Of course, don't expect here a masterpiece or any attempt to make an original plot or anything like that : this is a mainstream production, and all we should expect from it, is just to be funny, well-done, and without bad taste ingredients. And so it is. A simple comedy, gentle, with a good rhythm, and nice characters. In fact, not only the main characters are good here, but everybody is, and the supporting actors here have their place, and contribute to our pleasure. Jean Reno and Michaël Youn compose a nice duet. There's not much that I can add. Except that even if everything was easily expect regarding the plot, what is never obvious to expect is that we'd have such a very good time.
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chatbada20 March 2012
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I've watched countless french movies and with a mother who actually lived in France for many many years it's customary to watch one together in the cinema instead on DVD. This time we made an excellent choice. It was refreshing, with smart dialogues and hilarious moments. It brought something of when everything is evolving in this world will the French cuisine take the challenge or does it even worth to try? Mu mother enjoyed it immensely and she would know having watched French's cinema finest.... As for me... I haven't laughed so since TV5 had la poison 1951 at its schedule! And as an extra treat was the lack of plot holes or nothing I noticed anyway (and believe me that'a quite hard)
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IndustriousAngel9 September 2013Nothing to be ashamed here, you can do worse than spend an evening with this comedy, but there's little here that puts it above other feel-good comedies with the exception of Jean Reno - who is, sadly, the only one here with real comedy timing. The main actor, Youn, is obviously a bit overstrained with carrying the movie.
Apart from the boring lead, the gags are OK and mostly good-natured, what's maybe missing is a bit more "bite" or bitterness in this altogether rather sweet mix. Some punches are thrown against stylish kitchen trends and star restaurants (which is OK with me, but those are easy targets).
Recommended for people who like cooking themselves (as we do). -
harry_tk_yung12 August 2012I'm not sure if soufflés is a good persona proxy for this movie but I'll use it anyway – light, fluffy and sweet. My summary line says the rest.
One time assassin-personified Jean Reno acquires a new persona playing Alexandre Lagarde, a Michelin 3-star chef who is in danger of being downgraded to 2-star because of rigid adherence to tradition, thereby failing to keep up with the trend. Believe it or not, his steadfast perseverance is surpassed by that of his young assistant Jacky Bonnet (superbly played by Michael Youn) who knows every receipt the master ever created by heart, and never shies away from a confrontation when he notices that the master has deviated ever so slightly from his own original receipt. More than once, when reminded that he has not followed the Largarde receipt, the 3-star chef in exasperation yells, "but I AM Lagarde".
This odd couple is thrown together by chance. On Lagarde's side, the semi-retired restaurant owner's son, in his eagerness to take over the empire, starts by sending Largarde's left- and right-hand men sway to head up establishments in other cities, with the eventual design of getting rid of Lagarde himself. As to Bonnet who, while brilliant, is entirely self-taught and therefore needs a proper entry-point into the profession that he craves. Obviously, the duo fit each other's needs perfectly, and chance does the rest.
The main plot, then, is in how the two fight off the owner's son's attempt to discredit Lagarde by inviting prestigious restaurant critics who have a preference for modern trends, such as "molecular gastronomy" (if you, like me, do not know what this is, watch the movie and find out, amidst a roar of laughs).
Almost another main plot is Bonnet's relationship with heavily pregnant girlfriend (exquisitely lovely Raphaelle Agogue), the standard rom-com staple in this movie. To complete, there is a sub-plot of Largarde's relationship with his grown-up daughter preparing for presentation and defence of an academic paper. In addition, there is the usual assortment of support and minor characters to adorn the movie.
Here you have it all: funny (at times hilarious), sweet, warm and touching, feel-good. The fact that almost everything is quite expected does not in any way diminish the pleasure you'll derive from this delightful 84-minute fare. -
Le Chef (2012)
Boy are there a lot of these kinds of cooking movies out there, and most of them fall into a familiar pattern. Luckily it's a pattern that works—in that feel good, root for the underdog way.
This is a very lightweight comedy, and the hero is a chef with unusual talents, but also with a lovely fiancée who is getting impatient with his other love—cooking. So he tries to get a real job, and of course that doesn't work and he ends up cooking on the sly. Which leads to a feeling he's "cheating" on his girl, at least mentally, and so on and so on.
The lovely parts of the movie are actually the cooking parts, where you see his talent come alive. There are the usual critics, the mean boss, the underdog friends who are there in a pinch, and so forth. Yes, it's a formula. And it's totally feel good fun.
And there's nothing more to it than that! Bon appetite. And don't confuse this title with "Chef" which is an American twist on the same basic formula. -
JohnRayPeterson5 October 2012This is common fare light comedy about an uncommon subject; well not that uncommon when you search related titles and find a dozen or so. It's not the 2009 'Julie & Julia' for story and performances but it's charming enough if you have a bit of a culinary interest and understand the guarded pride the French have for that art (Oh yes, it's certainly an art).
You'll enjoy Reno's character and his performance but I find that the lesser known Michaël Youn has the better role here and delivers it very well. It may be more accurate to say, as another reviewer pointed out, that Reno and Youn make a nice duet. I'm happy that the movie does not make caricatures of the roles of the two main actors. One more thing, and one that gives it the flavour of a French movie, is that the love interests of both Reno and Youn are extremely attractive women, yummy, if I may say shamelessly. -
dromasca8 March 2015Did I already say that I love cooking and films about cooking? I probably did. For food lovers talking, reading, watching TV shows and - why not - seeing movies about food and the people behind food just amplifies the pleasure of enjoying good food and enriches the experience. We have been blessed with a few good movies on this topic, some older (who can forget Louis de Funes in L'Aille et la cuisse?) some recently like the American Chef with an almost identical title as the French comedy Le Chef.
We may of course expect a lot from a French film about 'haute cuisine' - the subject should be part of the national expertise after all. Director and script co-writer Daniel Cohen has taken the easy path with this lighthearted comedy about a famous chef (Jean Reno) who is obsessed with keeping his three Michelin stars intact and an unemployed aspirant (Michael Youn) trying to find his way in the world of high-end cooking. Everybody has a good time and especially Reno who abandons for a short while his tough guy mask and lets us know that he owns a carefully suppressed comic talent.
There is some serious background behind the light comedy which should not be omitted. Great chefs nowadays need to fight increased competition from street food and from the modern trends like 'molecular food' (which incidentally I hate as much as the folks who wrote the script of this film). Fighting kitsch or pretentious avant-garde artistic challenge that is not encountered only by artists in cooking but by many other fields. So are the crisis of creativity, the loss of inspiration, the need to change and do something else in certain turning points of lives and careers. None of these subjects are absent but none is explored to deeply either in 'Le Chef'. The result in culinary terms is a 'souffle' - light and pleasant when eaten but not leaving persistent memories after the consumption. I mentioned the American movie 'Chef' which also dealt with a famous cook in some crisis in his life and career turning to street food. Well, the food in the American 'Chef' may not have been as classy as the food in the French 'Le Chef' but the film that resulted was better. -
mformoviesandmore11 September 2012It is a story about events related to a chef, his work, his kitchen and a young associate. There are the usual sorts of back stories, but nothing elaborate.
In fact, "nothing elaborate" is probably a good way to describe this movie.
There are few aspects that had me actually laughing - mostly the scene with the 'Japanese' customers. The rest raised a few smiles along the way. It was a pleasant passing of time.
The best part of the movie was the appearance of an actress named Rebecca Miquel as Carole. Stunning.
If you want to laugh at events in the kitchen you would be much better off watch the TV series Whites. -
It's very kind and nice French comedy with original plot and remarkable actors. I like films about food and different cuisines like "Julie & Julia", "Ratatouille" or "No Reservations" and if you like such films too, you'll should be watch to "Comme un chef" without fail. This film has the many such delicious and beautiful dishes with very attractive titles, that you will can go crazy particularly if you hungry. I like Jean Reno in comedian roles and here he is very funny and and as always a great. And also I fell in love French actress Raphaëlle Agogué, she is inexpressible beautiful. "Comme un chef" is very good film for watching with the loved one in the nice romantic evening, it will be raise you mood, without a doubt.
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Le-Petit-Antoine25 August 2019Le Chef (2012) - (M) Tony Saad - Thursday, 16 May, 2019
(STAR), (STAR), (STAR)
Don't we love it when a foul-mouthed perfectionist chef meets a low class but talented nobody? Le Chef by Daniel Cohen is exactly that with a pinch of jokes only mature audiences can understand. At the end of the day though, it's obvious that Favreau tries a little too hard, and some moments were as unoriginal as a potato chip. Nevertheless, I had a good laugh and the food looks delicious as well.
Le Chef follows Jacky Bonnot (Michaël Youn), a talented culinary underdog who cannot hold a single job for long. When his wife Beatrice (Raphaëlle Agogué) becomes pregnant, he scrambles to find a solution. Everything changes when he meets 3-Michelin star chef Alexandre Lagarde (Jean Reno), who is struggling with stagnating critical reviews and a fractured relationship with his daughter Amandine (Salomé Stévenin).
The premise is not a new one. I've seen it many times before, but for the sake of historical chronology, I will not be too harsh. Le Chef's plot is quite shallow, and it does not offer anything new or remarkable. And while the story and the stakes do jive together, they do not necessarily push film up the ranks. Jacky is a very cute character, who has constantly been bringing smiles to my face every time I see him. Jean Reno is bombastic and as thick-skinned as his huge belly. The chemistry between the two is perhaps the saving grace of this film.
But in my opinion, the film succeeded mainly because of Daniel Cohen's humour. It relied on jokes, insults and generally being free-spirited rather than being physical. I must admit, French comedy is certainly the best, and today there are more french comedians than there were 10 years ago. Le Chef never takes itself seriously, and only exists for good laughs. Nothing more, but that's not the killing sin in film theory.
No culinary film is ever made without food. Reno's character is a true artist; his dishes are definitively worth the shot. I did pity him, as I am no fan of contemporary cuisine. Of course, he did learn a valuable life lesson that changed him and his cooking.
Le Chef may be thin and unoriginal, but it is a comedy worth seeing. It is not exactly the best buddy film in the world -I've seen better myself- but Cohen is a creative and entertaining director, and I left the theatre with a smile.
© Le Chef Film Review, 2019. This film review was produced for the purpose of copyrights in the Lebanese Republic and the Commonwealth of Australia. All Rights Reserved. -
praisehim-425-57770118 July 2012I like Jean Reno and I also like french movies, but this one was a bad evening at the cinema. The acting was lame, the story was predictable, the dialogs terrible. Certainly I did not expect a masterpiece, just funny 90 minutes, but this was one of those movies where you look at your watch to often. You might enjoy this film at home on DVD, but do not spend money on the cinema version. Yes, it is just a comedy, but it is not a very good one. Yes the story is a modern fairy tale, but it is not fun to watch.
I am sure that there will be an American remake of this movie in a few month. -
playtoyer8 January 2013this is a great movie,a great comedy with jean reno of top of is game,this movie has a little of everything to have a great time.the association between those 2 actors is one of the best ever,the story is very original and translated a lot of emotions,jean reno is the best actor in the world every scene with him is a delight he is so funny he is hilarious.this movie is perfect to have a great time,it,s deep and clever the should make more of those movies because they are simply great.this is a great french comedy take everybody can love and enjoy.jean reno is amazing is such a great actor and in this movie he is very funny
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funambuline27 December 2016I love movies about food and gastronomy. This one is perhaps the worst I have ever seen.
The script is absolutely stupid and totally not realistic, the dialogues are really bad, the "cuisine" depicted in the movie is a kind of generic "french cuisine" that doesn't exist. During each sequence filmed in a kitchen or with people eating or tasting food there are huge mistakes that anyone who knows how to cook an egg can spot.
For the rest: no visual interest, bad actors, bad editing, nothing to save this story.
If you want to see a nice french food movie, better see "la Cuisine Américaine"... (which is kind of the original story anyway, but a way better movie), or "Haute Cuisine". Or any of the more than 100 movies in my public list "food movies" will do instead of this one. -
Gordon-1123 January 2013This film is about a chef who has to do his best and reinvent his culinary style in order to stop his boss from closing his restaurant.
"The Chef" is a light hearted way to look at a chef's struggle to keep his act up. He recruits a young chef to help him out, and much hilarity ensues when personalities and different methods of cooking clash. The film keeps a good pace, and there are plenty of funny scenes to keep viewers entertained. I particularly enjoy the scenes on molecular cuisine experimentation, they are so hilarious! The interpersonal relationships are well handled, particularly between the two chefs and between the young chef and his wife. The portrayal of the young chef's financial problem looks very real, and many viewers will be able to relate to that. I enjoyed watching "The Chef" a lot. -
ChristyLeskovar4 January 2015This is laugh-out-loud funny. A French movie, with English subtitles, about a young overzealous chef in Paris, who keeps being fired because of his overzealousness. By bizarre happenstance, he becomes known to one of the great chef's of Paris. It pokes fun at molecular cuisine, something he must master or risk losing a star. It's hilarious. Don't know if one has to be a foodie to appreciate it. And on the same weekend I perfected my carrot soup recipe! C'est formidable, mais ce n'est pas molecular, mais c'est un peu foamy. I watched it on Netflix. You'll recognize one of the leads, Jean Reno, from Mission Impossible. The other lead actor I did not recognize, but he was formidable!
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leplatypus29 May 2015Except for absolute fans of Michael (like me), this movie is just a waste of time. If it's a comedy, it's not funny ! If it's a slice of life, it's dull as the focus is one more time about the upper classes : the old chief runs an elitist and expensive restaurant, lives in the most expensive district of Paris and so on Sure Michaal come from the other side but actually I'm just tired of those characters. They seem to be the only people living in Paris ! In a way, this movie could be a modern reboot of « L'Aile Ou La Cuisse » because we are in the same universe : good / bad cooking, traditional / modern meals, master / student If you know the movie, you can appreciate the monumental gap of approach and result. The only good thing here is Michael as Reno just seems totally transparent. As i keep writing, Michael is very talented and here he shows his versatility and proves that he is more than a crazy guy; for sure, as expected the only opportunity he got to be funny (dresses like a Japanese wife) is the highlight of the movie !
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vsks6 December 2014OK, so the critics didn't much like this frothy French comedy directed by Daniel Cohen, but the French can serve up a blundering wunderkind better than anyone else. Aspiring chef Jacky (Michaël Youn) is called in to save the day for the three-star wonder Alexandre Lagarde (Jean Reno), who may be on the verge of losing a coveted rating star and his restaurant in the bargain. There's never a moment's doubt how any of the plot lines will resolve, but it's the whole meal that makes this movie fun. It was released summer 2014 in the United States around the same time as the American comedy Chef, which created some box office confusion. Sweet and light as a perfect dessert soufflé, this French offering is a good antidote to, say, the Nightly News. Curmudgeonly Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a mere 48% rating, but audiences liked it more (59%). Said Moira MacDonald in the Seattle Times: Le Chef may not be a masterpiece, but it's nonetheless a treat. Some days, that's just right.
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It is just amazing how the main actress plays so bad. Yes, she is pretty, sure, but every single time she opens her mouth, it is simply ludicrous. She acts so terribly, it is just unbelievable. Moreover, facing an actor like Reno, it is even more ridiculous.
I guess only people talking French can sense, because no other (English) critics highlights this obvious matter.
It is a pity since, except that big failure, the movie is quite pleasant.
Dommage! -
asntha1 January 2013Don't listen to some of these stupid critics.watch it your self and prove me wrong if you can.I Totally AGREED WITH THIS !! Of course, don't expect here a masterpiece or any attempt to make an original plot or anything like that : this is a mainstream production, and all we should expect from it, is just to be funny, well-done, and without bad taste ingredients. And so it is. A simple comedy, gentle, with a good rhythm, and nice characters. In fact, not only the main characters are good here, but everybody is, and the supporting actors here have their place, and contribute to our pleasure. Jean Reno and Michaël Youn compose a nice duet. There's not much that I can add. Except that even if everything was easily expect regarding the plot, what is never obvious to expect is that we'd have such a very good time.
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YohjiArmstrong9 March 2015THE CHEF continues the French tradition of romanticising the production of food to the nth degree, but with jokes. The plot sees a wannabe chef - who keeps getting fired because people only want chips - get hired by the celeb chef he idolises in order to win around some food critics who hate his traditionalist food because if he loses a star the CEO can fire the celeb chef and replace him with an English (of course) chef who does...molecular cooking (yuck). Unfortunately the lead's pregnant gal wants him to get a proper job outside cooking, whilst the celeb's daughter wishes he would pay more attention to her upcoming thesis defence than his kitchens. It doesn't take a genius to work out what happens next but the result is funny enough (and the film at eighty minutes pithy enough) to sustain the result. The highlight sees the the two chefs try to infiltrate a rival chef's restaurant by posing as a Japanese couple in kimonos...
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Jean Reno was once a backer of a good movie, but after watching "comme un chef" it's no longer the truth. The plot was stupid, the characters were revoltingly dumb, the dialogs were pointless and childish, all the actors were overacting like in a school play. I wish I'd never have watched this stuff. It should be banned by the government for its awfulness.
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RodMartinJr21 August 2019Delightfully interesting, fun, entertaining and engaging. Jean Reno and Michaël Youn deliver the right amount of seriousness and levity to whet your cinematic appetite. I don't know French, but I stopped to savor every morsel of the subtitles in this film of culinary prowess.
Am I high on this film? Perhaps. But this is one of those comfortable masterpieces that I will enjoy seeing again and again, every bit as much as I will enjoy a favorite meal.
The hero's challenge carries just the right amount of gravitus. He wants to be true to his sweetheart, but also to his art. Can he find the right balance between professional and personal life? His journey to find out is well worth exploring.
Bon appetite. -
TxMike24 December 2014I found this movie on Netflix streaming movies. I like Jean Reno in everything I have seen him in and he is great here.
He is famous chef Alexandre Lagarde at a 3-star restaurant. He also does a live cooking show. He is at odds with the owner's son who wants to oust him and seems willing to do anything to have him lose a star as a way to void his contract.
Enter comic actor Michaël Youn as Jacky Bonnot, a bright guy who can't seem to keep a job. When he gets into food service he mistreats the guests who want certain food and wine combinations that Jacky knows are inappropriate. So the best he can do, to try to keep his pregnant girlfriend happy, is get a job as a painter.
The other quality Jacky has is his sense of food combinations and preparation. He is a student of Lagarde's cooking, has all his books, knows all his recipes, even can recall when each live show was telecast. Eventually he and Lagarde team up.
This is a comedy and a very good one. It was French with English subtitles. -
tom-zaidman12 May 2013Have been a fan of Reno since my first movie i saw was Les Visiteurs years ago. In this movie he is not only amusing you have a love/hate relationship with him. Rarely does a whole movie theater laugh for minutes at simple situations very well acted and directed.Reno as a Chef really convinces, and the restaurant scenes, the cars he uses, the kitchen all very well presented. Want to have fun, go see the Chef. You wont regret one minute. There is a young French. Actress that plays the role of the pregnant wife Raphaelle Agogue who is not only very pretty I think she has an important future in French movies. Mr. Yaoun also plays a commendable part as the apprentice Chef. There is a French movie festival fortunately in Caracas And movies like The Chef helps make life here more bearable,without going into details.
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sam-01928347220 January 2019Light hearted, positive and funny movie. Recommended!