The Menu

"The Menu" offers a trailer spectacular enough to entice me to set foot in a physical movie theater for the first time in 3 years. Packed with both veteran and burgeoning actors and directed by Mark Mylod of "Succession" fame, this movie has all the goodies to entertain you and make you think at the same time, supposedly. It starts out well enough, introducing quirky mysterious characters starting with Elsa played by Hong Chau. I find her really captivating in this role, a perfect combo of politeness and menace. Why is she dressed like that? Then we meet the Chef who has an agenda that unravels through the perspective of Margot, played by the always-awesome Anya Taylor-Joy. Margot is us, wanting to expose the ridiculousness of it all. Yet herein lies the problem with the movie. Its effort as a biting satire turns into a confusing mess at the end. "The Menu" could have given us something to chew on, instead I walk out of the movie theater scratching my head.

What I took away from this movie is that nothing ruins true passion like pretentiousness and hunger for monetary gain. It's a brilliant ode to the thin line between love and obsession and the difference between them both. Ralph Fiennes is perfection in the role as Chef Slowik, once again has he achieved the task of making one feel compassion and tenderness for a character committing unspeakable deeds. Anya Taylor-Joy is brilliant as always, her strong portrayal of "Margot" is awe inspiring, what ever life throws at her, she's ready to face it. Another important, and comforting aspect I learned from this movie is that student loans aren't always a bad thing.

THE MENU is a good and unusual little thriller that proves a breath of fresh air in this day and age. One for the more jaded among us, it provides the kind of surprising, satirical modern-times scenario that I was hoping from GLASS ONION (and which didn't land). This one is variously a mystery, a comedy, a horror film and more besides, and it has depth and a careful skewering of a whole industry which I found more than satisfying. The cast is remarkable too, with each particular actor - from Fiennes to Hoult, Leguizamo to Taylor-Joy - carefully chosen to fit the perfect role for their talents. Appealing!

Nice try, but the satire doesn't land in this film that skewers pretentious foodies and the chefs who cook for them.

There's already been one satire this year that savages the rich, "Triangle of Sadness," and that's a much better film than this one. I'm ok with an outlandish premise, but if you're going to give me one, then the rules within the world of the movie have to be consistent. In this film, characters act like they're in a realistic horror movie one minute and a goofy satire the next. The tone doesn't stick to one or the other, so what was probably intended to be cutting instead falls flat.

The ending especially is silly. It definitely did not leave me wanting s'more.

Grade: C+

I thought this movie was original, entertaining and very interesting. It has a deeper message about how the world looks today. The constant stress and pressure of performing and pleasing hard-to-please people. People who are spoiled, people who only care about money, people who take life for granted, and so on. This is what the characters in the film, the chef and the guests, represent. The guests represent the worst of us. Constantly feeling pressured about something that you actually think is fun, is no longer fun. That is why the chef has invited these very people to the restaurant. It is such people who have destroyed his passion, meaning and joy in life. If you understand the premise and concept of this movie, you will really like it. The film is dark and exciting, with a chaotic and funny ending, which I liked.