COMEDY; 1hr 25min (French with subtitles)
STARRING: Jean Reno, Michaël Youn
Toque of the town: from left, Reno and Youn
Alexandre Lagarde and Jacky Bonnot (Reno and Youn) are a two-sided coin and a marriage of opposites. Both are artists, passionate about food. Yet while Alexandre is the executive chef in a grand, three-star Parisian restaurant, Jacky’s knowledge of cooking is so encyclopaedic that he’s batting above his league in every baseline job he has ... and loses. Sparks flare when the fiery maestro and the obsessive apprentice link up, but the two need each other — Alexandre is under the financial and performance gun from a money-hungry corporate owner, and Jacky’s girlfriend, Béatrice (Raphaëlle Agogué), is pregnant and antsy.
Comedic worries are made to be mended, and in short order, the two men are unstoppable confrères in a molecular-light scenario about commercial kitchen politics, the thrall of haute cuisine, the peculiarities of chemically reconstituted creations and how to concoct an 85-minute movie from the flimsiest ingredients. Like watermelon foam or essence of popcorn, Le Chef is a sweet treat that asks little and serves up a slight sugar high.
