American Cuisine

A very nice movie, with lots of funny elements. The characters really come out nicely. You must like cooking at least a bit, though. Sorry about the end, that makes it really worth a 7 instead of an 8. Just forget about it and enjoy the movie.

A young.aspiring.master chef and his experience in France, near the chef inspiring his career. Cultural clashes, a lot of humor, a good fist of cliches and seductive. Eddy Mitchell as tough boss, protective father, not the most pleasant man and the pragmatic old friend.

Food and relations and more than interesting meet between Jason Lee and Eddy Mitchell, the beautiful job of Irene Jacob and few lovely unrealistic situations.

More than an easy romcom, a fair gallery of portraits, in French comedy style, reminding a simple, honest perspective about life and some reasonable questions , from the relation between Gabrielle and her fiance to the apparent improvised end.

But, sure, just charming.

'American Cuisine' tries to do for French cuisine what 'Big Night' did for Italian cuisine and 'Eat Drink Man Woman' did for Chinese cuisine, but it lacks what those two films had - a plot. The movie is about a young American chef named Loren who goes to France to work in the kitchen of his idol, the famous Louis Boyer. It is meant to be a fast paced romp, but ends up a mess as new plot devices are thrown in every other minute. For example, Loren goes from being the slowest chef in the restaurant to taking charge of the operation when Louis Boyer goes mad. That is another implausability -- Boyer is eccentric at best, but certainly not crazy enough to shut down his restaurant or tear apart his family. No matter though. The movie's purpose was to show off the excitement of French culinary art, and it does that well. Plus, the performances by Eddy Mitchell as Chef Boyer, Irene Jacob as his daughter, and Isabelle Petit-Jacques as the nerve-wracked partner of the restaurant (was she also Boyer's wife?) are very charming. Jason Lee, on the other hand, seems to have been miscast. His performance was a bit amateurish. Still, the movie is worth a watch if only to see the food.

I like movies about food and this is why I liked this move very much. I also loved Tampopo or instance, even more than this movie. Anyhow, its a movie about learning a trade, about falling in love, about discovering talent, and growing it. There is a lot of talk in this movie, great little conversations. If you think that Chefs are not like this, I can tell you, they are! I have worked with many a chef like this one. I was dragged by the ear trough the kitchen, pointed out where I left spots. I was hit with the flat side on knives, My hand was put on the grill, believe me the chef in this movie is not anything special, nor especially weird. But I loved the movie. Pieter

I happened to see this movie on the WE - Women's Entertainment Channel the other night, and I found myself fascinated by it from start to finish. I can't wait till it's on again to tape it. While following the format of a light, romantic comedy, this movie takes a close look at some of the details of food and its place in society. It follows the career of an American would-be master chef from seeing why he is dishonorably discharged from the navy to life in his family's pizza parlor to the chance to go to France and study under a French "multi-star" chef. The comedy comes from a good natured mockery of the various pomposities of the chefs, sous-chefs, food critics, tax inspectors, doctors, etc. I thought the plot was quite elaborate, and I liked all the little elements of the movie that gave it the complex flavor of a good pot a feu -- the fight at the market, the dance lessons by the middle eastern kitchen cleaner, the tantric yoga sessions, etc. Even the restaurant's little white panel truck, which you see all over the place in France (they even use them up in the vineyards). I read the few reviews that this movie received, and I think the film is grossly under-rated. There are only a few minor dubbing problems, which I barely noticed. The acting is uniformly good, and you're left with a great feeling, and the urge to go out to eat at a good French restaurant right away! I would urge people to find the movie and watch it -- even though it apparently is not available in any format except German pal videotape. Check it out on WE.