Diagnostic: délicieux

7.4 stars.

At first I was liking 'Diagnosis Delicious', the actors are fresh, not the same ones I've seen over and over. The lead female's character is unusual as a cardiologist who can't cook (this film centers around cooking), but she's very laid back and kind. It's a strange mix of personality traits in a lead role for a woman, which I enjoy. The lead male is a celebrity chef down on his luck due to an incident of tossing food in a critic's face. He has been somewhat blacklisted. The cardiologist needs the chef to help her with her career, and in return he could be rewarded by securing a stable job. There is a total absence of attraction for a good long while as they marinate in the friend zone, making the movie slow.

It's mainly about a chef and a cardiologist, but there are two side stories that focus on the cardiologist's best friend (a neurosurgeon) and her ex, and also an ill woman and her estranged daughter.

In one scene, her friend stress eats three full plates of appetizers she's prepared for the chef. My problem: it's so offensive. True friends don't mistreat like this, and it's totally obnoxious and rude. She shrugs it off as just another day being her best friend's doormat. Heck no! Funny thing, this act is out of character for her friend, so it's all the more confusing and distasteful to watch.

Be prepared for sad and sobering moments, people are sick and dying. She is a cardiologist after all, and the setting is in a hospital.

The romance finally kicks in, but feels a bit too little too late. However, there is some good chemistry between them, so it's entertaining enough to hold my attention. 'Diagnosis Delicious' is missing some key elements. The chef makes a rash decision that feels out of place, the story drags on, and the end is too rushed...probably the director's fault.

There are some recognizable faces that may surprise you.

Self-absorbed, short-tempered, self-important chef has no patients-erm- patience for a busy cardiologist who's a little too busy saving lives to learn how to make chicken Cordon-Bleu. Watch it for Bess Armstrong and Jessica Tuck, who are always great.

The story begins in a typical way. Woman must convince a man to do a job or she doesn't get a promotion. It's pretty sad that to get the job of Chief Resident, she has to convince an arrogant chef to teach a cooking class at the hospital. I will say that the story isn't completely stale. It has 2 major love stories plus a secondary one related to a patient drama, so three stories in one. But to me that was unfortunate because it diluted Nina and Dave's story.

Nina and Dave don't start out well. Both are arrogant and stubborn. For over half the commercial running time of the movie, Nina refuses to compromise to achieve her goal of convincing Dave and neither has anything positive to say to the other for that whole time. Based on their behavior, neither one deserved that the other say anything positive. Then suddenly, they are about to kiss and with little to explain the sudden attraction. I didn't check the time, but I swear it was a lot less than 10 minutes of screen time together since their last big argument. This is the problem with trying to do too many things with the story. Nina and Dave's story made no sense. The other two stories had more appeal.

The flow of the stories was clumsy at times giving a feeling of being forced too much. The ending was way too predictable. The dialogue was plain.

Did anyone else think that the two residents had too much free time?

Overall, with a couple of exceptions, the acting is from bad to fair. I never got over Nina's crabbiness to care for Maya Stojan. I thought she was stiff even after the relationship started to improve. I would say pretty much the same for Ryan Rottman. And the two had no chemistry, probably because they spent far more time angry at each other than friendly. Bess Armstrong probably had the best performance, and Nina's girlfriend, the brain surgeon, was also decent. The rest of the cast, especially the head doctor and loud mouthed board member, fall in the bad category.

Nice movie and very clever, with connections made through the main chef (congratulations to the director and script). A cheerful and moral film, it uses the kitchen to physically and morally bring acquaintances and friends closer.

I enjoyed this movie, the chemistry between the lead actors was great. I also liked Tanya Chisholm in her supporting role.