Dining with Chef Slowick (Ralph Fiennes) is a dangerous experience in "The Menu."By Christopher James
The subgenre of class warfare comedy is alive and well in 2022. Most recently, movies like Bodies Bodies Bodies and Triangle of Sadness have smeared the 1% with blood and excrement, respectively. Director Mark Mylod (of Succession fame), opts for the former with his all-star comic thriller, The Menu. The film effectively entertains, even if it doesn’t ultimately add much to the conversation.
We meet Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) at a dock about to be picked up for an elite dining experience. Right from the beginning, we see a disconnect between the two, as if they were newly dating. Tyler is beyond excited for the dining experience, documenting every moment. On the flip side, Margot couldn’t care less. Tyler and Margot travel alongside nine other illustrious guests to an island restaurant run by celebrity Chef Slowick (Ralph Fiennes)...
At first, it seems like any other stuffy, over-priced tasting menu experience. However, Chef Slowick and his staff have many tricks up their sleeve. Once violence and targeted personal attacks enter the sealed off dining room, the guests must contend that they might not make it out of this meal alive.
The trailers for The Menu give away a fair bit of the twisted machinations of this exclusive dining event. That doesn’t necessarily lessen the impact. It’s tremendously fun even when you know where Chef Slowick is taking the audience. This is largely a credit to the wittiness of Seth Reiss and Will Tracy’s script, where zingers pile on top of each other like the multi-course meal on screen.
Chef Slowick (Ralph Fiennes) has planned a very special dinner for his guests in "The Menu".
The Menu is also a visual treat. The centerpiece dining room set removes the barrier between kitchen staff and guests. There are several fun visual gags revolving around the central contradiction of maximizing the ultra-chic minimalist design. The open space makes for a great battleground where we are able to see all the actors and catch fun reaction shots or interplay between the players. Credit goes to production designer Ethan Tobman (Room) for making such a dynamic set.
It also helps that the ensemble is uniformly strong. Predictably, Ralph Fiennes relishes his psychotic leading role as the devilish Chef Slowick. He blends the gregarious pomp and circumstance of Grand Budapest Hotel’s M. Gustave with the menace and power of some of his villainous roles, like Amon Goth and Lord Voldemort. Most of all, he’s having tremendous fun chewing the scenery. Likewise, Nicholas Hoult brings charm and smarm as the egotistical foodie, Tyler. While most of the guests fear for their lives as they catch on to the theme of the meal, Tyler delights in each detail. Hoult knows well how to make an awful character fun to watch, just as he accomplished in Hulu’s The Great. Our audience surrogate is Anya Taylor-Joy’s Margot, an unimpressed cypher caught between the world of the rich and the restaurant workers. Even while playing it straight in a room full of arch characterizations, Margot jumps off the page thanks to Anya Taylor-Joy’s command of the camera.
Anya Taylor-Joy's Margot squares up against the devilish Chef Slowick (Ralph Fiennes) in "The Menu."
The entire supporting cast makes each table at the restaurant a memorable one. The film’s MVP is Hong Chau as Elsa, the smiling, yet curt, Maître d'. She appears in control at all moments, giving some bone-chilling, yet hilarious, line readings. While Chef Slowick grandstands, Elsa sharply snaps. On the guest side, Janet McTeer and Paul Adelstein wring out the most laughs as food critic Lillian Bloom and her editor, Ted. The joke of a critic being pedantic and out of touch could be a groan worthy cliche, but McTeer and Adelstein deliver their lines for maximum effect. John Leguizamo is also quite fun as a Sandler-esque comedian who worries that he is no longer relevant. A trio of tech bros, played by Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr and Rob Yang, similarly liven up cliche types. Only Reed Birney and Judith Light are underused, as a married couple with some fairly expected secrets.
The Menu serves up a lot of expected jokes and twists, but does so in a fun and engaging package. In fact, it delightfully recalls mid-budget thrillers that used to be so popular in the early Aughts. It’s a high concept parade of stars n peril, all wrapped up in a fun satire of high class food culture. It’s always nice to get what you ordered. For those looking for a fun comic thriller, The Menu fits the bill. B
The ensemble of "The Menu" uniformly delights as they grapple with this murderous dinner party.
The Menu his theaters Friday, November 18th, distributed by Searchlight Pictures.