I had so much fun writing the “Top Ten” post that I decided to do another list. Why not. This time I’m combining two of my passions: food and movies. Everyone knows about the best food movies, but here are what I think are five underrated, individual food scenes. Some are just goofy, others create a deep emotional response, but all five stick out clearly in my mind when I think about food and movies.
#5: Groundhog Day
The diner scene: Bill Murray’s character, after realizing he’s immortal and fated to re-live the same day over and over, orders every pastry in the diner and stuffs his face while chain-smoking and drinking an endless stream of coffee (”Just keep it coming, please.”) I love this scene because if I were in Murray’s shoes, I would do the EXACT same thing. And those pastries sure look good. Andie MacDowell (in her least offensive role — she ruined Four Weddings and a Funeral for me) walks in, spots Murray in his moment of gluttony and comments, ”I like to see a man of advancing years throwing caution to the wind. It’s inspiring in a way.”
#4: Fargo
Have you ever noticed how many food scenes there are in Fargo? They’re constantly eating! The majority of the food consumption involves Marge (Frances McDormand) and her semi-stuporous husband Norm, aka “I’ll fix you some eggs.” The best is when they’re at the buffet slopping entrees onto their plates with a satisfying thwack!; they amble over to their table with that awful Muzak playing overhead, and in the next shot the two of them are sitting side by side casually working their way through an ungodly amount of food. Then the sargeant stops by, leading to this deadpan exchange:
“Hi Norm. How ya doin’ Margie? How’s the fricassee?”
“Pretty darn good. You want some?”
Yah.
#3: Mostly Martha
An underrated scene in an underrated movie. Martha, the chef, has taken in her niece after the girl’s mother has been killed in a car crash. The poor girl is depressed and not even Martha can get her to eat. Enter Mario, the kindly sous chef, who through subtle manipulation and charm, tricks the little girl into eating a bowl of pasta, putting her on the road to emotional recovery. Just a tremendously sweet scene. And while we’re on the subject, the remake No Reservations starring Catherine Zeta-Jones is serviceable, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Mostly Martha. Which proves an indisputable movie rule: Hollywood remakes of foreign films almost always suck. If they ever get the idea to remake Pan’s Labyrinth with Dakota Fanning as the little girl and Tom Cruise as the evil Captain, I might leave the country.
#2: Big Night
In a movie filled with extraordinary food scenes, the wordless, one-take, end scene is what stays with me the most. It’s not so much about the food as it is about what the food represents. Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub (his brother in the movie) have just had a blowout fight on the beach and you think their relationship might be irreparably damaged. The next morning Tucci’s in the restaurant kitchen making an omelette for Marc Anthony (pre J-Lo), when Shalhoub appears. Tucci fixes him a plate of omelette and bread and sits next to his brother. Tucci puts his arm around Shalhoub, Shalhoub puts his arm around Tucci, and the two brothers eat their eggs, having reconciled without saying a word. Fade to black. How can you end a movie better than that?
#1: Joy Luck Club
Let me start by saying I’m a huge movie wuss. I’ll cry at anything. But you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by this particular scene. It’s the one where June and her mother are in the kitchen and June’s upset because her mother put her down in front of Waverly, her childhood rival. So she says something to her mother about how “You never see what I really am.” And her mother responds, “Waverly took best-quality crab. You took worst. Because you have best-quality heart… I see you….” And then the sad music kicks in. Good god. I remember watching this movie in college and during that scene the theater got more sniffly than a hay fever convention. The mere mention of “best-quality crab” to my own mom makes her tear up. Again, like Big Night, maybe not a true “food” scene, but a moment when food symbolizes something larger.
You didn’t think I’d make this scene #1 and not include the clip, did you? Here it is. Cry away.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Yes, great post! I agree Mostly Martha is amazing!