Have you ever left a movie so flabbergasted and upset because you’ll never be able to experience it for a first time again? I’m sure you have, we all have experienced such a movie a few times if we’re lucky, and when I went and saw The Menu it left me feeling just that.
Synopsis
A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
The Menu (2022) via IMDb.com
This is a Spoiler Free review, and therefore we will not be going into details to respect the film-lovers who have not yet seen the movie.
Also, this is my review, and my opinions. As with all things, I recommend reading/watching/playing it yourself and being your own judge in the end, but hope my review may provide you with some initial insight and some fun reading.
Thank you! 😙
What I Loved
Let me start out by saying there was a lot, a whole lot, I loved about this movie. I’ve always been a fan of shows like Chopped, Iron Chef, and Chef’s Table to name a few. Also a huge fan of Sam the Cooking Guy and J. Kenji Lopez-Alt on YouTube. So when I first saw the trailer for The Menu I was super excited to see not only a movie that seemed to play out like some of my favorite foodie shows, but that was also a thriller?! Where do I sign up?
Nothing Compares
This movie, was like nothing I personally have ever seen. The trailers definitely gave me a Horror, Thriller and Suspense vibes, but after the credits rolled, I cut out Horror as a tag. If I had to define it from a personal point-of-view, I’d say it is a Suspenseful Thriller with some Dark Comedy/Satire thrown into the mix.
Maybe it was just the subject matter of food, but I walked out of the theater coming up blank for a movie to compare this to, and that in itself made me love this movie.
Multiple Threads
If you’ve been with me for any length of time now really, you know how much I love a story that throws out multiple threads that all end up intertwining.
Right from the start we are presented with a wide cast of characters, all but one, excited to be going to this exclusive restaurant. Most have a very evident common denominator, but as the story progresses, you begin to get a glimpse of the threads and how they all tie together. It’s a super satisfying path, and it’s crescendo left me doing a little chef’s kiss of my own.
Satirical
I know now that IMDb classifies this movie as Horror, Thriller and Comedy. But I found the “Comedy” in question to be on the more Satirical side. Like, eyebrows raised, mouth making that small “o” as things happened or were said, during which you were chuckling darkly. Though I admit there was at least two times where my family and I let out a bark of laughter. It left me questioning our morality.
We were not the only ones.
I think we all as a collective need therapy.
Chef as an Idol
I think what I loved best about this movie, is most everyones’ complete adoration for Chef, played by Ralph Fiennes. Each character, or group of characters, had their own reasons and motivations for loving and idolizing this figure. Some way more than others. But as the movie’s atmosphere grew darker, and the story became more brutal and suspenseful, to see how that affected the characters’ adoration was crazy.
What I Didn’t Love
Replay Ability
This truly was my only complaint about this movie.
As much as I loved it, the biggest appeal truly was that “shock-and-awe” of events. Once the credits had rolled and I walked out of the theater, I realized there really wasn’t a need to go back and see it again. You know what’s going to happen, and there aren’t enough minor details that mean anything or you may have missed, to make it worth a second trip.
The only reason I could see myself going back for a second round, is if I had a friend or family member who hasn’t yet seen it, just to watch their reactions.
In Conclusion
I really did love The Menu, but I don’t know if I will end up buying it. If I did, I’m afraid it would sit unopened on the shelf for a year or more. Maybe only to watch it once every year or so at that. Which feels sad to type, as again, I’ve not seen another movie like this.
It’s a great movie to see in theaters, and an even better one to see with friends and family so that you can talk excitedly about scenes and discuss.
I gave The Menu
P.S.
Don’t ever meet your heroes…
Until Next Time,
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