The Eat the Rich subgenre has given us The Menu, which feels like a culmination OF that subgenre and you do keep wondering when there'll be a cannibalism course. But really it's the service industry workers vs. the Top 1%, and with its one reference to COVID, yeah, we all know what this is talking about. A high-end restaurant for the topmost elite is hosting a dozen rich fleabags who will get a lot more than they bargained for from Chef Ralph Fiennes (who is excellent, as usual) on this particular night. In comes Anya Taylor-Joy as a spoiler, a common girl brought along unexpectedly who could ruin everything. Well listen, twist my rubber arm here. She's accompanied by sociopathic foodie Nicholas Hoult who is kind of tapping the same vein he does in The Great, so lots of laughs in the cinema. Dark humor doesn't always translate that way, but our fairly full theater was really into it. It lampoons privilege, but also foodie-ism, while also making you crave for such a dining experience. I love food movies, and this one is as well shot as they come. So a fun thriller, with a fun solution, and while there are a lot of secrets around the room, there's no sense that we are being force-fed the answers. A lot of the realizations you make about people's connections and identities might only come at credits' close.
Diabolical fun, every moment of Fiennes' delivery is just delicious.
There's a possibility that the whole story ultimately doesn't has too much to say really; maybe you're better off if you go in expecting just to be entertained, which The Menu does, and not to have brilliant social satire (it is flat) delivered on your plate.
The Menu:
Excellent Pacing with Artisanal Timed Reveals.
Clever hand-written Dialogue infused with deconstructed Broad Social Commentary.
Healthy dash of Hong Chau being a passive aggressive badass.
Seasonings of Comeuppance and Delightful Details.
Served Well Done.
From very early into the movie my tiny brain's entire capacity was consumed by the (fruitless) attempt to decipher the symbolism. That's the reason why I totally missed the plot. But then I wondered, perhaps there was no plot at all, just a message. But I missed that too.
So what is remaining? 100 minutes of movie time that were never boring and engaged my from the very beginning.
Weak and disappointing though not necessarily a bad film, just a lot of wasted potential.
It's not a food movie.
It's not a thriller.
It's not a comedy.
This movie has a lot of issues which cannot be overlooked. The story did not make sense and a lot of the stuff that happens seems to be just randomly put together. Characters suddenly become braindead or something throughout the movie and suddenly change their behavior for no apparant reason. Lots of opportunities to give this movie some substance were not seized, which is really puzzling. What a shame.
The two lead actors offer the movie some redemption.
[/spoiler]cheeseburger scene, which was really too easy. The "cook with your heart, simple things are better than sophisticated stuff" answer seemed a little lightly written and a little disappointing[spoiler]
. Good movie, good acting and nice atmosphere besides that.
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Comments 1 - 13 of 13
Siskoid
The Eat the Rich subgenre has given us The Menu, which feels like a culmination OF that subgenre and you do keep wondering when there'll be a cannibalism course. But really it's the service industry workers vs. the Top 1%, and with its one reference to COVID, yeah, we all know what this is talking about. A high-end restaurant for the topmost elite is hosting a dozen rich fleabags who will get a lot more than they bargained for from Chef Ralph Fiennes (who is excellent, as usual) on this particular night. In comes Anya Taylor-Joy as a spoiler, a common girl brought along unexpectedly who could ruin everything. Well listen, twist my rubber arm here. She's accompanied by sociopathic foodie Nicholas Hoult who is kind of tapping the same vein he does in The Great, so lots of laughs in the cinema. Dark humor doesn't always translate that way, but our fairly full theater was really into it. It lampoons privilege, but also foodie-ism, while also making you crave for such a dining experience. I love food movies, and this one is as well shot as they come. So a fun thriller, with a fun solution, and while there are a lot of secrets around the room, there's no sense that we are being force-fed the answers. A lot of the realizations you make about people's connections and identities might only come at credits' close.Squin
This is the sequel to Pig, I will not be taking questions.Torgo
Diabolical fun, every moment of Fiennes' delivery is just delicious.There's a possibility that the whole story ultimately doesn't has too much to say really; maybe you're better off if you go in expecting just to be entertained, which The Menu does, and not to have brilliant social satire (it is flat) delivered on your plate.
chunkylefunga
Interesting and best to go in blind.Not perfect, definitely needed tweaking here and there.
Worth a watch.
Linkmaster89
A cheeseburger could save a life.SpacedJ
The Menu:Excellent Pacing with Artisanal Timed Reveals.
Clever hand-written Dialogue infused with deconstructed Broad Social Commentary.
Healthy dash of Hong Chau being a passive aggressive badass.
Seasonings of Comeuppance and Delightful Details.
Served Well Done.
boulderman
A sixth in the first act was good, a third in and wow, however cliché characters and a cliché perfect guessed request7/10 barely
HeikoScharnberg
From very early into the movie my tiny brain's entire capacity was consumed by the (fruitless) attempt to decipher the symbolism. That's the reason why I totally missed the plot. But then I wondered, perhaps there was no plot at all, just a message. But I missed that too.So what is remaining? 100 minutes of movie time that were never boring and engaged my from the very beginning.
Toastinator
Very fun film that's way more entertaining than most recent Superhero films. I absolutely loved the ending.BLJNBrouwer
"It wasn't cod, you donkey. It was halibut."masterbeer
Weak and disappointing though not necessarily a bad film, just a lot of wasted potential.It's not a food movie.
It's not a thriller.
It's not a comedy.
This movie has a lot of issues which cannot be overlooked. The story did not make sense and a lot of the stuff that happens seems to be just randomly put together. Characters suddenly become braindead or something throughout the movie and suddenly change their behavior for no apparant reason. Lots of opportunities to give this movie some substance were not seized, which is really puzzling. What a shame.
The two lead actors offer the movie some redemption.
CloB
I was very convinced until theKaramAkerfeldt
TRASH