Chef (2014)

A head chef quits his restaurant job and buys a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family.

Director:

Jon Favreau

Writer:

Jon Favreau

Stars:

Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Favreau	...	Carl Casper
John Leguizamo	...	Martin
Bobby Cannavale	...	Tony
Emjay Anthony	...	Percy
Scarlett Johansson	...	Molly
Dustin Hoffman	...	Riva
Sofía Vergara	...	Inez
Oliver Platt	...	Ramsey Michel
Amy Sedaris	...	Jen
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Marvin
Russell Peters	...	Miami Cop
Chase Grimm	...	Vendor
Will Schutze	...	Mr. Bonetangles
Gloria Sandoval	...	Flora
Jose C. Hernandez	...	Abuelito (as Jose C. Hernandez 'Perico')

Storyline

Carl Casper is an acclaimed chef with a family life that seems as decaying as his artistic freedom. Those frustrations boil over into a raucous viral-videoed public confrontation against a restaurant critic who panned his cooking of food that his boss ordered him to make against his instincts. Now with his career ruined, Carl's ex-wife offers an unorthodox solution in Miami: refit an old food truck to offer quality cooking on his own terms. Now with his young son, Percy, and old colleague, Martin, helping, Carl takes a working trip across America with that truck to rediscover his gastronomic passion. With Percy's tech savvy and Martin's enthusiasm, Carl finds that he is creating a traveling sensation on the way home. In doing so, Carl discovers he is serving up more than simply food, but also a deeper connection with his life and his family that is truly delicious in its own way.

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Plot Keywords:

food | food truck | chef | tequila | beer | 

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Taglines:

Starting from scratch never tasted so good.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, including some suggestive references

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Pinterest

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 May 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chef: La receta de la felicidad

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$204,961, 11 May 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$30,640,336, 4 September 2014

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$44,099,145, 4 September 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aldamisa Entertainment, Kilburn Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Jon Favreau on the Director's commentary, for some of the road scenes, stock footage was used, and the truck was put in the scenes digitally.

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Goofs

After being on the 10 freeway all the way from Florida, New Orleans, past Austin and on to Los Angeles, they are seen entering California outside of Laughlin Nevada.

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Quotes

Carl Casper: Why should I fuck Twitter?

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Crazy Credits

Near the end of the credits, there is a brief scene of chef Roi Choi teaching Jon Favreau how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

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Connections

References Hell's Kitchen (2005)

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Soundtracks

Cavern
Written by Scott Hartley, Richard McGuire, Salvatore Principato and Dennis Young
Performed by Liquid Liquid
Courtesy of GR Entertainment & Mo'Wax Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Tasty!

I can't help feeling that this movie is not only about a chef finding himself, but it's also about lead actor/director Jon Favreau trying to get back in touch with the kind of films he used to make -- small ones without guys wearing super-suits or cowboys drawing down on aliens. Here, Favreau's Carl Casper quits his big Iron Restaurant job and rediscovers himself, and his passion for food and family, by running a Chef-sized food truck. Results: excellent.

Films like this can be lost if the wrong kid is cast. Emjay Anthony is the right kid. He's great as Percy. I particularly enjoyed the way the film handled Percy's internet-savviness, and how he used it. John Leguizamo is a great fit as Carl's friend and sous-chef. Sofia Vergara as Carl's ex- wife is, as usual, capable and stunning.

See Chef, and bear witness as a good filmmaker continues his journey to becoming a great one.