Dinner Rush

If you haven't read Anthony Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential and don't think you'll be getting to it anytime soon, try this movie instead. It has all the elements of Bourdain's ultra-hip, ultra-honest take on the behind-the-scenes restaurant world: what it takes to be a line cook, who should own restaurants and who should just work in them, and the vaudeville show that nouvelle cuisine has become. It's not Big Night, but it's certainly taking its cue from that film. Complete with mouth-watering masterpiece. What I'm unsure of is whether it's insufferably smart or right on the money. Upon reflection of a few days I've decided that it's scattered -- too many stories, and only a few of them resolve in the "surprise" ending. Edoardo Ballerini, who plays the chef, usually plays guys called Vincent and Victor, so a chance to play a guy named Udo must have been a career capper. Seriously, the guy looks like an assassin, which is why he's cast as a bad guy most of the time. This must have been a big break for him, I imagine. And you can't make a small-budget Italian-flavor film nowadays without Danny Aiello (actually, when wasn't that true?) so of course he plays the restaurant owner with the shady past. Exception being Big Night, and if you're torn between renting that one or this one, definitely go with that one.

year: 2000
length: 99 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0229340/combined