Hey folks, Harry here with a review from Capone of a movie that I've heard next to nothing about, and his enthusiasm for the film has me excited to see it. I love good food movies, especially at the Drafthouse here in town. Here ya go...
Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago here to talk about a great film that is in danger of being lost because of a distributor that does not have faith in it. Thank goodness the Landmark Theatres chain liked the film enough to make sure that at least in the cities in which it has movie houses people can see this extremely well-made work.
“When did going to restaurants become a Broadway show?” asks one of the customers at the highly trendy Gigino Italian restaurant in TriBeCa. The establishment has become the height of fine dining thanks in large part to the owner’s son Udo (Edoardo Ballerini), a master chef who whips up exotic variations on old country favorites. His father, Louis (Danny Aiello), has allowed a small-scale bookie business to be run out of the place, but when his long-time partner is killed by thugs (including Ed Burns regular Mike McGlone) trying to move in on the book operation, he starts to reconsider.
This is the framework of DINNER RUSH. The real treat, however, is watching the way the restaurant is run at its absolute busiest. This is not one of those quaint little food preparation (such as TORTILLA SOUP); these people have real life-or-death issues to deal with while the restaurant is packed to the rafters. Udo wants to become a full partner in the restaurant with his father because he believe it is his cooking that is pulling in customers; sous-chef Kirk Acevedo is into the murderous bookies for $13,000, and they’re in the restaurant enjoying a nice meal waiting for him to come up from the kitchen. Vivian Wu is the hostess who is involved with both men. Louis is being pressuring by the bookies to give up a piece of his restaurant business to them. Also on hand are Mark Margolis as a drunk art critic who is utterly brutal to the help, especially his waitress Marti (Summer Phoenix); John Corbett as a guy who spends almost all of the film at the bar conversing with the bartender; and Sandra Bernhard as Jennifer Freeley, legendary food critic who comes into Gigino unannounced, sending Udo into a panic.
DINNER RUSH actually does have a thread that holds all of these stories together, although you may not realize it until the very end. I like how former music video director and restaurateur Bob Giraldi contrasts the chaos of the kitchen with the relative serenity of the dining area. The conversations that the customers are having sound exactly like what snooty people sound like in restaurants, and they treat the wait staff horribly at times. In all honesty, first-time screen writers Rich Shaughnesy and Brian Kalata almost could have written this movie without a story about bookies and murder, but I’m glad they did. And the payoff is fantastic. I’ll say no more on that subject. Go for the food, stay for the story. Not surprisingly, above all else, DINNER RUSH made me hungry, but not for a better film. This is a small film of the highest order. For those of you near a Landmark Theatre, check it out when it opens. I know in Chicago, it opens January 18. Look for it, people.
Capone (Click here to drop me all the dirty little things you've never told anyone else!)
