TV1 Blog

I've been invited to a few foreign film screenings in the past few months by Icon Films. The previous were mostly dramas and I would say a little bit heavy. Storylines - fantastic of course! Still, sometimes it is nice to sit back, relax and watch a light comedy movie, like Le Chef. A french film by director Daniel Cohen.

The stars in this film, you may or may not recognize, there is one familiar face however, and that is of the veteran of French film - Jean Reno.

In Le Chef, Reno plays a well renouned chef, Alexandre Lagarde who heads up the Lagarde restaurant and is so good in fact, that he's been able to mantain 3 stars for his restaurant for 15 years.

At the start of the film we meet Jacky Bonnot (Michael Youn), a 32 year old lover of haute cousine. Bonnot has no professional background in the culinary art and keeps on getting fired from his jobs in simpler kitchens which do not appreciate Homard a la Parisienne or Selle de Veau a la Prince Orloff.

After another one of his job losses (4 within 3 weeks), Jacky is desperate to stick to any work he can find as his heavily pregnant wife is at the end of her term at work and beggs Jacky to think about the future of their young family.

Jacky starts painting windows at an old people's home.

Meanwhile Alexandre Lagard is at cross roads with his boss' young son who is growing and capitalising the business of grocery packaged food and needs the top chefs to endorce the nutritionally weak but uber viable products.

Lagard, being a proud believer in culinary excellency, strongly declines and thus is threatened with losing his restaurant, reputation and is preparing for the worst - Molecular food lover critics coming to his restaurant on the day of the unveiling of the new menu.

Only by pure chance, Lagarde hears about Jacky Bonnot extraordinary self-taught culinary talents and offers the newbie an internship position at the restaurant.

The movie continues on a traditional French comedy plot, with funny scenarios of hidden identities, spying on competition and warmly trying to make the viewer sympathise with the characters who are just human, no matter how stubborn.

Lagard and Bonnot become good mates through the unexpected and  hilarious working relationship.

Both actors (Youn and Reno) do a fantastic job in this warm comedy and I truly enjoyed this film. I feel that I've missed the old school style of warm but well written comedies that French films used to be able to offer on a regular basis. Let's hope they continue in the same spirit!

Here is the official trailer:

Have you got favourite foreign film comedies which are just plain good, funny watching?

Le Chef is in selected cinemas across Australia  from the 14th of June

To win 1 of 10x double passes to the film, CLICK HERE