Eat with Me

Eat With Me had been in my recommendations on Netflix for ages, so finally I decided to watch it. I watch quite a few of the LGBT films on Netflix as I am a member of that community so it is nice to see it represented on film once in a while.

However, I found this film just boring. Very little really happens, and when it does its so random it doesn't look or feel realistic. It feels like a plot point.

The relationship between Elliot and his mother was quite sweet to watch as they reconnected with each other, and there is one hilarious scene where the mother Emma, ends up accidentally taking drugs with the nextdoor neighbour.

On to the gay relationship part of the movie, the love interest, Ian, was just terrible terrible terrible - bland and clichéd. Whoever the actor is, his name fails me now he left so little impression, delivered his lines like something from a local amateur dramatic society play. Wooden, and like he was directly reading off a page from the script. There was very little development of the relationship between Elliot and Ian, and because there was no real timeline to follow you couldn't really tell how far along they were supposed to be. Neither did I really care by the end of it.

The movie comes to a fairly abrupt and unsatisfying ending that doesn't really tie up any loose ends from what plot there was.

To sum up, a dull distraction. Something to watch when you have nothing else to.

This film was just so easy to watch and I really didn't want it to end. It was refreshing to see an LGBT film that doesn't just show the same old clichéd style. It approached many issues if relationships (boyfriend/friend, mother/son, husband/wife) in a way that was effective and not crass or raunchy. What I appreciated most is that this film is not just an LGBT film, it transcends all groups and all demographics. I was happy to see the diversity in the cast. The acting was top notch and the writing was a driving force. The music used in this film was almost a character in and of itself. It helped move the story along and held it all together nicely. We really need more films like this to help connect families that might be going through similar issues. The only negative thing I have to say about this film is that all the delicious food throughout made me want to go eat! Two thumbs up!!

This movie was really bad. Not the worst movie I'd ever seen, but a waste of time nonetheless and infuriating to watch. Here are the reasons I hated it: - Acting. Some of the most inexpressive faces and bodies ever seen on the silver screen. No believability to the characters. You really felt they were "only pretending". The best actor of the group, to me, was the character Maureen. - Dialogue. I think a high school student could have written the dialogue. - Cinematography. Completely uninteresting way to film a movie. The angles and shots felt like they were taken by any random person simply holding up a video camera. - Predictable storyline. Slow pacing of movie. Overall, thoroughly unenjoyable to me - I also find the existing 8.3 rating on IMDb highly, highly suspect.

The characters aren't interesting, the story isn't interesting (or plausible), and the pacing is excruciatingly slow. I don't mind slow if it's good slow. This is bad slow.

There is nothing original to be seen here. All these characters--even these Asian characters--have been seen before. The dialog is completely flat. If there's an uninteresting way to say something, this writer found it. There were a couple scenes where I could pretty much say the line to come before it was said--it was that predictable and trite.

It was difficult for me to believe the central character was gay. A gay guy who owns a restaurant that's failing because the food is so dull? I don't think so. Not that we know what's wrong with the food exactly. We just know that nobody likes it. The miraculous turn-around ending of the movie was just as inexplicable. Better dumplings? Nice chairs, nice white tablecloths? Wait, what?

Dumb me. I thought I might be in for an Eat Drink Man Woman quality movie, and perhaps that's what it aspired to, but this is the polar opposite of that film.

I saw this film at Frameline 38 in San Francisco on June 26, 2014 at 4 pm at the magnificent Castro Theater. This is the funniest movie I have seen in years. Outstanding performances from Sharon Omi and Teddy Chen Culver as Mom and Son - who have no idea how to communicate with each other. Mom leaves Dad (because they don't know how to communicate with each other) moves in with Son and wackiness happens. Nicole Sullivan is the free spirited next door neighbor who steals every scene she is in. David Au's writing is brilliant and Nicole's comedic delivery and timing is perfect. George Takai makes a wonderful appearance and there are some dumplings thrown in the mix. This is a fabulous, fun, family film with food and everyone should see it. I saw 25 films at Frameline this year and this was my favorite.