Extra Helpings of Heart in Chef

When you first see Jon Favreau in Chef, it's alarming. You think, "What happened to this guy?" The actor/director looks like a man who's dangerously overweight. But it's not long before it becomes clear that Favreau is all too aware of his situation. In fact, Chef seems very much the work of someone using his art to reflect on and maybe even influence his life, passionately aware that things need to change.
Favreau (who also wrote and directed) plays L.A. chef Carl Casper, a man with a ferocious talent (and appetite) who's the star draw at owner Dustin Hoffman's swank eatery, so long as he sticks to the paint-by-numbers menu his boss thinks is filling the seats. When a food critic drops a scathing review bomb on his by-rote recipes, Carl loses it in positively meteoric fashion. To say too much more would be to spoil the many charms Chef has to offer, and they're plentiful indeed. Carl needs to follow his bliss and reinvent himself - to stop pleasing his boss and please himself. He also desperately needs to connect with his young son, phenomenally well played by Emjay Anthony.

Carl's self-discovery through a more humble yet satisfying culinary vehicle seems to pretty clearly echo Favreau's own Hollywood directorial odyssey - from his indie Swingers breakthrough, to the colossal commercial heights of two Iron Man movies and the drubbing of Cowboys & Aliens - his return to smaller, more personal storytelling seems likewise the decision of a man turning his back on corporate box office (and film critics) so he can reconnect with what it is about film that inspires him. He's crafted a personal, funny, insightful movie that's full of heart and charm. There are times you may think Chef was produced by Twitter, but somehow it doesn't annoy or distract.

The supporting cast includes Sofía Vegara, Scarlett Johannson, the amazing John Leguizamo, the fantastic Bobby Cannavale, Robert Downey Jr., and Oliver Platt.

Two important things to note: The soundtrack is unbelievable, flavored with dozens of amazing Latin and Cubano tracks that fuel Chef with energy and help make it feel so unique.

Also, don't even go near this movie if you are even remotely hungry. Chef attains heights of Pavlovian food porn that make Big Night seem tame. This is a very dangerous movie for someone trying to lose weight.

Chef is about being true to yourself and doing what you love and coming to terms with who you are. Important lessons for a character trying to reconnect with family and chart a fresh course in life. Jon Favreau has made a film that's full of joy and passion, and I only hope his own reinvention is as gratifying as Carl Casper's is. Yeah, he may be a big guy, but I'm thinking it's all heart.