Fathers in Film: Chef
Any gentleman with a Netflix subscription should do himself the favour of checking out Jon Favreau’s delightful film, Chef. Released in 2014, the film grapples with the kind of universal themes that are our bread and butter here at Wristwatches and Radios.
The film centres on a renowned chef, Carl Casper, whom we meet in a climactic opportunity to consolidate, or completely crush his reputation with an impending visit from a curmudgeonly food critic. Watching Casper prep for such a pivotal event, a team of loyal kitchen staff ready to battle by his side, is a perfect example of the films infectious energy, as well as Favreau’s own charisma. The opportunity to create an innovative and exciting menu for the critic brings him to life and brings us along for the ride.
And it’s here that we see Casper’s character face a critical decision forced upon him by his restaurant’s beleaguered owner, setting off a chain of events that will forever change the course of his life and his most intimate relationships. It’s a question of innovation over stagnation, when one realises that what’s been well and good up until this point has lost its relevance and potency. We know we need to change, to grow, to create, or face a fate that is its own sort of death. Favreau presents us with a protagonist that knows, with every fibre of his being, that leaving well enough alone is tantamount to artistic suicide.
Furthermore, quietly caught up in the maelstrom of Casper’s crisis is his son, Percy, who presents his father with a further reality check that this young man wants, or rather needs, the simple presence and patience of a father that Casper simply hasn’t been. Many fathers may experience a telling discomfort to see Percy displaced, time and time again, by his own father’s passion and ambition, simply striving to create the best of his work when it very well may matter most. Herein lies the lesson that no matter the validity of our mission, or the potency of our expression, our sons’ and daughters’ needs remain as simple, and critical, as they always will be. Casper, like so many of us, us warm, humane, well humoured and sensitive to his son. The greatest challenge we see him grapple with as a father, like all of us, is to simply be present and available.
A beautiful pivot in the film is when Percy’s presence becomes a lynchpin in his father’s art, reminding us that our lives and our works, as fathers, husbands, creators and labourers, no matter what our vocation, tells a single story with a thousand facets. We cannot compartmentalise our art, our labour and our families, much as we may try and fail. Our vocations, our works and our pursuits give blood and sinew to the notions of who we are to our children, families and friends. The moment that Casper brings Percy into his world of food and cooking, both become transformed by the simple pursuit of creating and sharing something beautiful with each other and the people around them.
Critical to all this is Favreau’s celebration of food, cooking and dining, elevated and recognised as a sublime pleasure in all of our lives. Whether enjoyed alone as a solitary pursuit, or shared with the people around us as strangers or friends, Chef brings us countless simple reminders that both food, and music, bring a cacophony of flavours, textures, colour and sounds into an alchemical concoction that is nothing short of enervating. The soundtrack packs an incredible punch, with a seamless blend of latin jazz, sing alongs and ska highlights. It is a great gift to walk away from the this film craving such simple delights with the people we love.
This wonderful celebration of such simple delights is further evident in an inimitable cast of characters that share the highs and lows of Casper’s self destruction and reinvention. John Leguizamo plays Martin, a sous chef that is a a brilliant counterpoint to Dustin Hoffman’s Riva. Whilst Riva, the restaurant owner, forces Casper’s hand in choosing innovation or stagnation, Martin is the romantic soul that will give up every certainty and security to build a new dream and a new life with his dear friend. One can’t help but look back, reassess and appreciate the brothers, the friends, the allies that will stick with us through every high and low, supporting, challenging and questioning us in ways that no one else can. Scarlett Johansson’s character, Molly, is a similar example of a dear friend that will always have Casper’s back, but refuses to let him turn his back on difficult truths about his integrity and authenticity as an artist - or lack thereof.
Another critical character who holds irrefutable lessons for us all, is the food critic himself, Ramsay Michael, played perfectly by Oliver Platt. The playful gauntlet that Michael lays down for Casper quickly descends into a bitter and vitriolic breakdown for our beleaguered Chef, all too assisted by the joys of social media. The nature by which the relationship between the two shifts and turns, serves to show us how our greatest enemies and critics can be the catalyst for unexpected challenge, self destruction and reinvention. Brilliantly, the film also plays with the unpredictability and volatility of our fates and our designs. Favreau builds to several moments that turn on a dime to become something else entirely, slamming us with the need for humility, stability and recollection, before we move to destroy ourselves all too quickly in decision and actions that are rash and driven by our worst natures.
One charming lesson in humility and fidelity in Chef comes from the delightful Sofia Vergara, playing Casper’s wife, with whom he’s been separated for some time now. Whilst their relationship remains mutually warm and supportive, it is her patience and grace that brings new opportunities to life for Casper, who need only step back and consider her ideas and insights to create a new life for all of them. As husbands, fathers and boyfriends, we need more than frequent reminders to step away from our own notions, our own designs, to listen to the wisdom of the women in our lives - who will see and understand things we’d miss every time. Not only that, but one of Casper’s phone calls to Vergara’s Inez is utterly heartwarming, hilarious and unforgettable - you’ll know it when you see it.
Chef brought more to the table than we ever saw coming. Sure, we’d read the menu and made the order, but by the time we were polishing off the dessert, we realised that what we expected to be an innocent comedic romp was an examination of the flaws and fruits of artistic pursuit, friendship and fatherhood. Chef is all things comedy, tragedy, culinary and family; it’s a road trip and reinvention that reminds us to wake up and shake off whatever doldrums are holding us back and create something new with the people we love - who deserve no less than our best, day in, day out.