Food on Film
Food on Film. Movies that make us hungry, The movies and food are a timeless combination. A bucket of hot popcorn. A box of Sno-Caps. A hot dog that's been behind the counter for who knows how long. All of them make going to the movies just a little bit better. Eating at the multiplex combines two of America's most cherished pastimes: relentless consumption and sitting down for long periods of time.
And what better place to eat an excessive quantity of food that's terrible for you than in the dark surrounded by strangers? You don't even have to pick up after yourself. You can just throw your trash on the floor and a teenager experiencing the joys of his first job will clean it up for you.
Movie theaters count on your gluttony. They make most of their profits from selling food. It's a perfect system because no matter how high prices get, audiences will still buy. In New York, a small popcorn will set you back $6.50. That's beyond ridiculous. Who on Earth has that kind of money for something they could bring from home for a 10th of the price? Isn't this supposed to be a recession?
Thanksgiving has turned into one of the most important times of the year for theater owners. The whole family is together making wonderful memories, but at the same time no one wants to stay in the house all day.
If you aren't totally full from turkey and popcorn by the time the holiday is over, here are 11 films about food that are sure to entice your appetite. There's a time for restraint and contrition. It's called New Year's Day. For the next six weeks, if it looks delicious, comes in a decorative holiday tin, or says Hickory Farms on the outside, then eat it. Bon appétit.
'Ratatouille' (2007)
Remy wants to be a superstar French chef. That's a difficult task for anyone to accomplish, but it's especially difficult for a rat. Rodents in the kitchen are the first step toward being shut down by the health department. Plus, mice aren't exactly known for their fine palate. I mean, how often can one eat cheese and peanut butter?
"Ratatouille" is about the emotional connections people make with food. About how a cherished dish from your childhood can send you right back home, even if you're the most curmudgeonly restaurant critic in Paris.
The animators spent time with French chefs to get the food looking just right. It looks amazing. It's really too bad that it's all fake.
The food in "Eat Drink Man Woman" is all real. Ang Lee directed and co-wrote this art-house hit about a chef and his three adult daughters in Taiwan.
Dear old Dad isn't the easiest person in the world to communicate with, so this family speaks through food. The film contains lengthy sequences of food preparation. If you don't want to order Chinese food by the time it's over, you should check your stomach. You can lament that your local place doesn't have anything nearly as delicious while you finish the rest of the movie.
"Eat Drink Man Woman" was remade in 2001 as "Tortilla Soup." The script was changed to a Hispanic family, with Hector Elizondo starring as the patriarch. The food is different, but just as yummy-looking.
'Tampopo' (1985)
"Tampopo" is a sort of ensemble Asian Western about food. Your confusion is understandable.
The main plot concerns two dangerous cowboy types who reinvigorate a hole-in-the-wall ramen stand. Because apparently that's what cowboys in Japan do: They prevent people from eating bad noodles. It's a good thing they've never been to an American college campus. They'd really have their work cut out for them there.
Branching off of this main plot are vignettes on the importance of food in varying social situations. Table manners are explored at length. All of the food looks amazing.
"Tampopo" was one of Academy Award nominee Ken Watanabe's first films. He plays one of the cowboys.
'Mostly Martha' (2001)
"Mostly Martha" is a German comedy about a control-freak chef who learns to play nice with others in the kitchen. Martha is the head chef of a fancy restaurant. She runs a tight ship and doesn't need help from anyone. But when Martha's sister dies and she begins to care for her 8-year-old niece, Martha must relinquish control.
Her new sous chef proves to be trouble, though. He's headstrong, he's Italian and he's incredibly sexy. Two guesses where that's going, but "Mostly Martha" is delightful nonetheless.
The film was remade in America in 2007 as the horrible "No Reservations," starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart. Please don't see it.
'Soul Kitchen' (2009)
The Germans apparently own the market on dysfunctional restaurant comedies. Shayn is an arrogant chef fired from a top-tier Hamburg restaurant. Zinos is a greasy-spoon owner looking for a change of pace to pay the bills. When Zinos hires Shayn, wackiness ensues. There's a classic scene involving a rare aphrodisiac, a spiked dessert and a really awesome party.
"Soul Kitchen" explores the emotional side of owning a family restaurant better than any other film in recent memory. The restaurant in the movie is the kind of place you wish was in your neighborhood.
'Pieces of April' (2003)
"Pieces of April" isn't really a food movie, but it is a movie about the trials and tribulations of bringing people together for Thanksgiving. Given the scant number of films centered on the holiday, we thought it warranted a mention here.
April (Katie Holmes) is just trying to make a nice dinner for her family, but her oven won't work and no one is in a good mood. The film contains several scenes about the complexities of cooking turkey. Would-be gourmets will surely identify.
Patricia Clarkson received an Oscar nomination for playing April's mother.
'Babette's Feast' (1987)
"Babette's Feast" is probably the greatest example of human kindness on film. It's so heartwarming that it could contribute to global warming. But it earns goodwill in such a genuine way that it never feels like something meant for the Hallmark Channel.
Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, "Babette's Feast" follows a French maid who flees to an isolated Danish town. The community is very religious, and Babette's French ways naturally scandalize most of the townspeople. But the citizens are in for a surprise when Babette decides to cook a traditional French feast. Who knew disrupting Protestant mores could be so delectable?
'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory' (1971)
"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" is devoted to candy. Who wouldn't want to visit the magical Wonka factory? If you can imagine it, it exists. In confection form, no less. Just be careful during your tour, as some of Wonka's unorthodox production methods have a habit of killing children.
Nestle launched a Wonka Candy line to promote the film, and the brand remains popular today. Wonka currently sells favorites like Runts, Nerds, Pixy Stix, Laffy Taffy and, of course, Everlasting Gobstoppers.
Also, why hasn't anyone tried to make a gum that tastes like a three-course meal in real life?
'Kings of Pastry' (2009)
The candy in "Kings of Pastry" is anything but imaginary. It's very real and very serious.
This documentary follows the Meilleur Ouvrier de France, a competition held by the president of France every four years to award the greatest trade professionals in the world. Being crowned is the highest honor for pastry chefs, and many train for years to prepare for the rigorous competition.
"Kings of Pastry" is like one of those Food Network cake competition shows taken to ridiculous extremes. I saw the film in a sold-out theater full of jaded New Yorkers, and people were literally screaming when a cake collapsed or a sugar sculpture broke in half. The movie has the tension of a thriller.
'Food, Inc.' (2008)
"Food, Inc." is another serious food documentary, but this one's not quite as guilt-free as "Kings of Pastry."
"Food, Inc." examines the dangers of corporate farming in America. It argues that cheap industrial food production is a dangerous and unsustainable system that makes for poisonous produce. By the time you finish watching, it's tough to disagree.
"Food, Inc." should be seen by everyone and could be an important tool in the fight against obesity. There are many liberal-leaning documentaries about the corrupt state of American eating, but this is the only one that attempts to show both sides.
Who knows what we'll be eating in the future, but hopefully it won't be Soylent Green. After all it's (spoiler alert!) made of people. Soylent Green is supposedly made of plankton, but anyone with taste buds knows that plankton couldn't possibly be so delicious.
"Soylent Green" takes place in 2022, which means we're just a decade away from cannibalism brought on by a lack of natural resources. The film should be shown to children as a global warming precaution.
If the polar ice caps melt entirely, it's only a matter of time before you'll be downing a bucket of buttery Soylent Green at the movies instead of popcorn. And theaters will still have the gall to charge $6.50 a bag.
