I was worried this would be an over-dramatic profile of working chefs (the real thing is much better; just watch Gordon Ramsay's Boiling Point), or two hours of in-the-moment references to our current foodie culture.

a little bit of both remains present, but that's mostly upstaged by charisma and plain fun. better yet, Favreau avoids the usual "story depth" hurdles -- a long conversation as to where the divorced couple went wrong, a five-minute backstory that really lets us know what makes the sous chef tick, or the continual angst over a tragic restaurant closing years ago -- by taking them off the track altogether.

it's hard to imagine how anyone could dislike this movie. it's not reinventing anything, just simplicity done right. kind of like ahi tuna.