Chef (2014)

Funny and heartwarming, writer-director John Favreau’s independent feature, “Chef,” is just as much about cultivating a self-owned business in a jaded generation as the complexities in the bond between a father and a son. Chef Carl Caspar (also played by Favreau) works at a popular restaurant run by Riva (Dustin Hoffman,) and bussed by a mostly Latino staff. Despite his success, Carl feels stifled by the conventional feel of the recipes Riva instructs him to cook, and wants to get a little crazy creating more experimental, exotic food.

Caspar is despondent when a wildly popular food critic, Ramsay Michel (an obvious take on “Hell’s Kitchen”‘s Gordon Ramsay,) played by Oliver Platt, writes a disparaging review of his food. Carl gets into a fight online with Ramsay, which leads to the miscalculated moment when Carl bursts in on him at the restaurant and goes off on him, finally losing him his job and making him an internet sensation (someone just HAD to videotape, didn’t they?)

Carl is so caught up in his concerns at work that he doesn’t have much time for his young son, Percy (Emjay Anthony.) His ex, Inez (“Modern Family’s” Sofia Vergara) chides him in that gently condescending way when he continually fails to spend the day with Percy, but Carl just can’t seem to get his crap together. In the wake of his unemployment, Carl reluctantly starts a food truck, and his son’s involvement with the cooking and upkeep bring them closer together.

Chef Carl Caspar can be hot-tempered, and be a big child. The difference between his immaturity and that of a Will Ferrell or Seth Rogan character is that Caspar’s lack of an adult attitude is grounded in reality, Caspar makes a attempt to work on his behavior, and that he remains likable throughout his emotional hiccups and meltdowns, John Favreau is obviously invested in this character, so we are too.

I like that this film has several thematic threads- the love of food as an art form, the transformation of distant to devoted dad, and making sense of modern sensibilities and technology through the eyes of a guys who’s somewhat clues in that field. Putting family before your career- this is certainly nothing plot-wise, but somehow “Chef” manages to make the time-worn theme of a distracted dad and kiddo bonding over a shared interest (or simply forging an interest in each other) more appealing.

People watching this movie for actors Robert Downey, Jr. or Scarlett Johansson be disappointed- their roles are fairly small. But even they may be won over by the film’s big heart and accompanying lack of misty-eyed sentimentality. Emjay Anthony gives a promising first performance as Percy, Carl’s bright and technologically savvy son. You don’t have to be a food fanatic (though, really, who doesn’t like food?) to appreciate the feeling behind this movie.

Fargo: Season 1 (2014)

What is up with the people inhabiting “Fargo”‘s universe? Are they as obtuse as they seem? Why do they sporadically speak in riddles? And why is their police force utter bollocks? These questions, and more, befuddled me as I watched the terrific spin-off of the Coen Brothers’ also brilliant 1996 crime thriller.

Psychotic hitman and sometimes-drifter Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton, who seems born for this role) is bad news- and as he enters the eponymous Midwestern town of “Fargo,” he invades the life of wimpy salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman, who’s never been better,) and disrupts the location’s quiet proceedings. Shortly after Lorne’s arrival, Lester commits a shocking crime but is initially let off by lax police work on the part of freshly appointed Sheriff Bill Oswalt (Bob Odenkirk.)

Like the Marge Gunderson of her time, Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) is on the case. Meanwhile, Malvo casts a sinister shadow over the lives of ‘Supermarket King’ Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt) and his slow-witted son Dmitri (Gordon S. Miller,) assassins Mr. Wrench and Mr. Numbers (Russell Harvard and Adam Goldberg) swoop in on Lester and Molly romances a widower (Colin Hanks) with a spirited adolescent daughter (Joey King.)

Despite initial qualms about basing a TV series off the film, I soon found “Fargo” to be a captivating show with a terrific cast. Love him or hate him, Lester’s got to be one of the most interesting characters on TV. As for me, I felt bad for him, and even when I came to the realization what a sorry sack of shit he was, there was something fascinating about him- the depths of his cowardice and the refusal to own up to his actions was kind of hypnotic, I guess.

Molly is a strong female character that shows that women don’t have to be a size zero or wear tight leather outfits to be modern-day television heroines. To my utter shock, I think I like this show a teeny bit better than it’s movie counterpart. There’s mordant humor (Thornton’s Godly alter ego, for one,) tragedy (the fate of Milos’ son comes to mind,) and downright weirdness and wordplay that seems faithful to the Coens.

Also, Lorne Malvo seems to be a improvement upon the film’s villain Gear Grimsrud. Whereas Gear was loutish, coarse, and stupid, Malvo is smart, expertly cruel, and so fond of fucking with people that it’s a pleasure to see him work. Although I admit most killers are dim bulbs more often than not in real-life crime scenarios, Malvo was too great to pass up.

The 1st Season of “Fargo” was a fantastic watch and I recommend it to just about anyone. I love the parallels between the film and the show (i.e. the money in the snow,) but you do not need to watch the movie to enjoy the TV series, and vice versa. I think between this, “The Bridge” and “American Horror Story,” FX is becoming my favorite TV channel.