American cuisine

this pleasant-enough comedy is mostly an excuse for a detailed glimpse into the world of gourmet cooking. the formulaic plot concerns an aspiring american who goes to work for a famous temperamental french chef. he ends up loved by the chef and marrying the chef's daughter. nothing special here. however, if you're interested in becoming a chef de cuisine or just curious about what goes on in the kitchens of the world's best restaurants, you'll find it fascinating. plus, there's a lot of gourmet food to drool over. especially memorable is one shot: the chef prepares to release onto the world the first dish that he invented and added to the menu himself. the camera takes the dish's pov, as the waiter carries the plate out of the kitchen, the proud cook & his loving spouse hold hands and gaze like two parents sending their only son into battle!

I happened to catch this movie on French TV one night. It may not be perfect, but as an American living in France, I found that it really captured a lot of the feel of loving another culture, and trying to adapt to it, hard as that can be. I thought it was awesome that everyone spoke French and English - no dubbing, no voice-overs, no copping out and relying on subtitles. Props to them all. No, this is not a movie that's going to make the IMDb 250, but if you like cooking, France, travel, or just connecting with people (not to mention the thought of a bilingual Jason Lee), this is definitely a treat worth tasting.

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

This isn't exactly Jason Lee's best film, but it does show him expanding his acting range. I wouldn't go rent this movie if you're looking for an original and inspiring film, but if you either find yourself with some free time or are a Jason Lee fan, this wouldn't be that bad of a choice.

'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.