I am not a chef.
I’ve never really liked cooking, if I’m being honest – I think I’m too impatient to be truly good at it, and I always end up slightly disappointed with whatever I’ve made. But, I do love movies, and food – the preparation of it, the eating of it – is inherently cinematic.
With the popularity of TV shows like “The Bear” over the past few years, I feel as though this fact has become more obvious to the general public. But food movies have always had a place in the Hollywood canon, from 1996’s “Big Night” to 2009’s “Julie & Julia.” When thinking about my favorite food movies, I tried to think a little outside of the box, staying away from a few obvious picks and giving love to some underdogs or to films that might not be explicitly considered “food movies.”
Warning: reading might make readers hungry (also be aware of slight spoilers).
“Pig”
Just when you think Nicolas Cage can’t surprise you anymore, he says, “Hold my beer.” “Pig,” written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, stars Cage as Rob, a chef-turned-truffle hunter living alone in the Oregon wilderness. When his beloved truffle-hunting pig is kidnapped, it’s up to Rob to get him back. This sounds like a set up for a comedy, or maybe a “John Wick” type action movie. But “Pig” is something much quieter and sweeter, meditating on grief, loss and forgiveness through a thematic prism we can all relate to – our shared love of food.
“Waitress”
There’s a line in a song in the musical version of “Waitress” that debuted on Broadway in 2016 – “Momma, it’s amazing what baking can do.” In “Waitress” the movie, written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly, baking helps Jenna (Keri Russell) escape. Throughout “Waitress,” Jenna feels trapped – trapped in her small Southern town, trapped in an abusive marriage, trapped by a pregnancy she doesn’t want. She deals with her feelings by baking them into her pies. There’s her “I Hate My Husband Pie” (bittersweet chocolate pudding and caramel), the “Pregnant Miserable Self-Pitying Loser Pie” (lumpy oatmeal with fruitcake mashed in), and the “I Can’t Have No Affair Because It’s Wrong and I Don’t Want Earl to Kill Me Pie” (vanilla custard with banana – hold the banana). As evidenced by these names, “Waitress” can be darkly funny at times. But it can also be as sweet as Jenna’s creations, filled with sentiment and charm.
“Ratatouille”
No “best of” list about food movies would be complete without “Ratatouille,” a movie with a lot to say about not just cooking, but restaurant criticism as well. Restaurant critic Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole) functions as the film’s villain, a force that threatens to ruin the reputation of Gusteau’s restaurant – and also, just maybe, reveal that the restaurant’s shining star chef is a rat. But Ego isn’t simply evil – he’s jaded, disillusioned with the artifice of fine dining after decades of covering the restaurant world. He just needs to be reminded why he loves food in the first place. And maybe a little rat and some ratatouille can make that happen.
“Phantom Thread”
On its face, “Phantom Thread” is a drama (or romantic comedy, depending on your point of view) that deals in fashion and in the simple pleasure of control – both aesthetically and personally. But it also quietly revolves around the importance of meals and conversation. The first time Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) meets Alma (Vicky Krieps), he’s ordering breakfast from her (“A Welsh rabbit with a poached egg on top – not too runny.”). One of the signature moments of the disillusion of their relationship erupts over the way Alma prepares asparagus. And, of course, there are the signature poison mushrooms that form the crux of the action.
“In the Mood for Love”
Wong Kar-wai’s romantic masterpiece is as much about missed connections as it is about moments of connection – and in this case, those moments mostly take place over a meal. In “In the Mood For Love,” neighbors played by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung learn that their respective spouses are having an affair. But more importantly, they also learn that they tend to frequent the same restaurant stall. Meal after meal, the two grow closer under a cloud of infidelity and delicious smells, the dates turning into a ritual of sorts for them – a tiny act of rebellion they share.
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