Foodie Movie Reviews

While I was sick I watched three foodie movies that I was recommended.

The first one I watched was Big Night, starring Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci as Italian brothers struggling to make their Trattoria stand out. I think part of it may have been my illness, but I was not fully enthralled with the movie. It was a great movie, it made my stomach grumble, for sure, and I do love me some Tony Shalhoub (all the way back to his days as Antonio Scarpacci on the TV series, Wings). I think I will give it another shot, but for now I give it a 3.5/5.

Eat Drink Man Woman is also known as Yin shi nan nu and was filmed in 1994. It's a movie about a father who sees his daughters growing farther and farther apart from him, and his only way of keeping them together is by requiring that they come and enjoy his Sunday dinner (despite the fact that they live with him). He creates Chinese dishes that look tempting and tantalizing, but the fact of the matter is, he can no longer taste what he is cooking, and it's starting to show in his dishes, which were one prized for their abundance in taste. Ang Lee, the director of Brokeback Mountain and The Ice Storm, directed this and the movie I watched following this (The Wedding Banquet). Ang's visionary sense is astounding to me- I think his films are absolutely lovely and atmospheric/moody. I enjoyed this one and gave it a 5/5. There's an unexpected twist at the end, so watch out if you read reviews online!

The last movie I watched I had seen before on either Bravo or the AzN network before Comsuck (Comcast) decided to make that a digital channel only (BOO! HISS!). It's called The Wedding Banquet, also known as Hsi yen, and is about a Chinese man who lives in New York City and is hiding a major secret from his traditional parents (who are still in China)- he's a gay man. When his parents continue to try setting him up with Chinese girls in America, his lover comes up with a plan- to have their tenant, a young Chinese immigrant woman facing deportation, pose as his fiancee. When his parents arrive, all hell breaks lose and culminating in a huge lavish wedding banquet. Another tasty morsel from Ang Lee and while heartbreaking, there are some rather hilarious moments in the movie as well. I give this one a 5/5 as well.