When you want to romanticize about food or eat your feelings
Because they call it comfort food for a reason.
Some of my favourite food movies aren’t really about food at all.
Take Goodfellas, for example. Who can forget the razor-thin garlic, the backyard barbeque, the dinner at Tommy’s mother’s house, or the meat sauce on the stove being stirred in the middle of Henry Hill’s cocaine-fueled day from hell?
I also loved the lavish buffet of fancy pastel desserts and overflowing coupes of champagne in Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, and the ‘80s sushi restaurant scene in American Psycho, where Patrick Bateman ironically schools his finance bros on the perils of materialism over spot prawns and cocktails. There are so many others, too of course — which food scene are you picturing?
Of the countless films where food is the focus, here are three to whet your appetite when you feel like romanticizing food or eating your feelings:
BIG NIGHT
Take two strong lead actors, mix in an entertaining ensemble cast, add a dash of neuroticism, a splash of camp, and a healthy dollop of Italian food and culture, and you have Big Night. This movie looked like it was so much fun to make!
Italian brothers played by Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub are on the brink of having to close their Italian restaurant on the Jersey Shore when a friend and competing restaurateur played by Sir Ian Holm comes up with an idea that could save their restaurant and their American dream. Follow the brothers as they prepare for and host their food-filled, eclectic, stressful, fun, wine-fuelled big night. Watch if only to hear Sir Ian Holm shout the line, “Bite your teeth into the ass of life and drag it to you!”
Big Night (1996) offers more than funny, passionate writing. The two leads have excellent chemistry and they speak Italian and move around the kitchen with ease. Anyone who worked in the restaurant industry at least once in their lives will love the classic front-of-house/back-of-house tension that is heightened even more due to the characters’ sibling status. The montage of them preparing the timpano pasta dome was, shall I say, “chef’s kiss”, and the excellent ensemble cast includes Allison Janney and Isabella Rossellini.
You’ll like this if you like: Italian food, vintage cocktails, the love-hate romance and drama of owning a restaurant, Eataly, classic cars.
🇨🇦 Where to Rent: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, YouTube
Fun Facts: Stanley Tucci co-wrote and directed Big Night, and he and his collaborator, Campbell Scott (also an actor), refused to change the ending to please the MGM executives who were originally set to distribute the film. Look closely and see if you can spot a young Liev Schriber in one scene, and enjoy the classic 1950s Cadillacs shown throughout the film.
JULIE & JULIA
Warning: You may be inspired to spend too much money on a Le Creuset pot or bake a huge, decadent chocolate cake after watching this one.
Based on the true story of the late Julie Powell, one of the first food bloggers in early 2000s America to gain a following large enough to turn her blog into a book and then a movie, Julie & Julia (2009) is a light, heartwarming culinary delight that will entice you into the kitchen.
Julie (Amy Adams), a struggling writer living in New York with her husband (Chris Messina), decides to cook and blog her way through Julia Child’s famous cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. The film flashes back and forth between Julie’s successes and failures in the kitchen and the origin story of her muse, played by the one and only Meryl Streep. As a shock to no one, Streep shines as Julia, supported by Stanley Tucci as Paul Child (Julia’s husband).
Full of beautiful shots of mouth-watering food, Julie & Julia is a great example of writer/director Nora Ephron’s quirky, uplifting storytelling style, and the film is a celebration of French cuisine and Julia Child’s legacy.
You’ll like this if you like: French food, memoirs, cookbooks, European markets, female empowerment.
🇨🇦 Where to Stream: Netflix
🇨🇦 Where to Rent: Amazon Prime, Apple Store, YouTube
Fun Facts: Although their chemistry may make it seem like Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci have shared the screen many times, this is only the 2nd movie they have been in together — the first was The Devil Wears Prada (2006). Amy Adams and Chris Messina also worked together again in another book-to-film project, HBO’s 2018 miniseries Sharp Objects based on the book by Gillian Flynn.
WAITRESS (spoiler alert in this one)
An indie dark comedy, Waitress (2007) stars the talented Keri Russell as Jenna, a young woman who is living in an abusive marriage and working at a pie diner. Before my re-watch, I had forgotten how sad this movie is, but it’s also just so darn good.
The food in this film takes the shape of pies. Jenna bakes from scratch colourful, creatively-named pies that are shot so well that they almost leap off the screen onto your plate. The fresh, ooey-gooey almost cartoon-like pies themselves could be a pop-art installation, they are so vibrant and playful. Along with the pies, a clever script and a funny ensemble cast provide a happy contrast to the darkness in Jenna’s life as she navigates a toxic husband (Jeremy Sisto), an unexpected pregnancy, and an affair with her Gynecologist (Nathan Fillion).
Amid the pie-inspired food-porn, Waitress tells a sweet story that shows how beautiful and messy life can be, and how food can be fun, empowering, and bring people together.
You’ll like this if you like: baking shows, dark comedies, Andy Griffith, pie.
🇨🇦 Where to Stream: Disney+
🇨🇦 Where to Rent: Amazon Prime, Apple Store, YouTube
Fun Facts: In 2016, Waitress the Musical debuted on Broadway, inspired by this film. The score was written by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, who also played Jenna in some of the performances. Of the songs in the musical is a gorgeous, heartbreaking ballad called “She Used to Be Mine” — grab a tissue and have a listen.
Enjoy the movie(s),
Heather
Streaming and rental sources listed are limited to the services and websites I subscribe to and/or have access to (in Canada) at the time of publishing. Feel free to search your streaming and cable services for these titles.