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Created Jun 02, 2014 09:23PM PST • Edited May 11, 2020 08:47PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   Jon Favreau clocks a home run with Chef, a flat-out fantastic little movie. Funny and feel-good, yet not fatuous, Favreau downshifts from Iron Man into an almost equally impressive result. The guy wrote the story and stars as a likable dad, dude and boss. That must make him the Most Admired Filmmaker in Hollywood this year.

   Chef should be on every Date Night itinerary from here to the Fourth of July. Literally, if you go on more than say two dates this month – June ‘14 – and don’t see Chef, something is wrong with your relationship. Just saying.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Jon Favreau rocks a Chef’s Knife tattoo on his forearm, a great first touch. He hardly makes a false move thereafter in a quintessential post-post-modern leading man performance. Of course he benefits from the 21st Century Hollywood Hustle, where a non-Adonis like Favreau gets to have loved and lost a super-hottie like Sofía Vergara. It’s the Rogen Move and Favreau knows just how to play it. He should direct someday.

   Great Supporting Cast

   • Sofía Vergara as his lovely ex-wife and mother of his cute-as-the-Dickens son. She doesn’t have the biggest part, but she’s gorgeous as ever, here playing a softer version of her TV persona. Softer is even more appealing, if that’s possible.
   • John Leguizamo as Chef’s most trusted worker and road warrior.
   • Bobby Cannavale brightens any cast and does so as Chef’s Sous-chef and drinking buddy.
   • Emjay Anthony, young Emjay Anthony, perfectly plays Chef’s ten year old son, Percy.
   • Scarlett Johansson zips herself into the Front of the House role.
   • Dustin Hoffman cameos as a crazed restauranteur. Pain in the ass character, but Hoffman nails it, naturally.
   • Oliver Platt as a powerful food blogger: Platt has the market on quizzically powerful men cornered.
   • Robert Downey Jr. delivers a devestating cameo as Sofía Vergara’s other ex-husband. Downey clearly models his rich asshole character on Hollywood, which is the real target of Jon Favreau’s movie. Getting investors for a restaurant is like the minor leagues compared to the movie business.
   • Local Color
     • Russell Peters as a celebrity-seeking Miami Cop
     • Will Schutze as a puppeteer pulling the strings on Mr. Bonetangles, one of the more entertaining puppet acts to come along in a while
     • Gloria Sandoval as a main maid in Chef’s ex’s expensive house
     • Nili Fuller as Downey’s super hot Assistant, who says, well, never mind that now.
     • Roy Choi as himself
     • Gary Clark Jr. performing with his band outdoors in Austin

5. Male Stars Really Great 4.5

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

7. Female Costars Very Good 3.5

8. Male Costars Great 4.0

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    Foodies, parents and Jon Favreau fans are all squarely taken care of in a film that anchors itself in L.A., Brentwood actually, and then lands in Miami before spending the final reel as a road trip back to California via Texas. Lots of local color gets explored.

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music Really Great 4.5

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 2.1

    Gently Risqué, F-bombing in the kitchen especially

17. Sex Titillating 2.2

18. Violence Gentle 1.5

19. Rudeness Profane 2.6

21. Reality

    Glib 1.2

    Chef could serve as a primer on social media for those who think you Twitter on Twitter. That said, the movie’s circumstantial reality is a bit fanciful, especially about social media.

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.7

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0