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I have a new favorite food movie. It's called The Engagement Ring; it stars Patricia Heaton as a native Napa Valley winemaker; and (I am afraid to tell you this) I liked it even better than Chocolat. I can't express to you how deliciously sappy this movie is, how cliched the food scenes. And yet I was captivated, sucked in by the oysters, the cheeses, the wine, the hunks of meat. When Nick Di Cenzos, the "leading man," tells Patricia's character that her wine is "exquisite, perfect!" I wince with pain - and yet, I'm so, so happy that she's managed to hit the nail on the head with her blend. If only I had some cinematic standards.
But no. I'm in love with bad movies that do good food. As long as someone's chopping, peeling and sauteing, and (naturally) shopping for gigantic hunks of cheese in some picturesque supermarket, I don't care how hackneyed the dialogue or how hard it is for me to believe (say) Sarah Michelle Gellar might be a really amazing chef.
And she was an amazing chef, magical actually, in Simply Irresistible. Let me just run down the plot for you. Amanda's mom has died, leaving her the restaurant where she cooked so well. She's an ok cook, but let's face it, she sucks now. She goes to the market, where she is forced to buy a magical crab. Once she brings it back to her restaurant she begins to cook food that makes people float, fall in love, sob uncontrollably. Guess what? Someone falls in love with her. Aww...
I could watch that movie again and again. When she uses those vanilla orchids to make that creme anglaise... my mouth is so watering. Forget the smoochy-lovey-dovey part. I just want to try that pastry.
The third movie that fits into the category of sappy food movies is Soul Food. Sure enough, everyone gathers around Big Mama's table each Sunday night - and in her kitchen - to do the usual family drama. The plot - well, let's just say it's a tiny bit predictable. The food? Greens and biscuits and chicken oh my. Is it lunchtime yet?
You can keep your Babette's Feast and your Like Water for Chocolate - I'll take me a dumb romantic comedy with lots of slicing and dicing anyday.
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12-09-2005 @9:18AM Jonathan Harford said... I ♥ Eat Drink Man Woman and Tampopo.
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12-09-2005 @5:09PM Diane Holdgate said... I saw a wonderful movie with great food and a great story - Mostly Martha - in German with subtitles. But oh the food!!!
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12-09-2005 @10:15AM Jackie said... Oh! Big Night with Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub...the best food movie ever!
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12-09-2005 @10:58AM LeisureGuy said... My list of favorite food movies:
Big Night
Babette's Feast
Eat Drink Man Woman
Tampopo
Like Water for Chocolate
Chocolat
Mostly Martha
What's Cooking?
Tortilla Soup isn't bad, but it's just a remake of Eat Drink Man Woman.
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12-09-2005 @12:28PM Nicole Weston said... I like Chocolat and Spanglish. And both versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
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12-09-2005 @2:58PM Huffy said... Yup, Big Night is at the top of *my* list as well, closely followed by Like Water For Chocolate and Babette's Feast. And I can't neglect to mention the following from two otherwise non-foodie films: the food-as-seduction scene in Tom Jones and the extended family dinner table scene in Bertolucci's 1900.
Huffy
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