goddardr

There is no quibbling about it; this movie does have a certain agenda that some people will find objectionable. Okay. But, there is enough supportive information to at least consider altering our heavy meat and dairy eating habits.

As a middle aged male with questionable eating habits, I have been concerned about my blood pressure, cholesterol, general overweight condition, and the numerous medicines that were necessary to keep them in check. When I watched this documentary, I went to check out some of the information presented. While there are some distortions, the bulk of the facts did vet out. Shortly after scrutinizing the documentary's information, I made the decision to try a plant-based diet, excluding all the meat and dairy that I never thought twice about eating for three months. The end of the three month "test" was to include a medical exam and corresponding blood work. Why not? What is there to lose?

I did decide to include a couple of servings of fish a week in my "vegan" diet. This was a tip of the hat to the Norwegian study that saw a dramatic drop in cardiovascular related deaths when meat and dairy were restricted sharply during WWII. What they specifically left out of the film was the fact that the Norwegians stepped up their fish eating greatly during that time. Other than the inclusion of fish, I went with a plant based diet.

In a nutshell, the blood work and physical changes after three months did see significantly better results. My weight was down. The cholesterol was down 25%. My HDL and LDL ratio improved. Blood pressure still remains an issue and, sorry to say, it didn't help with male performance, but the other results were impressive. When I told my doctor to look at the last year results against this year's, he took a double-take and asked, "What's going on?" He okay'd a cutting of my cholesterol and one of my blood pressure meds. A checkup on the changes are due soon.

While there is plenty to criticize about the film's bias, there is room for all of us to take stock and ask, why not take a step toward improving our eating habits? Is there anyone that really believes eating animal based foods is good for you in large quantities? Yes, probably a hamburger now and then isn't going to kill you, but eating a larger portion of fruits and vegetables is a better step for us in the long run. I'm at about the six-month mark now. I can't see going back to a diet similar to what I had before. I like the way I feel now and I like the numbers on my blood report. It is enough to keep me on a vegan diet.

For those with a cynical outlook on life, this movie isn't for you. If you are looking for angst and conflict, these ingredients are missing as well. If you are interested more in a human interest story and how one can find their way out of a setback from an unexpected direction, this is worth taking a chance.

As you probably know, the main story line involves a chef, once one of the up and comers many years ago, now runs a kitchen in a well established successful restaurant. The restaurant is successful with dishes he created many moons before, but now he wants to freshen up the fare, especially when a noted food critic is scheduled to rate the restaurant again after many years. As you can guess, events happen to cause a total upheaval for the chef.

The complicated part involves his son from a failed marriage. He spends time with him and gets along well with the ex, but he doesn't really "know" his ten year old boy. Now, with encouragement of his ex-wife, he and his son have an opportunity to spend time together while the chef puts together a new strategy.

First off, if you are a food junkie, there are a lot of nice moments involving the preparation of food. It isn't just a plot mechanism; it is a full feature of the whole story.

Second, the chef is struggling with what he wants to do and what he has to do. During his journey, he discovers why he became a chef and why his previous experience was lacking. Who can't identify with this dynamic.

Third, I really enjoyed seeing the change as he goes from a chef in a successful restaurant to a chef that finds what it takes to get himself re-invented and re-energized into his true passion.

This movie does lack the bumps and challenges of many similarly themed plots. Plus, it isn't a doubling-over-with-laughter type of movie. It has fun moments, touching moments, poignant moments, and a few outrageous moments, all of which are executed well. So, since when does this make for a bad movie? Do we need to see recovery from galactic suffering in order to call it a "good" movie? I don't think so.

For the most part, movie goers want to go and have a good time once in a while without the extra baggage of human discontent. There is enough strife to give the story a base to advance the idea that, when pushed, we can change and come out stronger. It is just that this particular journey is a little more enjoyable earlier in the movie than most.

At this point, I'm tired of movies getting a break because the subject matter is "important" and "socially relevant". I'll concede this is a high quality movie crafted by professionals to produce a haunting effect on those that watch it. I just tire of watching the debasing of people from a horrible period time and time again. I tire of us giving awards to these films because it is a socially correct action.

I compare this to "The Color Purple", another fine movie I refuse to ever watch again. The searing pain of watching people abused washes out any kind of positive movie experience possible. Yes, events like this happened and I can't help the world solve every de-humanizing act or give proper retribution to those that suffered. And I know for a fact that watching it displayed in gripping horror on a large screen is not going to help my coming to terms that I had white ancestors abuse other humans.

It seems the success and recognition of these films is just going propagate similar films until we bleed from watching them. How about a film of nothing but beatings? Throw in a little story, but make sure there are copious amounts of footage showing people getting shredded like cooked meat. Will that be enough? Will it ever be enough? No, I don't think so.

If you want to watch this kind of movie knowing full well what you will be facing because, let's face it - there are no surprises here, then by all means, watch it. Award it. Keep producing more and more filmography offspring. Because, evidently, there are plenty of people that want to continue wallowing in it. I have no appetite for it any longer.