Cook up a movie night with films about food

Published 2:00 am Thursday, May 7, 2020

Patton Oswalt voices Remy, the rat, and Lou Romano voices Linguini in a scene from "Ratatouille" (2007).

When a film is able to make you salivate in your seat for the food on screen, you must be doing something right. Not all the films on this list center solely on food, but they do feature it in such a way that it’s difficult to remember the movie without thinking of the meals in it. Get inspired or just quench a craving with these food-featuring flicks.

“Big Night” (1996) — Stanley Tucci writes and directs his first film (with co-director Campbell Scott and co-writer Joseph Tropiano) and stars alongside Tony Shalhoub as brothers Primo and Secondo, owners of an authentic Italian restaurant in 1950s New Jersey. Unfortunately most of their clients are unfamiliar with traditional Italian cooking so business is less than stellar. When big time bandleader Louis Prima is scheduled to play in town, Primo and Secondo pull out all the stops to prepare for a big night that will likely determine if their restaurant succeeds. The chemistry between Tucci and Shalhoub is pitch perfect and the food isn’t bad either. Stream it on Amazon Prime, Crackle or Tubi or rent it from Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.

“Bottle Shock” (2008) — OK, so this isn’t about food — it is about the next best thing: wine! The late, great Alan Rickman stars as a snobby wine expert who is on the search for a non-French wine to take part in a blind tasting in France. He finds himself in Napa Valley, California, in the 1970s and finds one hell of a chardonnay that may just put the European wines to shame. The film also stars a long-haired Chris Pine as the son of the vineyard owner who helps bring the wine across the pond and hopefully put California wines on the map. Stream it on Tubi, Vudu or YouTube or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play or iTunes.

“Chef” (2014) — The film directed, written and starring Jon Favreau will make you hungry while also touching your heart a little. Favreau plays a man who gets himself fired from a cushy job as a top-rated restaurant chef. So he ends up starting his own food cart business with the help of his sous-chef and his son. The first half of the film is a little slow as we build to the food truck scenes, but if you stick with it the second half is delicious. Stream it with ads on Amazon Prime/IMDbTV or rent it from GooglePlay, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“The Founder” (2016) — While not really about cooking per se, it is about the man who turned a small Santa Barbara, California, burger shop into a global franchise. Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, the milkshake machine salesman who smells an opportunity when he makes his way to McDonald’s, a small shop run by two brothers. He schemes his way into their good graces and rockets the idea to a multi-billion dollar empire, not caring who he hurts in the process. Keaton is wonderfully sinister in this fairly accurate account of the history of the man behind the fast food chain’s meteoric rise. Stream it on Hoopla, or rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Julie & Julia” (2009) — Julie (Amy Adams) sets off to make and blog about every dish in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Her story, and rise to prominence is intertwined with the life and rise to fame of Julia Child (the marvelous Meryl Streep). Streep carries the film with her spot-on personification, and Stanley Tucci’s turn as Child’s husband is equally a delight. Stream it on Netflix or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“The Lunchbox” (2013) — A perfectly paced Bollywood film with little glitz or glamor that still keeps you tied to the two lead characters Ila (Nimrat Kaur) and Saajan (Irrfan Khan). Ila meticulously prepares a lunch for her husband, which is taken by Mumbai’s lunch delivery service and mistakenly given to Saajan, an almost-retired and seemingly cranky older man. The two begin writing notes to one another sparking a deep friendship through their ability to be completely open and honest with each other. It really is a beautiful film and features the late Irrfan Khan, who recently died of a rare neuroendocrine tumor. Rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Ratatouille” (2007) — A Parisian rat deeply in love with good food winds up in the kitchen of one of the best restaurants in the city. When he is discovered by a new guy (and heir to the restaurant’s dead owner) who knows nothing about cooking, the two work together to create some delectable dishes. The animated food is drool-worthy and the story is sweet without being syrupy. Stream it on Disney Plus or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube,

“The Trip” series (2010-2020) — British comedians Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan star and wrote four series for British TV that were then cut together to make four feature-length films. The two play versions of themselves on trips through France, Italy, Spain and Greece, experiencing some of the culture and most of the food the countries have to offer while sitting down and chatting about nothing and attempting to one-up each other with their impressions (their Michael Caines are my particular favorites). Rent “The Trip,” on Amazon, “The Trip to Italy” and “The Trip to Spain” on Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu and YouTube. “The Trip to Greece” (the final in the series) has already aired in the UK and will be released later this month online.

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