With such high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes (both critics and audience) and on IMDb, Chef seemed like a perfect comedy to enjoy on a Friday night.
I appreciate Jon Favreau's talent on The Avengers and the Star Wars franchises. That's what made Chef a letdown. The conversations between Chef Casper (Jon Favreau) and his son were dominated by fast-talking quips. If you're not paying attention, you'll miss what they're saying. Favreau also says those lines with no expression whatsoever on his face; to me, I don't see the purpose of that type of delivery. And who even talks like that?
Onto the humor...there were some moments that were kind of funny, I'll admit. I love to see John Leguizamo and Robert Downey Jr. However, the bulk of the comedy is 1. Overuse of swear words 2. Sex/genital-related jokes.
Plus, does no one else find it strange that a white man starts a Cuban food truck by leveraging his Latina ex-wife's connections and the help of his Latino ex-employee? It feels even more like cultural appropriation, because the relationships and dialogue between the characters don't feel natural to the point where I believe that he's truly passionate about Cuban culture and cuisine.
The main reasons I'm not giving this a one star rating are that I liked the message of rediscovering your love for something and taking an unconventional path. Casper also gains some empathy vis a vis his son, which was one plot point that was believable.
I appreciate Jon Favreau's talent on The Avengers and the Star Wars franchises. That's what made Chef a letdown. The conversations between Chef Casper (Jon Favreau) and his son were dominated by fast-talking quips. If you're not paying attention, you'll miss what they're saying. Favreau also says those lines with no expression whatsoever on his face; to me, I don't see the purpose of that type of delivery. And who even talks like that?
Onto the humor...there were some moments that were kind of funny, I'll admit. I love to see John Leguizamo and Robert Downey Jr. However, the bulk of the comedy is 1. Overuse of swear words 2. Sex/genital-related jokes.
Plus, does no one else find it strange that a white man starts a Cuban food truck by leveraging his Latina ex-wife's connections and the help of his Latino ex-employee? It feels even more like cultural appropriation, because the relationships and dialogue between the characters don't feel natural to the point where I believe that he's truly passionate about Cuban culture and cuisine.
The main reasons I'm not giving this a one star rating are that I liked the message of rediscovering your love for something and taking an unconventional path. Casper also gains some empathy vis a vis his son, which was one plot point that was believable.