JON FAVREAU DIRECTS AND STARS IN A DELICIOUS COMEDY FEATURING SCARLETT JOHANSSON, ROBERT DOWNEY JR., JOHN LEGUIZAMO, SOFIA VERGARA, OLIVER PLATT AND TWO-TIME OSCAR®-WINNER DUSTIN HOFFMAN: CHEF, BY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY WHOM YOU KNOW! AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY™ COMBO PACK DVD, DIGITAL HD WITH ULTRAVIOLET™ ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 Our Coverage Sponsored by Maine Woolens
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We review many movies, but don't feel like our daily life is portrayed in them regularly. We found one! Chef is an absolute must see for ANYONE that eats, and especially if you are an insider to the food industry, which is growing in leaps and bounds as far as we can see. Chef gives a real humanity to the culinary world. Many people told us we had to see this movie, and we could not be more delighted to work with Universal Studios Home Entertainment on this winner releasing today on DVD and video. We cannot overemphasize how educational about social media this movie is -and in an extremely fun way we might add- for everyone that owns a business, food business or not. Contained in this film are social media lessons we have been trying to teach the world for five and a half years...at the conclusion, you will know why you should be on Twitter.
First, you must buy it.
Did we mention it comes out on DVD and BluRay today, silly.
When you are out, be certain you have a detailed shopping list of your favorite foods to have on hand, or better yet just ring up your favorite restaurant for takeout which of course means Garlic Shrimp from Solera (we even got Barbie into it!). Or maybe restaurants should just have movie night and show screenings of Chef. It would be utter torture to watch Chef if you are hungry. Even if you have a full stomach, this movie will make you super hungry. We actually stopped the movie to make grilled cheese when we saw that being made, and we didn't just watch Chef once. We are so into this movie we watched the whole thing a second time in less than 24 hours listening to the color commentary, nearly as good as Andre Lacroix calling a hockey game.
We have the utmost respect for Jon Favreau learning all of the cooking techniques, and he is quite the talented knife wielder. Chop Chop Chop! His vegetable murders are hypnotic! We like how he rocks the Vitamix! Every aspect of Chef is truly committed to authenticity, and this makes all the difference. It wouldn't have been such a good movie if he were faking. Jon plays Carl Casper, a restaurant chef, but alas, not a restaurant owner. His creative juices in the kitchen are stifled by restaurant owner Riva, played by Dustin Hoffman who plays the menu conservatively, telling Carl to keep the star dishes of the menu on that make the paying customers happy. We love the line that argues how you would not be happy if you went to a Rolling Stones concert and they didn't play Satisfaction. And he is right that sometimes (not all the time) "when you put that artsy shit on the menu, people don't like it."
We were dying of laughter at some parts. We do not tell you the bad things we've eaten! We found the listening skills, overall style and personality of the publicist character played expertly by the talented Amy Sedaris highly laudable.
We do not tell you the mistakes people make either when we review them! Huge mistake number one by Chef Carl is not being on Twitter. He learns! Two thumbs up to his genius son Percy, played by Emjay Anthony. This kiddo is wise beyond his years. Many people in restaurants forget that the world is much larger than them, and the world is on Twitter. The one thing that Chef Carl does know about Twitter is not to be an Anthony Weiner, so he's got a start.
If a commercial kitchen is unfamiliar territory for you, know that the language is akin to a trading floor, and not the PC type you'd find ubiquitous in large institutions today: we're talking the Liar's Poker Human Piranha-type floors. If you still don't know what we're talking about, think Pirates. In other words, it's fun.
Chef Carl seeks greener pastures once he leaves the restaurant, and as you may have heard he opens a food truck, starting in Miami and driving across to California. We liked how their menu was representative of the different spots they made along the way like Austin, Texas and New Orleans. The singing while driving was contagiously entertaining! The comradery that develops during this project will make you wish you were with them, watching their dream become a reality. It's a fantastic American story, and we like how at the very end they do put a Made in the USA mark. We wish they came to Manhattan, but then they might have met a girl that asked them where the microgreens were on the sandwiches.
The script could not have been better, and the edits made for the final movie cut are superb. We strongly prefer a top script executed well over films with all the bells and whistles of the technical feats of movie making without the substance.
We hope you include Manhattan, Connecticut, Boston, and Washington, D.C. in your sequel! We say you can't beat the culinary endeavors on the East Coast. And we think we have always been a super fair and pretty nice critic, so the twist at the end of the movie with the critic/Chef Carl relationship we found fantastically winning.
If you like to be happy and do not like to be hungry (isn't that everyone?), you will be thoroughly entertained by Chef.
Chef is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
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A disenchanted master chef reclaims his love for cooking and his family during a rollicking road trip through some of America’s most mouthwatering food destinations in Chef, coming to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital HD with Ultraviolet™ on September 30, 2014, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Writer, director, actor Jon Favreau (director Iron Man, Elf) stars in this heartwarming comedy with something on the menu for everyone. The Chef Blu-ray™ Combo Pack include uproarious deleted scenes, as well as feature commentary from Favreau and the film’s technical advisor and co-producer, food-truck pioneer Roy Choi.
An online feud with an influential food critic (Oliver Platt) and a creative disagreement with his investor (Dustin Hoffman) convince Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) to hang up his apron at a posh Los Angeles bistro and get his mojo back in Miami’s Cuban-inspired cuisine. When his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara) helps him get a fresh start with a rundown food truck, Carl and his best friend and sous chef Martin (John Leguizamo) head across the country with Carl’s young son Percy on a culinary adventure that helps Carl rediscover what matters in life.
Robert Downey Jr. (Ironman, Sherlock Holmes), Scarlett Johansson (Her, The Avengers), John Leguizamo (Ice Age, Ride Along), Sofia Vergara (“Modern Family,” Machete Kills), Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine, Win), Oliver Platt (“Fargo,” X-Men: First Class), Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy, “Alpha House)” and two-time Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman (Meet the Fockers, Rain Man, Kramer vs. Kramer) star in a film that Pete Hammond of Movieline praised as: “Highly entertaining!...It’s got it all: laughs, warmth, terrific actors and lots of mouthwatering food. Jon Favreau has cooked up a real winner NOT to be missed!”
The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack includes a Blu-ray™, DVD and DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™.
· Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.
· DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
· DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.
Bonus Features on Blu-ray™ and DVD
· Deleted Scenes
· Feature Commentary by writer and director Jon Favreau, and chef and co-producer Roy Choi
TECHNICAL INFORMATION - Blu-ray™:
Street Date: September 30, 2014
Copyright: 2014 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Running Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Layers: BD-50
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Rating: R for language, including some suggestive references
Technical Info: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles
TECHNICAL INFORMATION - DVD:
Street Date: September 30, 2014
Copyright: 2014 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Selection Numbers: 61130279
Running Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Layers: Dual Layer
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Rating: R for language, including some suggestive references
Technical Info: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles
About Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
