It’s not hard to see Jon Favreau’s personal career arc mirrored in the movie Chef. He started out making small indie films like Swingers and Made, which were very highly thought of. As the budgets got bigger, so did the headaches and tensions with studios, until after doing Iron Man and its first sequel, he was passed over both The Avengers and Iron Man 3, something that had to sting. In Chef, he successfully returns to his roots.
Chef is about, well, a chef. After a sterling food critic’s review early in his career, Favreau’s character relatively quickly moves up to a head chef position in a posh restaurant in L.A. There he has to sacrifice his planned menu to appease the “exec” (restaurant owner) and the end result is a catastrophe for all involved. Now jobless, broke, and with a son he has ignored over the past 10 years to further his career, he ends up back where he started. Of course, this is where he finds true happiness, and gets to become a better person, a better father, and a better chef along the way.
This movie really has it all. It is funny, provoking, and it has a lot of heart too. It won’t be a big blockbuster, but at this point in Favreau’s career, I don’t think he wants it to be. After making the big movies and raking in the dough with them, I think he just wanted to make this one for himself. Moviegoers should be glad he did.
Jons Movie Takes 