Tony

⭐ 9/10

Dominic Sessa is now 2/2 for movies that feel like they were made in the 90s in all the best ways. This tells the story of the formative summer in the life of Anthony Bourdain, where he happened to find himself working in a kitchen. I am so so skeptical of biopics, and we live in an era where all the grit is sanded away from the lives of fascinating people. Michael was one of the biggest movies this year, and granted I haven't seen it, I know that movie does not touch any of the dirt. Same with the Amy Winehouse movie, which I also haven't seen, but read that its kind of like, sure she was an addict but she was also sad. This movie does not sympathize with Tony almost ever. It reminded me a ton of Marty Supreme in that way, constantly making choices you hate but are consistent with who he is. But this guy's only talent is lying. I also love that it is focused on a simple summer of inspiration, the starting of a new chapter, and doesn't try to end with an aged-up version. Even if this wasn't a real person this would be an awesome story, and that's probably the signature of a good biopic.

There is a fantastic scene, once he is acclimated to the restaurant, where he is lying to the girl he's after (the driving force of this whole movie), about how he spends his time. While he says he's a lonely writer trapped in his room, painting this romantic tortured genius, its a montage of him growing close with his coworkers, spending time outside of work with them, living on a beautiful seaside porch. His life is actually romantic but he doesn't see it! Fantastic use of montage and music, my lasting memory of this movie.

That's a lie, because the real star here is Antonio Banderas. If this guy isn't nominated we need to burn the system to the ground. He is the head chef and restaurant owner, he's the most handsome guy you've ever met, and he's stony and serious and totally devoted to this craft that many people would think is below him. He becomes Tony's mentor, and every scene he is in you just want to reach out and hug him. His voice, my goodness, I could write a paragraph on that alone. Think Rocky in Creed but without sounding like he's been punched in the face for 50 years. But he's also a grump, a nice guy with pure tendencies that not shy away from conflict. I love this guy so much, he's gotta win some awards.

Leo Woodall is also fantastic, funny how playing a dirtbag comes so easy to this guy. He's kind of like the devil on Tony's shoulder, and if you know anything about the end of Tony's life his influence is pretty dark. A major downside here is the romance. I have no idea why this girl doesn't just leave immediately, Tony does nothing to deserve her attention.  It's easy to forgive because the movie is so good as a coming-of-age story, but every time she gave him any attention I was like what are you doing. There are some great kitchen moments here, and I was impressed by the restraint to steer away from The Bear influence. No fast cutting high pressure editing, but you still feel the tension of these different personalities with orders coming in. Some fantastic slower scenes in the kitchen, not the pristine cooking beauty I have become used to, way more down to earth.

Kudos to Matt Johnson, quickly becoming a director that I will watch anything by. Music by Jay McCarrol too, so its great to see the band sticking together. This is a heartwarming feel good movie we watched on our anniversary, and it was a perfect choice.