Dinner Rush (2000)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Bob Giraldi

Writers (WGA):

Rick Shaughnessy (written by) &
Brian S. Kalata (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Plot:

Is it just another evening at the hugely popular Italian restaurant of proprietor and bookmaker Louis Cropa in New York...

Plot Keywords:

Food | Restaurant | Detective | Critic | Gangster

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Danny Aiello	...	Louis Cropa
John Rothman	...	Gary Lieberman
Frank Bongiorno	...	Enrico Coventie
Lexie Sperduto	...	Lucy Clemente
Zainab Jah	...	Adrian
Alex Corrado	...	Paolo
Mike McGlone	...	Carmen
Walt MacPherson	...	Detective Drury
Polly Draper	...	Natalie Clemente
Edoardo Ballerini	...	Chef Udo Cropa
Vivian Wu	...	Nicole Chan
Manny Perez	...	Gabriel
Ajay Naidu	...	Ademir the Matre'd
Andre Haynes Richarson	...	Machine (as Andre Richardson Haynes)
Summer Phoenix	...	Marti Wellington

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38347)

Filming Locations:

Gigino Trattoria - 323 Greenwich Street, Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Access Motion Picture Group

Trivia:

Was filmed in only 21 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: As soon as the lights come back on in the restaurant, the bartender is seen yanking his flashlight off his wrist. A few seconds later in a close-up, he is seen taking it off again and setting it behind the bar.

Quotes:

[Udo spies Duncan cooking sausage and peppers on the stove]
Udo Cropa: What's that smell?
Duncan: Huh?
Udo Cropa: What's that smell?
Duncan: I stink.

Soundtrack:

Star

Brilliant and charming, a bit like a fine restaurant

This is really a hidden gem that should have had a major impact at the cinemas everywhere. It truly is a loss to anyone who misses it.

The characters are charming, obnoxious, familiar, unexpected and with a great many stereotypes this offers a fascinating mix played out at a weird and wonderful pace that switches easily between relaxed and frantic. The character gallery on its own is reason to see this film but the various tracks of the story offers added value not seen as comfortably intertwined in other films for many years. The stories are steered by an amazing screenplay based on non-stop dialogue that places you right at the centre of affairs, or indeed inside the restaurant where 90% of the film is set.

If you enjoy the witty repartee of Smoke or Clerks (although nowhere near as vulgar) then you must see this film.

Danny Aiello is brilliant, so are the majority of the not so well known cast and the supporting role of John Corbett offers a new perspective on an otherwise strong stereotype, almost worth the ticket price itself.