Chef – 4.5 stars

There’s not much to this Jon Favreau film, and it certainly doesn’t break new ground, but it is a charming, dare I say “feel good” comedy about a chef (Favreau) who stumbles spectacularly via the internet and Twitter (one of the funniest memes in the film is Favreau’s cluelessness about social media) and makes a comeback with a food truck. Favreau clearly has great fondness and respect for the subject matter and the loving depiction of cooking is one of several strengths of the film. Others include an enviable supporting cast (Scarlett Johansson, John Leguizamo, Sofia Vergara, Robert Downey Jr., Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale and Dustin Hoffman) and an unexpectedly moving but understated father-son dynamic between Favreau and his 10 year old, Percy (Emjay Anthony), worked out on a road trip.