As gay dramas with characters of Chinese heritage go, there are better structured, better written, and better filmed choices out there (the beautifully shot and sensitively written "Lilting" comes to mind), and although "Eat With Me" does a solid job of engaging with contemporary Asian-American identity - something sorely under-represented in Hollywood - there's little here that doesn't feel touched by stereotype or familiar tropes.
However, this is a movie with its heart in the right place, and it's at its best when giving screen time to the wonderful Sharon Omi as Emma, a mother struggling to rebuild her relationship with her son (Teddy Chen Culver).
Mostly, this is a fluffy, by-the-numbers piece, good-natured but lacking in any real depth or imagination. It's really memorable only for showing genuine empathy to Emma's character instead of focusing exclusively on her son's point of view, and it's that sensitivity that saves the movie from flopping entirely.
Teddy Chen Culver, as Elliot, comes over as stilted and distant - which initially seems to be intentional, to convey the emotional repression shared by mother and son - but he never quite seems to open up, and the rest of the cast seem by turns equally ill at ease. Even a heavy- handed cameo from George Takei (was he promised his weight in dumplings to show up?) does little to lift the pace, though for anyone familiar with the struggle of balancing identity, family, pride, and vulnerability - or anyone who wants a crash course in cookery - this movie does have several moments recognizable enough to make you smile.