Uma Receita Para a Máfia

"Dinner Rush" will inevitably be compared to "Big Night," and other food preparation/restaurant movies, but I think it holds its own as a delicious slice of one night of New York life. As one character plotzes: "When did eating out become theater?"

The wonderful, winsome multi-ethnic ensemble of mostly New York actors --many born in Brooklyn according to the IMDb--who have done a lot of TV work are clearly enjoying making a movie as a coordinated team. Danny Aiello has his best, and somewhat similar, role since "City Hall."

Many of the references may go over the heads of those West of the Hudson or East of the East River, whether to Tribeca (as a newly trendy neighborhood) or Danny Meyer (restaurant entrepreneur). Or even the digs at Queens as the home of mobsters, which were greeted by silence by the Queens audience I saw it with.

The upstairs/downstairs of the kitchen scrambles vs. the dining pleasures and everyone's personal spices are lots of fun. The actors playing obnoxious customers, like Sandra Bernhard, do so with relish but not overplayed.

Keep your palate clear by not looking at the ad campaign or reading the reviews, as I think they give the plot away and I was totally surprised by the ending, er, the dessert.

(originally written 9/29/2001)

Excellent filmmaking and acting meshed so fine. Great character study of people too. Danny Aiello is wonderful as usual. Eduardo Ballerini ("Udo"), slammed such as impression on me! And Summer Phoenix is AMAZING as the patient but put upon waitress Marti. And I loved/hated the art critic jerk. Sandra Bernhardt as usual, a fun to watch bi*ch. I applauded John Corbett's character.As for the chefs' domain, the pace and stress in the kitchen's so palpable. (As someone who once got canned after 2 days in a nursing home kitchen of all places, I so appreciate the stress they endure!) Screw any mobster's presence, if I lived in NY, I'd wanna go down right now to a Tribeca restaurant like this after seeing Dinner Rush!

A hidden gem I would say. Once you start watching this movie, you'll never notice how smoothly you've passed 100 mins of your life. Just some random conversations at various tables, kitchen and bar counter of an Italian restaurant at the mob hit streets of New York. A good blend of family drama with the spice of love, revenge and violence.

Danny Aiello as Louis Cropa fits perfectly to his role of a mob boss ready to leave everything behind.

Summer Phoenix looks stunning as a waitress.

And one can't say why they have John Corbett in this movie till the end comes.

Watch this when you are hungry!!!

I found this gem in the bargain bin at Wal Mart. How it got there, I don't know. The film stars Danny Aiello (Do The Right Thing), Mike McGlone (The Brothers McMullen) and John Corbett (Sex and the City). Set in the fast paced New York Italian restaurant "Gigino", we follow a restaurant owner (Aiello) and his son, the head chef, on a busy Friday night. The film is comprised of witty banter from different tables in the restaurant, following a uptight art critic, a mafiosi from Queens, a food critic and a real mystery man in Corbett's character. The staff has to deal with a power outage, whiny tables and a line chef who is into a bookie 35 grand. The film carries itself with panache every second, and no matter how often I see this picture, be it on DVD or on IFC, I just can't get enough. Check it out!

This is one the rare gems of independent cinema.

I wish more people had seen this when it came out. It is a beautifully shot film about the life of a restaurant on a busy night. But there is so much more to this film. It combines a fascinating mob element that you don't fully understand until the end with the delicate flair of a master chef combining ingredients in a meal. The ending is immensely surprising and gratifying. All the performances are believable, especially Corbett who is in his best film. It is the dynamic of a trendy restaurant dealing with a record-breaking night, however that makes this film superb. It takes so many lives and elements and brings them together with aplomb. This is one of the best films in recent years.