Can’t believe I slept on it thinking it was gonna be some run of the mill “people go to a place and get slowly killed off” type thriller. Highly recommend if you’ve also let it pass by like I have.
It’s also very funny.
Incredibly well written movie. Like, he knew all along and he took the instagram photos anyway. The execution of "The Mess" as the turning point was incredible.
It even reclaimed the inane cheesburger worship in American film from billionaire worship Tony Stark douchery and returned it to the working class where it belongs.
One of my favorite parts was how self centered the food critic was that she thought the whole thing was an elaborate performance just for her benefit
That really felt like commentary on the way rich people don't even view other people as real and the whole "NPC" meme
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Oh I fucking loved that moment, where it cuts to the critics self-assuring themselves how this is all just a very intricate performance with actors and props - and then it cuts to the table with the actual hollywood actor who is freaking out because he realizes none of this is a performance, these are not actors and the gun wasn't a prop :data-laughing: Just that display of liberal self-delusion was very chef's kiss all around - my compliments to the kitchen
Manages to be extremely funny without visibly straining to like so many movies recently. Also has some excellent class commentary specifically about how service workers are seen and treated by bougie fucks.
Yeh as someone who has worked in bars my whole life some of the shit out of Chef’s mouth really hit home
I really enjoyed it.
It's funny by just playing into the absurdity with a straight face, without actually having to struggle to try and be funny. For people that work in the food service industry it will be cathartic. It's pretty brutally honest about class and how it feels to work for people who either don't care about your work, or think they know everything about your work.
Loved how tight the writing felt, you were in the movie right away, and there was no line of dialogue being wasted. Masterclass in efficient storytelling imo (and that story is also very good and fun and most of all, cathartic)
Totally. It’s like an hour 45 long which I really appreciate in a movie these days. Feels like most movies are 20-30 minutes too long now.
I like it a lot. It’s a movie that touches on a lot of things and actually has something say. Capitalism, art under capitalism specifically, labor, social media, enjoyment versus consumption , class, and a bunch of other stuff. It doesn’t nail everything but I respect the fact it had something to say. It really did great job using the guests and situations to tell a good story on top of the social satire/commentary.
I really like the scene where one chef does his course in front of the guests. I really think it shows how trapped you can feel working under capitalism. You work super hard to get good at something only to realize you will hit a ceiling. A ceiling you can’t brake through and all you have to show for it is your ruined relationships and broken body. You sacrifice so much for your craft/art/talent only to find you never had a chance from the start. Grim and wonderfully well-done.
I love it when film has something to say other than “turn off your brain”. The movie wasn’t flawless or anything but at its core I think it was just a solid script with great cast. Which is more than most movies these days
Are you talking about Boyfriend Guy? Cause that was more calling out a hipster foodie who can't acrually cook
I mean the scene where the one chef does a trigger/content warning in front all the guests as his course for the meal. That one I think really examine how much people work hard and genuinely try their best but the systems they are up against are totally stacked against them. Which is such a bummer cause so many people are so talented and work hard. Capitalism tells you it’s a meritocracy but the grind never enough.
Oh that guy. I'm a cook who has dabbled in finer dining and this is acrually how most sous chefs are
Fantastic movie, I recommend it to everyone here. It might just be my favorite movie of 2022 if I'm being honest
The ads were all over TikTok and it looked pretty generic but boy am I glad my girlfriend got me to watch it with her. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Flawless, no notes
I really liked it and it has stuck with me. Definitely a very hexbear film, sort of a jolly lowbrow anti-consumerism to it
Idea: The Hexbear Collection where we re-release Hexbear movies on burned DVDs with the name of the movie in sharpie in an envelope with a shitty drawing of the movie cover. They can be left on top of trash bins or on the bus for true Film Buffs.
On that note, anyone here seen The Bear? Good show, also set around a commercial kitchen. It's maybe not as explicitly class conscious as The Menu (so far), but also very good, instead concerning itself more with (toxic) masculinity, trauma, abuse and other heavy topics like these
I may end up having some kind of irl connection to season 2 of The Bear so I think that means I have to watch it. Glad to know it's good
It's, despite the heavy themes, such a warm show, I don't know how else to describe it. Just somehow feels much more heartfelt, much more human than most stuff out there.
Do watch it, when you get a chance, I don't think you'll regret it
Oh yeah it has the guy from Shameless in it. Pretty good show
Ok you tell me what the point of having the men all away from everyone and then all getting found with no consequences? And why was there the bare minimum development for every character but the main ones? I enjoyed the movie, probably because I like everything with Anya Taylor-Joy in it (except Split but we don't talk about that), but calling it brilliant is incorrect imo.
Edit: I laughed once in the movie which was when Tyler was finished cooking and the usual menu screen read "Tyler's Bullshit".
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Then he hung himself so
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I think part of it showed that they didn't give a shit about any of the others. If they had all banded together they might have been able to do something (which was brought up several times throughout the movie) but instead they're all shoving each other and trying to spread out. One guy even had a boat! But instead of working together to row quicker/get it in the water quicker, he pushes his supposed "bros" away. Similarly, the women could have taken that opportunity to try to do something as well with the majority of the staff was out searching the island for the men. Atomization being their ruin could be an interesting part of it
That's definitely the point it was going for but nothing really drove it home, they just kinda got brought back.
Yeah, it could have definitely been done better to give it more clarity. If they had
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shown each of their plans failing because it was only 1 of them like rowing the boat in a circle because of only one oar or not being able to climb some tall height without a boost
or something like that, the message would have been stronger.
Yeah, it needed some Twilight Zone irony. Even the way its cut it feels like there was something there that was either cut or they didn't get to fully shoot.
Just a cursory glance at youtube has shown several cut scenes from the movie that explain certain things better so maybe something was cut.
It was a tightly cut movie and I enjoyed that but I'd for sure watch an extended cut.
I love Tyler's role during that scene, just watching enviously as the women eat their exclusive course with his face pressed up against the glass like the creep he is
They made one guy eat an egg. That seemed like a [Scene Missing] moment.
Okay, would you get out alive if you were a guest? I'd fuck up the plan by being vegan, dunno how that would play out. If I ended put in a Tyler's Bullshit scenario I think I'd get a pass pretty quick cause I'd probably make a cheeseburger cause I've made so many of those under immense pressure I'd do so reflexively, if not a pizza.
Tyler's Bullshit was great because it was such a typical loser white guy dudebro idea of what fancy cooking is
Leaks, butter and lamb with no seasonings
I may not be vegan anymore but when I do eat an animal I want it to be seasoned to perfection in such a way that honors its life and what he did was the opposite, just a sad waste of life
It's also showing he knows food as a guy that eats it, not as someone who has to make it. He had to do what I'm about to go do in a half hour and failed miserably because he can comment on other people's food but when he acrually has to put something together he's lost and throws 2 types of onion in a pan with butter and a chunk of raw lamb.
:thinkin-lenin: id cook a hash outta the leftovers from the kitchen and they'd have to let me go for comfort food + exploiting stuff the restaurant was wasting :stalin-approval:
What food would you make this hash out of? The seaweed and lack of bread? Make hash FROM SCRATCH and blow their minds. Leftover foods made fresh kick so much ass.
Edit: love doing a hash with leftovers, but one of my best high effort despite its appearance is High Quality Hash. I go full pro from fresh with potatoes, pickles, all the veggies and really go full-on. It's like a go-to show off dish for me. It's humble but shows you know your shit to do a plate of seemingly random crap specifically
This is also sorta the cheeseburger aspect of the movie. I've worked in kitchens for my 'career' and I've yet to meet anyone that at the end of the day doesn't just wants to make people a good meal. We're a lot less indifferent to your food than you'd think. Like, the job sucks but I like cooking and would keep cooking under communism. I like feeding people nice food and try to work under the assumption the person I'm making food for, unless otherwise made obvious, is maybe getting their one little bit of pleasure beyond work, sleep and sustenance. This shit is overpriced and I'll be damned if you don't feel as much like you got your money's worth as is in my power.
Edit " missed a crucial 'doesn't ' I'm the first sentence. We generally do wanna give you the best food possible
I wouldn't be able to afford a restaurant on a private island in the first place :shrug-outta-hecks:
Great movie. Loved every twist and turn. Only real shortcoming IMO is that the cinematography is kinda bland. Not bad persay...but for a movie that seems to appreciate that presentation is an important component of serving food to people it really is quite a flat and uninteresting movie visually. They could have raised it to another level with a bit more creativity there....but still...damn good.
