Dinner Rush

"Dinner Rush" has not been released in Germany --- which usually indicates a not very successful B-movie... In this case, it is a B-movie (shot in only 21 days!), but, uuhhh baby, it is one of the best B-movies ever made.

Elegant camera movements, a superb ensemble cast (Danny Aiello, John Corbett, Edoardo Ballerini, Vivian Wu, Sandra Bernhard, Mark Margolis, and beautiful Summer Phoenix), an intriguing story, marvelously directed ... they usually don't make movies like that anymore. Bob Giraldi did an excellent job with his actors, and production designer Andrew Bernard created a stunning atmosphere.

"Dinner Rush" ranks among my all-time favorite films. It might be not suitable for everyone, but then, what movie is? It's an entertaining, witty, thoughtful portrayal of New York of the millennium --- enchanting!

"Dinner Rush" will inevitably be compared to "Big Night," and other food preparation/restaurant movies, but I think it holds its own as a delicious slice of one night of New York life. As one character plotzes: "When did eating out become theater?"

The wonderful, winsome multi-ethnic ensemble of mostly New York actors --many born in Brooklyn according to the IMDb--who have done a lot of TV work are clearly enjoying making a movie as a coordinated team. Danny Aiello has his best, and somewhat similar, role since "City Hall."

Many of the references may go over the heads of those West of the Hudson or East of the East River, whether to Tribeca (as a newly trendy neighborhood) or Danny Meyer (restaurant entrepreneur). Or even the digs at Queens as the home of mobsters, which were greeted by silence by the Queens audience I saw it with.

The upstairs/downstairs of the kitchen scrambles vs. the dining pleasures and everyone's personal spices are lots of fun. The actors playing obnoxious customers, like Sandra Bernhard, do so with relish but not overplayed.

Keep your palate clear by not looking at the ad campaign or reading the reviews, as I think they give the plot away and I was totally surprised by the ending, er, the dessert.

(originally written 9/29/2001)

I found this gem in the bargain bin at Wal Mart. How it got there, I don't know. The film stars Danny Aiello (Do The Right Thing), Mike McGlone (The Brothers McMullen) and John Corbett (Sex and the City). Set in the fast paced New York Italian restaurant "Gigino", we follow a restaurant owner (Aiello) and his son, the head chef, on a busy Friday night. The film is comprised of witty banter from different tables in the restaurant, following a uptight art critic, a mafiosi from Queens, a food critic and a real mystery man in Corbett's character. The staff has to deal with a power outage, whiny tables and a line chef who is into a bookie 35 grand. The film carries itself with panache every second, and no matter how often I see this picture, be it on DVD or on IFC, I just can't get enough. Check it out!

Fan a fresh deck of cards with the spots up and the coherence is immediately apparent. Shuffle the deck and coherence is lost...the purpose of the shuffle. In "Dinner Rush", Giraldi and company manage to shuffle a deck of plots, personal issues, and cuisine with the controlled chaos of a restaurant during the dinner rush while never losing coherence, building characters and stories, and wrapping everything up with a bow in just over 1.5 hours. Masterfully crafted, "Dinner Rush" has a story to tell, offers solid performances, works well in claustrophobic conditions, sports a cosmopolitan cast, and is imbued with gourmet cooking and an ever present taste of "the Big Apple". Not for everyone, this flick will appeal most to those who can appreciate a film as much for its execution and style as for its story. (B+)

Excellent filmmaking and acting meshed so fine. Great character study of people too. Danny Aiello is wonderful as usual. Eduardo Ballerini ("Udo"), slammed such as impression on me! And Summer Phoenix is AMAZING as the patient but put upon waitress Marti. And I loved/hated the art critic jerk. Sandra Bernhardt as usual, a fun to watch bi*ch. I applauded John Corbett's character.As for the chefs' domain, the pace and stress in the kitchen's so palpable. (As someone who once got canned after 2 days in a nursing home kitchen of all places, I so appreciate the stress they endure!) Screw any mobster's presence, if I lived in NY, I'd wanna go down right now to a Tribeca restaurant like this after seeing Dinner Rush!