My Thoughts on The Menu (The Movie)

Spoilers inside so enter at your own risk!

If you’re a “foodie” like myself, I imagine you have seen the movie The Menu or at the very least, heard of it. And if you haven’t seen it yet and you want to, please close this newsletter and revisit once you have. I don’t want to be yelled at for spoilers! Now, let’s get to it.

First things first. This is not one of those movies you need to see in theaters, in my opinion. I’m not big on seeing movies in theaters anyway if I’m being honest, ESPECIALLY these days when movies are 3 hours long. Some directors need to be taken down a peg. What if I have to pee? It’s too much pressure. I make the sacrifice and stay severely dehydrated for certain movies (aka anything in the Fast and Furious franchise), but something like this I’m a-ok watching from the comfort of my couch.

But I digress. I should also mention that this movie, while outrageous, was not irresponsibly timed. It was a delightful 1 hour and 47 mins.

Overall, I thought it was a good movie. As in technically, from start to finish, from casting to the shots chosen to the acting…all very good and expertly done. That said…I’m not sure I’d ever need to see it again??

It was disturbing but also funny at times, which is usually very much my brand, but one thing I don’t do well with is violence/gore in films. Guns don’t bother me but anything bloody at close range gets under my skin. For example, the chef who shoots himself - saw it coming a mile away and while it was WILD, it didn’t really bug me. The second they laid the tarp down, I knew where that was going. Apparently I’m one of the few who saw that coming? Not sure what that says about me but I choose not to tug at that thread.

But the finger scene?? I still can’t really think about it too much. Couldn’t even look at the screen. Once she asked him about “which hand” I went “NOPE” and covered my eyes, like a child.

There were parts of the movie that made me laugh out loud due to the sheer absurdity as opposed to actual comedic timing. It was a little much when the young chef, Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), admitted that he KNEW he was accepting an invitation to a dinner where he would die at the end of it. I mean…what??

I’m all for inclusive dining experiences but that doesn’t sound like something you’d find on TripAdvisor. They don’t really explain the relationships super well, so why on earth would Chef put this information IN WRITING to a RANDOM GUEST? If he chose not to go through with the whole mass murder/suicide thing, he could get in some serious trouble. Just sayin.

Also…getting that many sous chefs to commit to a mass murder/suicide seems a little far fetched too, no? I know working in restaurants is stressful but Jesus Christ take a yoga class or something.

There’s crazy and there’s just plain inconceivable. Both of those parts felt like the latter. I know you’re supposed to gather that this chef has somewhat of a cult following, but perhaps the joke is that it’s LITERALLY like a cult? Chef’s Table meets Jonestown. Even with that mentality, I had trouble suspending disbelief on that one.

Oh and lastly, am I wrong or is this the only horror film where the prostitute lives?? Excuse me, “the escort” aka Margot (played by Anya Taylor-Joy). That was another moment that made me kinda laugh. They’re usually the first ones to go and they made her the smartest bitch in the room. Good for her. She wasn’t super likable as a character in my opinion either, but at least she sensed that something was up. Guess she picked up some smarts on those streets.

The best part of the film? When Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) makes the burger for Margot. My god, that scene. When I think of foodporn, that is pretty much the definition. I basically lost my appetite through this entire movie (I told you, I’m squeamish) but that scene brought it right back, so kudos to them for that.

It was a perfect double-patty smashburger with onions and American cheese on a lightly seeded bun. Oof. I think I would watch it again simply for that scene. If someone took that scene and set it to some Sade I’d watch it on loop, like a really hungry creep. The internet also went nuts trying to recreate the recipe.

Side note. Here’s a photo of a great burger. The one from Au Cheval/4 Charles Prime Rib. A little fancier than the one in The Menu but still divine. I wrote about it here if you wanna check that out.

Fun fact: David Gelb (creator of Netflix’s Chef’s Table) directed those scenes, so if you were watching and thinking “this feels like Chef’s Table,” you would not be wrong. Dominique Crenn (of Atelier Crenn in SF and the only female chef to be awarded 3 Michelin Stars) was also an advisor on the film, so the picture of plated perfection becomes a little clearer. We love alliteration around here.

The scenes where they did the beauty shots of each dish with the description (a la Chef’s Table) became very funny towards the end. “Tyler’s Bullshit” made me laugh out loud. At first I thought it was too on the nose, but then I was like…ok, I get it.

Also, my very talented friend and filmmaker David Ma did a little Behind The Scenes video about The Menu on TikTok, if you’d like to give that a watch, click here. Some interesting tidbits!

So…did I like the movie? Yes. Did I love it? No. Did I hate it? No. Would I watch it again? No. Well, maybe…as foreplay for the next time I plan to get a really good burger. Whet the ol’ appetite.

Til next time.