Review: The Hundred Foot Journey

Release date: August 8, 2014
Running time: 122 minutes
Starring: Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon
Who to see it with: A foodie

David:

The Hundred Foot Journey has a star-studded cast and some top notch producers (Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey), which should be a recipe for success. The film follows an Indian family as they attempt to start a restaurant in a secluded French town right across the street from a famous restaurant run by a ruthless madame. The movie's main ingredients are the stellar cast, including Helen Mirren, Indian acting legend Om Puri, and the relatively unknown but amazingly talented Manish Dayal. Dayal, in particular, is the main course of this movie; he is a natural actor who easily draws the audience into whatever is going on in the scene. Mirren and Puri are perfect in their respective roles, and none of the characters overpower the overall balance of the film (although Mirren is probably the strongest flavor in this actor soup).  

The story moves along at a nice pace with some slight twists here and there and plenty of overly dramatic moments. If there's one compliant, it's that the events move a little too quickly, with character's at times progressing at an astounding rate. The film starts slowly but towards the end, instead of simmering, begins to boil as it attempts to tie together up all the loose ends. And, there are several excessively dramatic scenes that make this seem more like a Lifetime movie. However, none of those quips leave a sour taste in your mouth and can't ruin what is an otherwise solid movie. The Hundred Foot Journey is an easy to digest, balanced movie, that also leaves some lingering, complex flavors. It doesn't have an overly strong taste, but has a nice balance of ingredients that lead to a satisfying movie experience. 

Rent it.