Chef (2014)
89%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 4 nominations
Chef’s charming cast and sharp, funny script add enough spice to make this feel-good comedy a flavorful — if familiar — treat
Chef is a movie that will make you want to quit your job and become a chef, even if you can’t cook to save your life. It’s a heartwarming story about a man who rediscovers his passion for food and life, and it’s filled with mouth-watering shots of delicious food that will make you want to lick the screen. Sure, it’s not the most dramatic movie out there, but it’s a feel-good movie that will leave you with a smile on your face and a rumble in your stomach. So, grab some popcorn and get ready to drool over some amazing food in Chef.
Production Company(ies)
Titanus Société Nouvelle Pathé Cinéma Société Générale de Cinématographie
Distributor
Open Road
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Austin, Texas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, including some suggestive references
Year of Release
2014
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 55m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:India
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 9, 2014 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 30, 2014
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Emjay Anthony, directed by Jon Favreau, written by Jon Favreau, produced by Sergei Bespalov, MPAA rating R, comedy, drama, box office performance $31.2M, budget unknown, reviewed by Liz Braun, Laurence Phelan, Kate Muir, Mark Kermode, Geoffrey Macnab, David Sexton, Richard Crouse, Mike Massie, Brent McKnight, Yasser Medina, Katie Smith-Wong, Nicholas Bell, heartwarming, food truck, Miami, Los Angeles, chef, food, cooking, family, social media, feel-good, humor, positivity, father-son relationship, broken-down, prestigious Los Angeles restaurant, zest for life and love, foodie-gasm, designer cook, soul food, gentle comedy, food porn, endearing slice o’ life, familiar, flavorful, charming cast, sharp, funny script, spice, treat, blockbuster season, comic book character, meat-and-potatoes, main course, unashamedly, jeopardy, characters you like, idiosyncrasies, audiovisual appetite, triviality, repetitive, bland, creative personality, system, repetition, stagnation, light-hearted, lovable, entertaining, egocentrism, self-indulgence, idiot, gorgeous women, humiliation, critic, true calling, happiness, outstanding study, nuance, heart, intelligence, must see, huge win, underrated, Hollywood gem
Worldwide gross: $48,428,048
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $60,522,818
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,251
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,600,089
US/Canada gross: $31,424,003
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $39,272,060
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,172
US/Canada opening weekend: $204,961
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $256,149
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,585
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $11,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $13,747,219
Production budget ranking: 1,546
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $7,402,878
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $39,372,721
ROI to date (est.): 186%
ROI ranking: 662
Sofía Vergara – Inez
John Leguizamo – Martin
Scarlett Johansson – Molly
Dustin Hoffman – Riva
Emjay Anthony – Percy
Director(s)
Jon Favreau
Writer(s)
Jon Favreau
Producer(s)
Sergei Bespalov, Jon Favreau
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (191) | Top Critics (57) | Fresh (166) | Rotten (25)
It’s such a treat to see such an endearing slice o’ life in the middle of this blockbuster season. There’s not a single comic book character in sight.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/5
Liz Braun
Toronto Sun
TOP CRITIC
The result is a small, unashamedly feel-good film that makes up for what it lacks in dramatic jeopardy with gentle comedy, heartwarming family scenes, ladles of food porn, and time spent among characters you like.
July 7, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Laurence Phelan
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Chef is a foodie-gasm of a film, directed by and starring Jon Favreau as a designer cook past his sell-by date, who goes on a road trip from Miami to Los Angeles to find his soul — and soul food.
July 7, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Kate Muir
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Chef slips a few tasty side dishes around its meat-and-potatoes main course.
June 29, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Jon Favreau’s enjoyable and good-natured farce is a rarity in that (as its title tells us) it takes a chef as its central character and treats his profession with something approaching respect.
June 27, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Geoffrey Macnab
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Here’s Chef to show us all, for now and evermore, just what a vanity project really looks like. A public service, in its way.
June 27, 2014 | Rating: 2/5
David Sexton
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
A lightweight, but enjoyable film; an amuse bouche that may leave you hungry for something more substantial but still manages to satisfy.
February 1, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse
When every conflict is quashed within minutes and the predicaments barely register concern, the power to affect audiences dwindles.
December 4, 2020 | Rating: 4/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The first time you do something it might be fresh and risky, but the tenth, twentieth, you risk becoming repetitive and bland. “Chef” is about a creative personality trying to break free from a system that fosters this repetition and stagnation.
July 8, 2020 | Rating: B+
Brent McKnight
The Last Thing I See
Even in the most hungry moments, Chef, as a gastronomic comedy, never fails to feed our audiovisual appetite with all its idiosyncrasies. [Full review in Spanish]
June 26, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
Chef is light-hearted and delicious to watch.
November 20, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5
Katie Smith-Wong
Flick Feast
Even with an air of triviality, as Favreau hounds us with the power of today’s social networking capabilities, Chef manages to engage.
August 30, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/5
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com…
Plot
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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny comment about the film Chef on Fresh Kernels.
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