

Stars:

Mercedes Ruehl, Victor Rivers, Joan Chen

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Avila
Victor Rivers	...	Javier Avila
Douglas Spain	...	Anthony 'Tony' Avila
Maria Carmen	...	Sofia Avila
Isidra Vega	...	Gina Avila
Elena Lopez	...	Grandma Avila
A Martinez	...	Daniel 'Danny'
Richard Yniguez	...	Robert Avila
Lorraine Perez	...	Auntie Delores
Eva Rodriguez	...	Auntie Eva
Adrian Armas	...	Avila cousin
Caz	...	Gordo, the Avila's dog
Joan Chen	...	Trinh Nguyen
François Chau	...	Duc Nguyen (as Francois Chau)
Will Yun Lee	...	Jimmy Nguyen

Storyline

In LA's Fairfax district, where ethnic groups abound, four households celebrate Thanksgiving amidst family tensions. In the Nguyen family, the children's acculturation and immigrant parents' fears collide. In the Avila family, Isabel's son has invited her estranged husband to their family dinner. Audrey and Ron Williams want to keep their own family's ruptures secret from Ron's visiting mother. In the Seelig household, Herb and Ruth are unwilling to discuss openly their grown daughter's living with her lover, Carla. Around each table, things come to a head. A gun, an affair, a boyfriend, and a pregnancy precipitate crises forcing each family to find its center.

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Plot Keywords:

pregnancy | thanksgiving | gun | divorce | los angeles california | 

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Taglines:

Thanksgiving. A celebration of food, tradition and relative insanity.

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, brief language and a perilous situation

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Spanish Vietnamese Yiddish

Release Date:

31 August 2001 (UK)

Also Known As:

Négy vacsora

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£45,445 (UK) (31 August 2001)

Gross:

£45,445 (UK) (31 August 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Because Entertainment, Flashpoint (I), Hope and Gravy Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Bonanza (1959)

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Soundtracks

"Wipeout"
(1962)
Written by Ronald Wilson, Robert Berryhill, Patrick Connolly and Jim Fuller
Published by Miraleste and Robin Hood Music (BMI)
Performed by Craig Pruess (as Craig), Daryl Pruess (as Daryl) and Ben Pruess
Produced by Craig Pruess
Executive producer by Gurinder Chadha

User Reviews

American Stew

We've had AMERICAN PIE, AMERICAN BEAUTY, and AMERICAN PSYCHO. This is AMERICAN STEW.

The film is entertaining as it mixes drama and comedy into an interesting recipe. To use other metaphors, the film is the American tossed salad or mixing bowl. We see four quite different families experiencing Thanksgiving day in seemingly different ways. But underneath, we see also the similarities of the joys, pains, and struggles as the various families deal with the reality hidden beneath the holiday veneer.

As the family members connect with and disconnect from each other and with members of the other families, the surface is pulled away, and we see what is really underneath the pleasantries and polite facades. This is a very accurate depiction of the sadness and humor that surround family holidays, and the film might be a good thing to watch just before or during such holidays. We see ourselves reflected in the mirror of the movie and can learn that holidays can be hilarious pains.